The Financial Express (National)
November 17, 2003
Tarun Narayan

Having established a center for developing entrepreneurship at the Indian School of Business last year, the National Entrepreneurship Network (NEN) has now broadbased its initiative. This year there are five more academic institutions that will form a part of NEN’s network. They are BITS-Pilani, IIM Ahmedabad, IIT-Bombay, the Institute of Bioinformatics and Applied Biotechnology-Bangalore, and the Mumbai based SPJIMR.

Says Harvard University Graduate School of Business Administration senior associate dean and director of external relations Howard Stevenson, who was a panel member in selecting these campuses: “Entrepreneurship can flourish only when the communities are taught to celebrate success stories of individuals and use them as a role model, instead of trying to pull down a successful initiative.”

Lack of external focus and an inappropriate perception about risk management is hampering entrepreneurial growth in India. These are the gaps that NEN will try to bridge through mentoring and other support programmes.

Says Wadhwani Foundation executive director Laura Parkin, which has initiated the move: “We do not expect the students from any of these campuses to launch themselves as entrepreneurs the moment they pass out of these institutions. But the effort here is to try and ensure that professional academic education is able to foster the spirit of entrepreneurship among students.”