Mangaluru: The inaugural edition of Udyam Saathi – An Entrepreneurial Launchpad initiative, organized by St Joseph Engineering College in collaboration with Rachana – Chamber of Commerce and Industry, concluded on December 16, 2023, with a dynamic Ideathon.
Launched on July 1, 2023, Udyam Saathi aimed to nurture and empower entrepreneurial talents by providing guidance, mentorship, and resources to aspiring entrepreneurs. The comprehensive program included training sessions on Business Plan and Pitch Deck Preparation, Government Schemes supporting entrepreneurs and startups, and Financial Aspects of Business Plans.
The Ideathon, held on a Saturday, featured Business Pitch Presentations from five outstanding young entrepreneurs:
Melroy Antony Fernandes – Music Book
Prinson Silvan Cardoza – AI-Based Smart Energy Meter
Ajwin D’Souza – HiveLink
Ethan Kiran D’Souza – FADE Media
Shane Deon Noronha – ElderTech Care Innovations
A distinguished panel of three jury members, including Jeevan Saldanha (Owner of Spectrum Industries), Karthik Attavar (CEO at Section Infi-8), and Hithaishy B (Senior Program Manager – Incubation & Acceleration at InUnity LLP), evaluated the business pitches.
Securing the first place in the Ideathon was the innovative HiveLink Business Pitch by Ajwin D’Souza. His proposal, aiming to revolutionize Beekeeping through IoT technology and Sustainable Practices, earned him the top prize of Rs 25,000. Ajwin D’Souza, a final-year Electrical Engineering student at SJEC, Mangaluru, was mentored by Prof. Glenson Toney, Faculty in the Department of Electronics & Communication Engineering.
The second-place was secured by Melroy Antony Fernandes for his Music Book initiative, an EdTech and Content Sharing platform under M/s Snow-Zoe Technologies Private Limited. The platform successfully completed a pilot run and is anticipated to go live by March 2024.
The Ideathon was inaugurated by Vincent Cutinho, Managing Director of Provit Foods Pvt Ltd., and Former President of Rachana, along with Rev. Fr Wilfred Prakash D’Souza, Director of St Joseph Engineering College – Mangaluru. The inaugural ceremony witnessed the presence of Dr Rio D’Souza, Principal – SJEC, Louis Pinto – Entrepreneur/Hotelier and Convenor of Rachana EDC, and Roshan D’Souza – Businessman and GB Member of Rachana.
The Valedictory ceremony, presided over by Rev. Fr Kenneth Crasta, Assistant Director, SJEC, included the presence of Udyam Saathi convenors, Dr Prakash Pinto (Dean – Business Administration at SJEC) and Charles Pais (Former Registrar of Agnes College and Member of Rachana).
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