About 19 engineering and non-engineering colleges across Karnataka have been chosen by the Karnataka government for funding under the New-Age Incubation Network (NAIN) programme under phase I and II.

The state government’s novel initiative, NAIN, was established under the Karnataka Start-up Policy for 2015-20 by the Department of Information Technology, Bio-Technology, Science and Technology. It is aimed at helping the educational institutions nurture an ecosystem for promoting entrepreneurship and innovation in Tier 2 and 3 citites in the state.

“We want our students to develop the entrepreneurial spirit. The NAIN funding is just a small step to encourage innovators to become successful entrepreneurs,” said Karnataka’s IT/BT Minister Priyank Kharge.

The minister said the start-up policy and many other policy initiatives were part of the overall strategy to build a strong, progressive and vibrant Karnataka. The state government aims to include 50 educational institutions under the NAIN programme during the Start-up Policy period of 2015-20, he said.

Under NAIN, Gaurav Gupta said students are encouraged to identify local problems and address them by using the concepts of frugal innovation and develop appropriate technology-based solutions and working prototypes. The mentors assigned to the students are expected to help them evolve a suitable business model based on the chosen new technology with a view to think as entrepreneurs, he said.

The nine engineering colleges selected for NAIN funding in Phase 1 are: JNN College of Engineering (Shivamogga), PDA College of Engineering (Kalaburagi), SDM College of Engineering & Technology, (Dharwad), Siddaganga Institute of Technology (Tumakuru), BLDEA’s VP Dr PGH College of Engineering &Technology (Vijapura), Basaveshwara Engineering College (Bagalakote), NMAM Institute of Technology (Nitte, Udupi), National Institute of Engineering (Mysuru); and KLS Gogte Institute of Technology (Belagavi).

The 10 engineering colleges selected for NAIN funding under Phase 2 are: Sri Jagadguru Chandra Shekaranatha Swamiji institute of Technology (Chikkaballapura), Bapuji Institute of Engineering & Technology (Davangere), Sahyadri College of Engineering and Management (Mangalore), Mangalore Institute of Technology & Engineering (Moodabidri), Ghousia Engineering College (Ramanagara), Govt. First Grade College (Holenarasipura,), Govt. College Autonomous (Mandya), Sri MV Govt. Science College (Bhadravathi), Dharwad College of Agriculture (Vijayapura); and SBRR Mahajana First Grade College (Mysuru).

Published on October 31, 2017