Bhubaneswar, Nov. 10: At least four final-year students of Odisha University of Agriculture and Technology (OUAT) are set to attend the Agro Technology and Business Fair being organised by the Confederation of Indian Industries in Chandigarh.

This is among the several steps being taken by the university ahead of launching of its ambitious incubation centre project.

"The visit, which is being sponsored by the university, is aimed at providing an exposure to the students about farm producers and the agro industry. The platform will also provide them knowhow about value creation and value addition besides ideas of various business opportunities and technology use in the sector," said a senior official of the university.

Earlier, the varsity had sent a group of students from the College of Agricultural Engineering and Technology to villages and industries for 10 weeks, to gain "experiential learning".

"We had sent students to various agro-based industries such as Ruchi to gain a first-hand experience of how they function. Their stay at villages would help them understand ground-level issues," said the official.

The varsity has already selected an officer in the rank of director (career counselling and entrepreneurship) to head the incubation centre. A building on the campus has been selected to house the incubation centre.

The university authorities have written to the state government for infrastructure and manpower support.

The incubation centre was announced in August to help budding entrepreneurs found agri-related start-ups. The centre, estimated to cost Rs 7 crore, will groom about 100 entrepreneurs in various categories.

To start with, the university plans to take in graduates - mid-course and fresh - preferably from agri or allied fields. It will also encourage progressive farmers with impressive ideas and projects. The incubation centre will provide knowledge, technology and infrastructure to the budding entrepreneurs.

The university is also working on the Skilled in Agriculture scheme, as part of which skill development centres will be set up in various parts of the state with a budget of around Rs 6 crore.