Kochi: Chief Minister Oommen Chandy on Saturday said the government would take steps to make entrepreneurship a part of the curriculum for BTech students.
“The state government has decided to introduce minors in technology entrepreneurship as part of the BTech programme in line with the practice of universities like Stanford, MIT and Harvard,” he said inaugurating the YES CAN summit organised here by Kerala State Industrial Development Corporation.
“The additional efforts students make to create start-ups will be recognised and will form part of the degree they earn,” Mr Chandy said. “Kerala has said enough ‘no’ to new developments in the past and it is time it said ‘yes,’ ” he added.
He also announced that the government would promote two incubators—the Start-up Village in Kalamassery and Technopark TBI in Thiruvananthapuram-- to world class institutions.
Recalling that Kerala had objected to the introduction of computers in the past, he said it would no more say ‘no’ to things that would benefit the nation.
More than 300 start-up companies have been launched since the first edition of YES last year, he said and added that the state accounts for 14 of the 50 districts in India to go fully digital.
Industries Minister P.K. Kunhalikutty said the state scored first in literacy and later in e-literacy and the challenge now was to go further. He also said the IT department was taking steps to make Kozhikode the next IT destination in the state.
KSIDC managing director Dr M. Beena welcomed the gathering. Excise and Ports Minister K. Babu gave a special address.
The arrival of a remote-controlled aircraft-shaped balloon on the dais immediately after the inaugural session raised the curiosity of the participants, mostly students, at the summit.
