Mumbai :The slowdown in funding for startups does not seem to have dampened the spirits of potential young entrepreneurs who flocked to the TechFest 2001 at IIT Bombay this week. In fact members of IIT Bombay e-cell which helps budding entrepreneurs establish contact with investment bankers, VCs and the like has seen an overwhelming response at the Techfest 2001 where students from engineering colleges across the country have converged to participate in IIT Bombay's annual technology festival. Says Mr Amol Parkhe, co-ordinator e-Cell, IIT Bombay, "we have organised a series of lectures by past winners of Eureka, among others to talk about their business plans and the like at Techfest 2001 and the biggest fascination for the attendees has been the opportunity to meet students who have succeeded".Eureka 2001 which is a contest organised by the e-cell in IIT Bombay is into its third year and the finals will be held on 31st March. Interestingly, the contest has already received 92 entries this year and the organisers expect another 200. The total number of entries last year was just 62.
Mr Parkhe expects a bulk of the entries to be in the area of Net-based solutions and optical networking. He also says that the cell has received entries dealing with the B2B and B2C spaces.
The winner of the Eureka 2000 contest, MyZus, a company which works in the wireless space was catapulted into the limelight after it won the contest.The enthusiasm for the contest this time around is infectious despite the change in the investment scenario. For several students from across the country, this could be their first real chance to display their ideas. Take for instance a duo from Bareilly who was waiting for a lecture on the winning business plan from last year to begin, when this reporter caught up with them. "We don't have anything like an incubator programme in our college in Bareilly but we have a good idea and would like to participate in Eureka if possible, it would be a good opportunity to talk about our idea" says Mr Manu Shamsa, a third year engineering student from SRMS College, Bareilly. Mr Shamsa and his partner Mr Balpreet Ahluwalia have devised a wireless and Net-based communication system for emergencies of all kinds. They have also come up with a Railway Accident Prevention System which utilises one channel of the fibre optic network being planned by the Railways across the country. The latter was chosen for the InnovationContest at Techfest 2001 which brings the duo to the city and they will be back for Eureka 2001 in March if their schedule permits.
Copyright © 2001 Indian Express Newspapers (Bombay) Ltd.
