The plan to set up incubation centres in various engineering colleges in the State, under the initiative of the Department of Information Technology and Biotechnology, is inching towards reality with the department recently specifying a timeline during which all the process has to be completed.

The aim is to encourage entrepreneurship among locals with the colleges serving as focal points.

An agreement was signed with nine colleges around January, 2014, as part of the project, ‘Karnataka New Age Incubation Network in Engineering Colleges’.   

“At a meeting about a fortnight ago between the department and all the participating colleges, the colleges were given guidelines and the standard operating procedures with regard to starting the incubation centres.

There is a general perception that a lot of risk is attached with entrepreneurship. We want to change this by providing support with this initiative,” said an official from the Department of IT-BT who wanted to remain anonymous.

As part of the project, the colleges are supposed to identify local and region-centric problems that can be refined and upgraded to commercial value.

The ideas can not only be those of students but also of alumni and local entrepreneurs. 

Time frame

According to the given time frame, processes such as setting up of infrastructure, appointing regional co-ordinators and identifying monitoring committees have to be done before July.

Between August to September, events such as hackathons, seminars and other awarenessess programmes to generate ideas and interests in the initiative have to be conducted.

At the same time various local-centric problems need to be identified during this time frame. Before October 15, colleges will have to send their proposals and projects to the Steering Committee (SC), that is appointed by the Government of Karnataka.

The review of the proposals by the Supreme Court will take place between November 1 and December 10 and the proposal should be finalised before December 15.

“Work on each proposal will most likely begin by January, 2015. We had given information about the project to the local newspapers to create awareness. Since it is only a few days ago that we got these time frames, we will be further strengthen efforts of spreading awareness very soon,” said Dr Shivakumaraiah, principal, Siddaganga Institute of Technology, Tumkur, one of the participating colleges. 

The other colleges are namely, Jawaharlal Nehru National College of Engineering, Shimoga; National Institute of Engineering, Mysore; NITTE Meenakshi Institute of Technology, Mangalore; PDA College of Engineering, Gulbarga; Basaveshwar Engineering College, Bagalkot; KLS Gogte Institute Of Technology, Belgaum; SDM College of Engineering and Technology, Dharawad, BLDEA’s Dr PHG College of Engineering and Technology, Bijapur.

Each college will get a funding of Rs 10 lakh a year and each project under the college will get Rs three lakh after due verification about its feasibility. 

The cap on project in each college is 10 projects a year.