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Entrepreneurship Summit 2016 held at Faculty of Management Studies, Delhi

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Entrepreneurship Summit 2016 conducted by Entrepreneurship Cell, FMS Delhi, presented by Unitus Seed Fund in association with Jaarvis Accelerator kick-started with its flagship event “International Entrepreneurship Challenge” on 13th February 2016. The competition saw an enthusiastic participation from budding entrepreneurs who came to the campus from all over the country to present their business ideas. The panelists comprising of investors as Unitus Seed Fund and Jaarvis Accelerator, VCs and experts gave the finalists a good chance to not just participate in a B-Plan competition but to also pitch for funding to make their idea come alive. The winning team “Bluedrop” proposed the idea of an inexpensive durable water filter that can meet the requirements of rural India sustainably. 

 Responsible Entrepreneur, a Social entrepreneurship competition launched in association with Vihaan, social service cell of FMS, focused on B-Plans that would leave a social impact on society with a financially sustainable model. The finalists in this competition proposed business solutions to ubiquitous issues like sanitation, recycling, etc. Finally, the Frugal Innovators competition challenged entrepreneurs to come up with innovative ideas restricted to a meager budget of Rs. 20,000. Team Peco Labs, which proposed profitable Sugarcane farming, won the Responsible Entrepreneur competition whereas Team Nimori which proposed a Smart Pillbox was declared winner of Frugal Innovators. Start-up fair was also hosted as part of the E-Summit where start-ups setup stalls and were given an opportunity to showcase their ideas to students and investors and take feedback on the same.

Day Two of E-Summit 2016 began with Entrepreneurship Conference –a panel discussion moderated by FMS faculty Prof. Vivek Suneja on the topic, ’Demystifying Aggregation based Start-ups’. The audience comprising of students and entrepreneurs witnessed eminent personalities like Mr. Brett Stevens (VP, Jaarvis Accelerator), Mr. Vijay Singh (CEO AraamShop), Mr Anirudh Kumar (Investment Professional, Matrix Partners) and Mr. Angad Rikhy (VC, Unitus Seed Fund). The conference was followed by lunch sponsored by Bueno, a gourmet food start-up by FMS alumnus Mr. Rohan Arora.

The event then moved on to “NewAge Innovators”, a talk series where founders like Mr. Vinay Kumar (Arya), Mr. Rohan Arora (Bueno) Mr. Ankit Singh (MyPoolin) and Mr. Rahul Prasad (Juvenile Care) shared their entrepreneurial journeys and the struggle along the unexplored path.  

“Acquire customers cheaply, give them magic moments and repeat those moments: it’s a linear process” said Ankit Singh founder MyPoolin. MyPoolin recently won the $250,000 Qualcomm Ventures’ QPrize. The talks reflected the deep insights that the start-up founders had gained through their experience- “The product is the message,” the emphasis was resonated by Vinay Kumar as he explained Artificial Intelligence; “AI is more than Google now and Siri. It is your doctor, financial advisor and more.” The day concluded with the FMS Entrepreneur Award presented by The FMS Forum to joint winners Mr.Ankit Singh, Co-Founder, Mypoolin and the team of Mr Somak Ghosh and Ms. Aditi Gupta, co-founders, Contrarian Capital. The FMS Entrepreneur award was conceived under the guidance of  Mr. Sunder Hemrajani, former MD, Times Innovative Media Ltd., former President-Distribution, Reliance Capital .The jury comprising of Mr. Sandip Das, Chairman & Parner Maitreyi Capital, former CEO Hutchisson Essar, former CEO Reliance Jio and Prof. Vivek Suneja,former  Dean(Planning) of Delhi University and teaches Strategy at FMS, appreciated the immense entrepreneurial capabilities that students of Faculty of Management Studies have showcased through their business ventures and encouraged the audience to take up entrepreneurial activities in the conducive start-up environment of today.

E-Summit 2016 was made possible under the guidance of Dean, FMS-Delhi, Mr. M.L.Singhla and Placement advisor Ms. Kavita Singh.

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DU Annual Fest Season

LSR’s Annual Fest Tarang 2016 culminates with a performance by Agnee

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The final day of Lady Shri Ram College for Women’s Tarang 2016 had multiple events lined up all day. While most events culminated before dusk, the Western Dance Competition, Baila continued till early evening. This was one of the most awaited events of the entire fest, a fact which was evident by the long queues that waited for entrance into the auditorium.

Daila was judged by Mr. Rohit Raj of the Brooklyn Academy and Ms. Blossom D’Souza who trained at Dance Works Performing Arts Academy. A total number of 9 teams participated. The audience was enthralled with the multiple energy-fused performances that took over the stage. Every performance enraptured the judges and spectators alike.

Harshita, of Misba, the Western Dance Society of Guru Gobind Singh College of Commerce said, “Our practices were really hectic and we had a very long day today. Despite all odds, our performance went great. We love to perform in LSR and the energy of the audience inspires us to perform well.”

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It was vivid that the judges agreed with them since Misba bagged the first position in the event followed by Sri Aurobindo  College and Sri Venkateswara College in the second and third position.

Following the western dance event was the Star Night where the band Agnee performed. The popularity of Agnee and the exhilaration of their fans was evident from the fact that the audience for the Star Night was the highest of all three days. And the band did not disappoint their fans and sang all of their favourite numbers including Yaariyan, Aahatein and Saaware.

