VTU plans to set up startup park at Davangere

The state-run Visvesvaraya Technological University (VTU) is setting up a startup park on an eight-acre campus in Davangere to help engineering graduates become entrepreneurs.

The facility will be set up under a public-private partnership (PPP) basis and its estimated cost is around Rs 40 crore. VTU has already approached several potential investors for the project. If all goes as planned, the startup park could be ready in the next six months with a basic ecosystem in place.

"The park will have everything needed for startups. A few investors have come forward. We need to finalise," VTU Vice-Chancellor S Vidyashankar told DH.

The startup park is likely to act as an incubator that will be accessible to not just VTU students. The university is planning to allow access to students from other universities in the state. "There will be a team of experts to choose the best. Once the investors are finalised, we will issue a notification inviting ideas," Vidyashankar said.

VTU will also establish an entrepreneurship cell where students who want to start startups can register. "Instead of creating job-seekers, we want to create job providers. That's the idea behind the startup park," Vidyashankar said.

The proposed startup park will also house an Idea Lab. "Some students will have excellent ideas. But they may not be aware of how to develop them. This is where exactly the Idea Lab will play a role," the vice-chancellor said.

Once an idea born in the startup park makes it to the market, VTU is likely to seek a share of the revenue to fund the facility.

Meanwhile, VTU has tied up with a private company to train teachers in entrepreneurial pedagogy. This measure is being taken given that teachers usually have less industry exposure. The VTU is also planning to introduce a subject on entrepreneurship in the 4th or the 5th semester for which faculty members will be provided training.