‘Entrepreneurship and Startups in Industry 4.0: The Role of Universities and HEIs’ *

*A version of this article first appeared in the FICCI Eduwrap October 2023 Edition and has been reproduced with permission from FICCI.

In the last few years, Higher Education Institutions (HEIs) especially Management Institutions have become synonymous with corporate careers and a gateway to managerial roles in organizations, big and small. Whilst this view is not far-fetched, it does lend itself to a narrow perspective and does not do justice to the capabilities and ebullient talent that is emanating from such seats of learning.

Universities and HEIs should align more with the innovation and entrepreneurship mission that India has embarked upon. According to some estimates, the country has emerged as the?3rd?largest ecosystem?for start-ups globally. This is no mean feat for a nation that gained its independence only in 1947.

Geographical Gap

The need for such an alignment is felt sorely in smaller cities and towns where resource access has been a constraint. As Mahatma Gandhi once said, the future of India lies in its villages. In a similar vein, the ability to create disruptive innovative solutions for the Global South (for example) is not just a prerogative for a few major Indian cities. Interestingly, Tracxn suggests that in 2022, there were approximately 36,000 start-ups in non-metros compared to more than 60,000 in metro cities. On the face of it, these are very encouraging numbers for non-metros, however, if we dig deeper with respect to funding data uncovered by Tracxn, Tier II and III cities accounted for less than 6% of the aggregate investor funding deals in the same period.?This is abysmally low and may indicate a certain bias or bounded rationality that engulfs investment related decision making.

Resource Gap

Financial resource may only be part of a bigger problem. Technological resource and human resource availability are also important drawbacks to consider. The government has been playing its role in ensuring various schemes, programs, spaces and incentives reach such towns and cities. However, for a system to work in the best interests of the nation, Higher Education Institutions can do yeoman service to increase the effectiveness and efficiency of such initiatives. In the long term, this service has the potential to alleviate the disequilibrium in knowledge and access to various forms of resource.

Knowledge Delivery Gap

According to a report by McKinsey, Industry 4.0 can be viewed as the advent of 4 major disruptive technologies – exponential computing power and data; advanced manufacturing techniques; automation and human-machine interaction; big-data based intelligence. Research suggests that organizations would like to benefit from Industry 4.0 solutions but don’t know how or find unsurmountable challenges related to costs, current business disruption or effective implementation. All this contributes to the intention-behavior gap. These are avenues where entrepreneurs and the innovation ecosystem can surely contribute.

How to Contribute

We as educational institutions can do much more to contribute to further develop the start-up ecosystem. This will also require us to transcend more effectively towards the ‘teaching through entrepreneurship’ rather than 'teaching about entrepreneurship' agenda (Sirelkhatim and Gangi, 2015).

Taking a leaf out of IMT Ghaziabad’s Innovation & Incubation Playbook, below are some initiatives that may need to be adopted at a larger scale:

1.???? Enhanced mentoring and logistical support for start-ups originating from smaller cities – this includes using the digital medium to overcome locational barriers.

2.???? Curating the entrepreneurial education curriculum keeping in mind technicality, mind set and language opportunities.

3.???? Operationalizing synergies across disciplines within institutions or outside through seamless collaborations between institutions. Here, the role of the gatekeeper and/or the leader becomes crucial for attaining combined goals. In such situations, empowerment and intent is as important as the vision.

4.???? Utilizing the vast alumni network for the greater good such as mentoring, market access and funding.

5.???? Focused dissemination of information related to varied support offered as well as guidance around compliance/regulatory readiness.

India is on the cusp and the steps we take now as Higher Education Institutions and Universities will determine the trajectory and sustenance of our growth. Breaking down siloes will be one major step for us in the right direction.

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