Inspiring students to explore and nurture the entrepreneur in them, the 3rd International Conference on Entrepreneurship, Innovation and Leadership (ICEIL’20), on the theme ‘Harnessing Innovation, Technology, Entrepreneurship and Sustainability’ culminated at Amity University. The future citizens were provided deep industry insights, experiences and lessons from corporates and entrepreneurs on their journey, motivating them to become active participants in creating an Atma Nirbhar Bharat.
Shri Abhay Jere, Chief Innovation Officer (CIO), Ministry of HRD, Govt. of India in his keynote address congratulated Amity for being on the forefront in promoting entrepreneurship. He stated that such initiatives will play a key role in achieving the goal of Atma Nirbhar Bharat. He added that to become a five trillion-dollar economy, ideas and enterprises need to be generated & to have start-ups with global impact to further create wealth. He averred that higher education institutions need to emerge as hotbed of ideas & innovation. He also talked of how with emphasis on innovation & start-ups and creation of jobs through various government schemes, India has jumped to 48th rank in the Global Innovation Index. However, Shri Jere called for more efforts for establishing a culture of thinking out of the box & for students to be problem solvers. He also advised them to perform a balancing act in acknowledging & encouraging ideas. He also stated the need for sharing failures to teach youngsters what mistakes need to be avoided in their entrepreneurial journey.
Dr. Atul Chauhan, Chancellor, Amity University Uttar Pradesh & President RBEF congratulated on the successful culmination of the conference and the experience gained by the students for their entrepreneurial journey. He added that the mega conference will provide invaluable inputs and learnings to students. He averred that innovation is a culture that youngsters need to develop as a way of thinking to make India a global knowledge superpower. He added that innovation is a part of Amity’s DNA across its schools and campuses. He stated that entrepreneurship is a difficult path and requires risk taking ability & the experience of failure to succeed. He suggested students to identify the gap in the market & understand where innovation can be made by value adding further. Dr. Chauhan stressed on having compassion and passion to be a successful entrepreneur
Prof. (Dr.) Balvinder Shukla, Vice Chancellor, Amity University Uttar Pradesh stated that the conference was conceptualized to bring the innovators & entrepreneurs to share their best practices to inspire and motivate the young minds at Amity. She also talked about Mission ATOMIC (Attack the Opportunities and Monitor the Implementation and Compliance) started by Hon’ble Founder President, Dr. Ashok K. Chauhan to discover opportunity in this Covid adversity & the various initiatives taken to maintain academic continuity and enable holistic development of students.
Amity Lifetime Achievement Award for Excellence in Agro Industry was awarded to Sh. R G Agarwal, Group Chairman, Dhanuka Agritech Ltd. He appreciated the various initiatives taken by Amity University to develop entrepreneurship & leadership. He also shared that his aim is to bring a smile on every farmer's face. He added that to make a new India and to achieve the five trillion-dollar economy dream, research is important and requires renewed focus.
Mr. Rahul Shanker, Chief Operating Officer, Modicare Limited was awarded the Amity Leadership Award for Corporate Excellence. An Amity alumnus, Mr. Shankar shared his journey at the university that inspired his to pursue his dreams. He advised students to have the right kind of attitude to succeed and always be ready to reinvent.
Various competitions were also organized during the three-day conference. In ‘EUREKA- Innovative Design Project Competition’, 75 abstracts were received from across the country out of which 65 were selected for presentation during the conference. First prize was bagged by Saroj Kumar from GB Pant Government Engineering College, New Delhi.
Lakshya- Business Plan Competition had 61 business plans shortlisted from across the nation with Ms. Akshita Kapur emerging winner in the Women/ Differently abled category. In the Non-Amity Collegiate category Lakshmy Manoj, Pulkit Raturi, Irene Elizabath of IIMHR took the top spot. Rahul Batra of Eargasm won the first prize in Non-Collegiate/ Start-up category while Trishul won the first prize in the Collegiate – Amity category.
Best Research Paper Award was given to Ms. Ruchika Bathla, Dr. Mayank Sharma & Dr. Syed Akhter Hossain from Amity Institute of Information Technology, AUUP of the 107 research papers that were shortlisted.
In the Case Study Competition, 30 case studies were shortlisted for publication with the first position jointly awarded to Dr. Sona V, Associate Professor, IILM Gurugram and Dr. Ashish Mathur, Assistant Professor, Department of Business Administration, Jai Narain Vyas University, Jodhpur.
In the Start Up Expo, 77 virtual stalls/ booths registered from across the globe with Mr. Ankit Tiwari, Founder, Community Pharmacist Aid (CPA) taking the top spot.
The overall conference report was presented by Prof. (Dr.) Sanjeev Bansal, Dean FMS, Director-ABS & Organizing Co-Chair ICEIL 2020. The event culminated with diverse cultural performances by Students of Amity University that was well-attended by students, teachers, and faculty members from across the globe.