What is Eclectic..?

AN INTRODUCTION TO ECLECTIC – NMIT’s E-CELL

Introduction: Entrepreneurship promotes economic growth and development and is being widely promoted in diverse contexts. Entrepreneurship is a process of creating something new and assuming the risks and rewards. It is an eclectic approach drawing from areas such as strategy, economics, psychology and functional domains of business such as marketing, finance and human resources management. During the past few years, entrepreneurship has emerged as a distinct area of study, and it is widely agreed that entrepreneurship can be taught as a distinct discipline.

Entrepreneurship education is now an integral component of most technical and management programs, with various courses / activities being conducted to impart key entrepreneurial skills to students. Students are taught various dimensions of entrepreneurship through activities designed to encourage hands-on experience and innovation. The role of entrepreneurship education in engineering education is gaining importance due to the multidimensional skills that are essential to lead, manage or function in technology-based businesses.

Considering the immense need to promote entrepreneurship among its students, Nitte Meenakshi Institute of Technology (NMIT) has constantly supported and implemented various activities. Towards further nurturing the entrepreneurial spirit among its students and staff, NMIT has recently established a student-led entrepreneurship cell (e-cell).

NMIT’s e-cell is aptly named ‘ECLECTIC’ which represents the cell’s dynamic strategy of choosing the best from various disciplines so as to hone entrepreneurship skills of its members.

ECLECTIC: ECLECTIC is NMIT’s student-led initiative to train students in the discipline of entrepreneurship. The objectives of the e-cell are:

1. Enhance awareness regarding entrepreneurship and related components
2. Provide opportunities for students to enhance knowledge and test their skills of entrepreneurship
3. Integrate entrepreneurship & related concepts with various courses conducted in the institute
4. Create opportunities for students to validate their business plans through incubation, mentoring etc

Activities of ECLECTIC: Towards achieving its objectives, ECLECTIC plans and carries out activities such as –

1. Organizing events for networking with entrepreneurs and venture capital firms
2. Conducting certificate courses, training programs, conferences and seminars
3. Conducting competitions such as business plan competitions and ‘the pitch’
4. Conducting events that enable interaction between industry representatives and academics
5. Creating opportunities for entrepreneurship research

Structure of ECLECTIC: All undergraduate and postgraduate students of engineering and management of NMIT are the members of ECLECTIC. Currently, more than 2200 students are members of ECLECTIC. Among the members, 16 students have been elected as e-leaders. Each department of the institute is also represented by faculty coordinators who, along with the E-cell coordinator of the institute and the e-leaders, form the Executive committee. The managing committee is chaired by the Principal, NMIT.

The activities and programs of ECLECTIC are guided by a team of advisors. The advisory board includes eminent personalities from industry and academia.

ECLECTIC would be guided by a team of mentors who have been highly successful entrepreneurs and promoted entrepreneurship at various levels. Currently, Dr. NR Shetty, President, Indian Society for Technical Education, has agreed to be a mentor of ECLECTIC.

Contact Details: The Coordinator, ECLECTIC, Nitte Meenakshi Institute of Technology, Gollahalli, Govindapura, Yelahanka, Bangalore – 560064. Ph: (080) 22167885, 22167800, 9243413645, 9900446088

e-mail: eclectic.nmit@gmail.com