Background
With innovation in driving seat in the Knowledge Economy today, Institutions of Higher Learning are at the Centre Stage of economic development. Higher Education Institutions (HEIs) are not only a source of qualified manpower for the job markets of the new economy but are now sowing seeds for new enterprises in the new and emerging areas of economy. Engagement of HEIs with industry began with the objective of creating fit between the education and training imparted to the graduates and knowledge and skills required by industry. Then this evolved to transfer of technology and know how. Now it has matured to creation of new enterprises itself on the strength of intellectual resources of HEIs. It is therefore not surprising that we find clusters of industrial activity near the prestigious higher education institutions the world over.
For many institutions of higher learning, patents, technology transfer and technology incubation are an important third stream of revenue source, other than Govt. grants and fee income. Their new role of cultivating the spirit of entrepreneurship and contribution towards society and nation is being recognized and appreciated widely. More so, some of these institutions have also started functioning in entrepreneurial style and utilizing their hitherto untapped resources which include expertise, know-how and facilities to their full potential.
Integration of HEIs with business enterprises resulting in the establishment of Science Parks, Technology Parks and Research Parks was started in the USA in 1950s. Subsequently, these initiatives gained acceptance the world over as these helped in the promotion and growth of New Technology Based Enterprises (NTBEs), in generation of additional avenues of gainful employment and also as an additional source of income for HEIs to support it's scholastic and research activities.
With the services sector becoming a significant part of the new economy, the focus on need for land, labor and capital has been substituted by ideas that work. With the delivery of many services possible through remote provision, new enterprises can be set anywhere in the outsourcing mode. Emergence of new enterprises is therefore not only confined to physical locations where the economic activity takes place. Such enterprises are now possible where there are people to offer quality services at competitive prices. Possibility of setting up of knowledge processing units anywhere (even remote parts of the Country like the North East / J & K ) irrespective of physical location has thus emerged.
Global Scenario
At present, there are nearly 4000 incubators of various types operational in the World. In USA, there are more than 1000 incubators including about 200 Internet incubators. Europe has nearly 1000 incubators including 300 in Germany. Among the developing countries, China has shown exponential growth in the incubators and over a period of ten years has set up almost 400 incubators. Most of them are linked to HEIs. Korea too, is reported to have about 300 Incubators. While, Japan, Malaysia and Singapore are catching up.
Initiatives in India
India has a huge and diverse system of higher education and large R & D Lab system (particularly in the Govt. Sector)- 310 university level institutions, 15000 colleges, 400 National laboratories. This has helped in the growth of scientific and technological culture and creation of a vast pool of science & technology manpower. Yet, the impact of these institutions in creation of new enterprises has been rather limited. In most cases, R&D output is not getting commercialized for want of initial investment, the needed enabling environment and networking. There have been some successes though. Recent initiatives of the Department of Science and Technology, Government of India on focusing its attention to plug the existing gaps and starting with several institution-based programmes like Entrepreneurship Development Cells (EDC), Science & Technology Entrepreneurs Park (STEP) and Technology Business Incubator (TBI) have some successes.
Entrepreneurship Development Cell: The EDC scheme is aimed at creating entrepreneurial culture in S&T institutions to foster techno-entrepreneurship for generation of wealth and employment by S&T persons. The EDCs are established in academic institutions (science colleges, engineering institutes, universities, management schools) having requisite expertise and infrastructure. An EDC aims at developing and introducing curriculum on Entrepreneurship Development in the Host Institution and other such institutions in the vicinity besides conducting focused training programs for the benefit of S &T persons. Around 50 EDCs have been supported at various S&T Institutes and Universities.
Science and Technology Entrepreneur's Park: Science parks and similar initiatives create an atmosphere for innovation and entrepreneurship for active interaction between academics & industries, for sharing ideas, knowledge, experience and facilities for the development of new products and services and their rapid transfer to the end users. About 15 STEPs have been set up by the Department in various technical institutes of the country. Some of the successful STEPs are located at NIT Trichy, SJCE Mysore, PSG-College of Technology, Coimbatore and IIT Kharagpur. Each STEP has essentially the following features:
Has formal and operational links with a University, other Higher Education Institution or Research Center.
Is designed to encourage the formation and growth of knowledge based and technology led businesses and other organizations normally resident on site.
Has a management function which is actively engaged in the transfer of technology and business skills to the organizations on site.
Technology and Business Incubator*:A TBI is a recent initiative which has already been experimented successfully the world over to bolster economic development by stimulating growth of technology and knowledge based enterprises and generation of value added employment. A TBI helps in incubating knowledge based start-ups into sustainable businesses by providing specialized guidance, critical support services, innovative financing and networking support within a well equipped work space. As compared to STEP, a TBI is more service oriented with emphasis on value added services. Over 15 TBIs have been established by the Department in several Institutions of excellence including IIT Bombay, IIM Ahmedabad, National Institute of Design-Ahmedabad , BITS Pilani and ICRISAT Hyderabad in well identified thrust areas.
Plan of Action
We have a long way to go to promote entrepreneurship through our institutions of higher learning. This is perhaps the only way to ease pressure on the already tight job markets and create new opportunities for the large population that we have in this Country. This is also a sure way to keep the Country on high Growth Rate Trajectory for a long period.
Higher Education Institutions will have to play a more proactive role in promoting entrepreneurship. University Grants Commission (UGC) has therefore partnered with the National Science and Technology Entrepreneurship Development Board under the Department of Science & Technology (Govt. of India) for promoting mechanism of developing knowledge based enterprises through the institutions of higher learning. Suitable mechanisms for supporting Entrepreneurship Development Cells, Technology Business Incubators and Knowledge Processing Units jointly with DST / NASSCOM would be explored.
For this purpose, an exploratory workshop was held at Coimbatore on 28th and 29th June, 2004, where the participants were exposed to successful EDC / TBI. During the Workshop, there was interaction on one to one basis to assess their understanding of their Initiative. The exact details of the scheme would be finalized in the Second Workshop that would be held shortly.
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New Initiatives
Promotion of K B E - I H L 