Post News Network
Bhubaneswar, March 26: Some of the budding engineers and management professionals of most of the reputed institutions in this city are now following a different route to success. They are opting out of the campus placements provided by these schools. They may not be very large in number, but they have dared to dream beyond the run-of-the-mill and have ventured into the professional world with an ambition to set up their own business.
“In the last few years I have seen some of our students following a different path to success. Many have dared to opt out of the campus placements provided by us to set up their own startup business. The number of these students may not be very high at this point in time, but, certainly this trend is becoming more evident. Some of these students have also done well in the profession after taking the step,” says Chandrashekhar Bhende, placement in-charge, IIT-Bhubaneswar.
Not just in IIT-Bhubaneswar, this trend has been witnessed in other premier colleges in the city too. Representatives of some of these colleges, however, said that this trend is most visible in institutions like IITs and IIMs. “This year nine students of our college opted out of our placement services. Some of our students had job offers that they got through their own connections. But I have seen many of our alumni, who, after working in a company for a couple of years, start their own enterprises to compete with the world around. Many have flourished in this too,” said Saveeta Mohanty, faculty coordinator, Xavier Institute of Management, Bhubaneswar.
Apart from the IIT-Bhubaneswar, the engineering colleges in the city are witness to this trend as well. On more occasions than one it has been found that students coming from affluent families or students, who manage to garner the requisite fund, take the entrepreneurial route. “We do often hear about students, who opt out of campus placements because they want to start their own business. But most of them come from good financial background and therefore can take the risk. Nevertheless, in our college we have our entrepreneurship cell, which prepares the students for startup businesses,” Debraj Mitra, placement officer, KIIT said.
In colleges like KIIT, where there is an entrepreneurial cell, students often prepare themselves as would-be bosses of their own future business. Upama Ghosh, a BTech student from KIIT said, “I have always wanted to start my own business. During my course in the college, I have met various entrepreneurs, who encouraged us to dare to dream beyond jobs and prosper as an independent professional. I am planning to start my own business after completion of my course here. While I am in college, I try to learn managerial skills through taking part in some college clubs catering to my needs.”