To mark World Entrepreneurs’ Day, the Institution’s Innovation Council (IIC) of Sister Nivedita University successfully organized a two-day student initiative start-up summit titled “Elevate 360 – Scripting Next Unicorns (SNU).”
The summit drew overwhelming participation with 47 start-up ideas, of which 28 teams qualified through an initial online selection round. Their projects were evaluated by an esteemed jury comprising Mr. Sitanath Mukhopadhyay, Assistant Director, MSME-DFO, Government of India; Dr. Biswajit Bera, Former Director (Research), Tea Board India; and Mr. Shuvam Banerjee, Founder & Managing Director, AMARTRACK.
On Day 2, the Top 5 finalists presented their business models before renowned start-up leaders: Mr. Rohan Roy, Co-Founder of Matri (featured on Shark Tank India Season 3); Mr. Anupam Dutta, Partner at Aeka Advisors; and Mr. Ayush Gupta, Co-Founder of Chaigram.
The event also featured a thought-provoking panel discussion on “The City of Ideas – Scripting Next Unicorns in Kolkata.” The distinguished panel included:
The discussion was moderated by Prof. (Dr.) Raj Sekhar Aich, Professor, Department of Psychology and Member of SNU-IIC.
During the session, the panellists shared valuable insights on the entrepreneurial journey:
Mr. Ayush Gupta said “Entrepreneurship is like a charity, where we create an impact, generate employability, and help society at large. Tomorrow’s Kolkata will grow in a big way”.
“Resilience is the one word for being an entrepreneur” said Ms. Kamalini Paul.
“One thing you have to focus on is your discipline in entrepreneurship” remarked by Mr. Anupam Dutta.
Mr. Rohan Roy said “Calculative risks should be taken if you are embarking on the journey of entrepreneurship,”
The summit concluded with the declaration of winners:
“Elevate 360 – Scripting Next Unicorns (SNU)” not only celebrated innovation and entrepreneurship but also created a platform for young visionaries to pitch, learn, and connect—nurturing the next generation of unicorns from Kolkata.