The Business Blasters programme has been designed to encourage and equip the students to become successful entrepreneurs and make them capable of dealing better with everyday challenges, Delhi Education Minister Atishi said on April 20.
She said the response of the programme has been “overwhelming” and children have been transforming their academic learning into business ideas.
“We are thrilled to see the level of enthusiasm and creativity demonstrated by students from various schools in Delhi, including Delhi government schools. It is also an example of how our schools are providing children with the necessary skills to tackle the challenges of the 21st century,” she said.
The education minister visited Sarvodaya Vidyalaya, Rouse Avenue to learn about the business ideas of students and participated in discussions with them.
Under the student entrepreneurship programme, the list of top 100 startups (who will compete in the Investment Expo) was finalised on Thursday.
After undergoing a selection process at various levels, the 995 Business Blasters teams from Delhi government schools presented their ideas in front of 165 panels at 33 locations on April 19 and 20.
Students who are part of the 100 startups will present their business ideas for seed capital to investors from across the country at the Investment Expo.
According to the Delhi government, the teams have been coached by experienced entrepreneurs for the last 4-5 weeks, and in the final round, their ideas were assessed based on a rubric designed by an expert committee.
For selecting 100 final startups, a total of 165 panellists, including members of the Directorate of Education and representatives of universities, were part of the panel, the education department said.
The selected teams will receive a certificate and an opportunity to join the incubation cell set up at the Delhi Skills and Entrepreneurship University.
The Entrepreneurship Mindset Curriculum (EMC) has been running in all schools of DoE since 2019. Its practical component Business Blasters was launched in 2021 for class 11 and class 12, under which participating students are given seed money of Rs 2,000 to come up with a business idea and implement it in their neighbourhoods to earn profit.
Source: PTI