SiliconTech’s Entrepreneurship Development Cell (ED Cell) in collaboration with the Switchtech Incubator Foundation organized the Entrepreneur’s Fest (E-Fest) 5.0 from 21 -23 April 2023.
The objective of this fest was to provide a platform to budding entrepreneurs for showcasing their business ideas and products. E-Fest 5.0 also featured start-up competitions, networking opportunities, and keynote addresses by successful entrepreneurs, venture capitalists, and industry leaders.
Dr. Omkar Rai, Executive Chairman of Start-Up Odisha joined as the chief guest and inaugurated the event on 21 April 2023. The other invited guests were Dr. Dipan Sahu, Assistant Innovation Director, Ministry of Education’s (MoE) Innovation Cell, AICTE, Government of India, and Mr. Shreyaan Daga, Co-Founder of OLL (Online Live Learning) & one of the youngest pitchers of Shark Tank India Season 2.
The event began with the welcome address delivered by our Director, Dr. Saroj Kanta Misra. Dr. Mahendra Prasad Agasty, Faculty-in-Charge, ED Cell briefed the gathering about the functioning of SiliconTech’s ED cell. Mr. Shreeyan Daga, who began his entrepreneurship journey when he was only eight years old, inspired the audience by sharing his journey and described how entrepreneurship can be a great career option. Dr. Dipan Sahu shared the norms and policies involved in the institutionalization and benchmarking of innovation practices in Higher Educational Institutions (HEIs) to create, streamline and strengthen the entrepreneurship ecosystem.
The inauguration ceremony was followed by various competitions like Biz-Tank (Idea Pitching) competition, Prototype Exhibition (Senior & Junior), Pitch Against Start-Up, Ad-Mad Show and Bidding War.
Biz Tank was the finale of the ‘IDEATHON’ competition organized earlier in the institute. The top teams presented their innovative ideas before a panel of judges. The participants got the opportunity to receive valuable feedback on their ideas and network with industry experts. In Prototype Exhibition the young innovators showcased their working prototypes ranging from electronic devices to mechanical systems, and interacted with industry experts for feedback and potential investment. Pitch Against the Startup competition involved critically analyzing a startup by the student teams and making constructive criticism about it. The Ad-Mad Show was an exciting competition where participants had to create and present an ad for a product or service. Each team had to brainstorm, create, and execute a creative and compelling advertisement. Bidding War was a strategic team game where participants used their business acumen to make bids and acquire properties. The game involved multiple rounds of bidding, negotiation, and decision-making, and was designed to test the participants’ strategic thinking, communication, and teamwork skills.
On 22 April 2023, an expert talk was delivered by Mr. Bhaskar Majumdar, Founder and Managing Partner, Unicorn India Ventures. He shared his own journey as an entrepreneur and addressed the queries of the participants with his insightful experiences. The final rounds of the Prototype Exhibition (Senior & Junior), Pitch Against Start-Up and Ad-Mad Show were conducted on this day. On 23 April 2023, the final round of the Bidding War competition was organized.
The event received an overwhelmingly positive response from the audience and participants. Many students from different schools across the city enthusiastically attended the event.
E-fest 5.0 was supported by Start-Up Odisha, Jindal Steel and Power Ltd (JSPL), Grid Corporation of Odisha (GRIDCO), Odisha Power Transmission Corporation Limited (OPTCL), Business Intelligence Professionals (BIPROS), Silicon TechLab (STL), Texiant Software, Dzinepixel Webstudios Pvt. Ltd, Dalcha Biriyani, and Puma.
