IDEATHON 2.0: The B-Plan Event
The Centre for Start-up and Incubation (Upakram@NICMAR) was launched in December 2021, with an aim to promote entrepreneurship, providing incubation and sustainable environment to start-ups and facilitating the growth by networking. The centre was set up with the visionary guidance and support of Dr. Anil Kashyap, Director General, NICMAR to contribute to the development of the country through growth of innovation led entrepreneurship. It encourages NICMAR students and young budding innovators and entrepreneurs to realize their own passion and pursue it by unleashing their full potential.
IDEATHON 2.0. is the first major event organized under the aegis of Upakram@NICMAR, Centre for Startup and Incubation in collaboration with AGNI (Association of Global Nicmarians) and convened by Student Council 2021-22. The finals of the Ideathon 2.0: The B- Plan Event was held on March 26, 2022 at NICMAR, Pune, amid much acclaim from all stakeholders. The student groups were awarded cash prize of Rs. 30,000. The professional category was sponsored by Gig Factory.
Ideathon 2.0: The B-Plan Event provided a platform for students and budding entrepreneurs who want to work on their start-up idea. The objective of Ideathon was to provide a hands-on learning experience to students and professionals with regards to expanding their start-up ideas under the mentorship of experienced entrepreneurs.
The event was launched in December 2021, and received very good response in both student and professional categories, with total 30 student team registrations from across all campuses of NICMAR, and 11 registrations in professional category from NICMAR alumni. The teams attended a workshop on developing a business plan by Mr. Mayank Patel, CEO of Technology Business Incubator at Indian Institute of Public Health on January 27, 2022. Their business plans were further enhanced with support from a dedicated team of mentors, comprised of 10 distinguished alumni of NICMAR, who have made their mark as entrepreneurs and industry leaders in diverse domains.
The teams went through two rounds of screening on February 13, 2022, and March 6, 2022, and 8 student teams and 4 professional teams were selected for the finals held on March 26, 2022. The final round was chaired by Dr. Anil Kashyap-Director General, NICMAR. The presentations of the 12 finalists were judged by an eminent panel of industry leaders, viz. Ms. Saraswathi Iyer – Founder & Director, Envision Techlab; Mr. Hardik Joshi – Director, Entrepreneur Engagement and Training Science and Technology Park, Pune; Mr. Sandeep Agarwal – Director, Certus Capital; Mr. Jairam Panch – Vice President and Managing Director, Turner India; Mr. Kunal Sanghavi – Chief Financial Officer, HDFC Securities Ltd. Team Upakram@NICMAR was represented in the jury panel by Dr. Debopam Roy, Faculty, NICMAR.
The finalist teams presented business ideas on a diverse range of domains such as pregnancy care, sports accessories, agriculture, etc., but the most popular themes were digitisation and sustainability of the Construction, Real Estate, Infrastructure and Projects (CRIP) sector. The judges, and audience (online and offline) showed a lot of interest and appreciation for all the ideas. After thorough deliberation and a close contest, the following teams were declared as winners.
Student Category –
1st Prize – Preventure, a platform for real estate sector where technology would guide the proprietors with market research and help them get all possible solutions needed before starting of a real estate project.
2nd Prize – Build Me Up, an e-platform to connect customers planning to build their house with designers, contractor and different construction service provider at one point.
3rd Prize – Flipp, a one stop solution for flipping cultural heritage and converting heritage properties into homestays.
Special Commendation – India Adda, an aggregator for construction equipment.
Professional Category –
1st Prize – Buildup App, a cloud based project workflow management software developed by Sharah Info Tech Engineer Pvt. Ltd.
2nd Prize – The Built Environment, who are building a digitized procurement/sourcing ecosystem to reduce completion time of projects
The winners were handed over trophies and certificates by Dr. Anil Kashyap-Director General, NICMAR. Dr. Kashyap, as well as the judges and mentors appreciated the potential of the ideas, the quality of research gone into preparing the business plans, and the enthusiasm of the teams. They encouraged the winners as well as the other finalists to pursue the ideas and convert them into successful ventures.
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