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A performance that was equally mesmerizing and enthralling, the three day extravaganza Tarang 2016 ended on a musical note and with zeal and happiness dripping from the faces of union members and faculty of the college!

 

For details of the entire fest, refer to:

Day 1: https://dubeat.com/2016/02/day-1-of-tarang-16-ends-with-east-india-comedy/Day 2, Morning: https://dubeat.com/2016/02/day-2-at-lsr-tarang-2016/
Day 2, Evening: https://dubeat.com/2016/02/day-2-at-tarang-16-winds-up-with-edm-night/
Day 3, Morning: https://dubeat.com/2016/02/kmc-and-hrc-start-day-3-of-tarang-2016-with-a-win/

 

Team Tarang: Day 3
Arushi Pathak
Sudisha Misra
Kartikeya Bhatotia
Tarushi Verma
Mridul Kumar
Alex Arthur

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DU Annual Fest Season

KMC and HRC start day 3 of Tarang 2016 with a win

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Day 3 of LSR Tarang 2016 started off on 7th February with a non competitive event, Nukkad Natak. A total of 8 teams participated. The jury consisted of Pallav Kumar, Director of Manthan, and Sonalini Kumar, Professor of Political Science.

Pitch Please, the Acapella competition opened with Ashoka University’s performance. The judges included the members of ‘Nouveau’ – Sherry Matthews, Ritwik De, and Subatra Kamat, who work together in a music initiative called ‘Nouveau’. The last judge was Apoorva Gandhi. 15 teams participated in the competition, and it was hosted by the Western Music Society. The winners of the competition were Kirori Mal College with Sri Venkateswara College and Shaheed Sukhdev College of Business Studies as runners up.

The judges said that every team had their unique style, and performed well. Special mention was given to teams from Amity University, DTU, and Delhi College of Arts and Commerce.

Along with Pitch Please, the fashion show competition Anarchia- Breaking Stereotypes took place. The competition witnessed a participation of 7 teams, with the winner being Hans Raj College. The judges of the competition were Kamla Bhasin, Vikramaditya, an LGTB rights activist and Ms. Ishita from the Department of Sociology, LSR.

Sri Venkateswara Western Music Tarang 2016
Team from Sri Venkateswara College performs at Pitch Please

There were many other events like TV Show Quiz, Turncoat, and Elocution. The Indian Music Society also hosted a duel competition called Jugal Gaayan.

The college now gears up for the star night featuring the music band Agnee.

 

 

Arushi Pathak

Kartikeya Bhatotia

Sudisha Misra

Alex Arthur

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DUB Speak

The journey of an introvert

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Right from our high school days, we conjure up an image of the perfect college life. We steal some snippets from films and novels, some we borrow from the stories of our parents’ carefree youth. Blending it all up with the colors of our personal ambitions on a palette, we paint a grandiose portrait on our mental canvas. With each brush stroke, we aspire to become a wholly different person. The first day of college becomes a carnival of quirky earrings, unique haircuts and eccentric shoes. After all, who didn’t begin in the hopes of turning over a new leaf…

I was no different. Ready to pursue literature, I came hauling an over sized bag comprising a register, a few pens, all of my heavy dreams and a few apprehensions to college. I was warmly welcomed into Venky’s campus with a red tilak, placed on my forehead, plus a toffee for good luck. College had officially begun.

But the real question was, would I ever fit in? And how? Was my life merely going to be sandwiched between prose and poetry?

Two weeks had passed by and everything was evolving. Everything except me, that is. I struggled with being an introvert. I could see a matrix of friendships growing and expanding, where there had been none before. And it was expanding fast. People who had never even spent a minute in each others’ company before, had begun to greet with hugs in the hallways. It was as if everybody had known everybody for years.

Meanwhile, I waited alone awkwardly in a corner for the fifteen minutes before class began. In my own batch, I had barely talked to two people (that too only to inquire about the timetable). The one girl I’d genuinely bonded with over the span of ten days, left Venky to join a different college altogether. And with her, my only string of familiarity wound to this college’s gates snapped.  

I wasn’t just quiet. My silence had, apparently, completely engulfed and shattered everything I had hoped college life would be. The worst part was that I felt trapped-thinking it was all my fault, yet being unable to do anything about it.

This was how I felt up until two months ago. But come second semester, my perspective has taken a three-sixty degree turn. I have managed to make some lasting relationships outside the sphere of my comfort zone. I might be quiet, but my friends are capable of the most boisterous racket. The classroom has expanded my horizons and stretched my limits, like a rubber band which refuses to snap back on itself. There are contradictions everywhere, but there are also the wonderful opportunities to explore one’s self.  

How did my perspective change?

Maybe because this is how college works after all, forcing you to look within yourself. You must discover the front that you want to present before the world, all on your own. I realized that some of the happiest people secretly cower under the shadow of gloom. Those who pretend to enjoy popularity, secretly reach out for solitude. In many ways, I haven’t changed much. In the masquerade of pretenses, I’m still the introvert that I used to be. But I wear it like a badge of honor instead.       

 Acceptance took its time, but it did finally come through, like a rainbow at the end of heavy rainfall. And looking back at the tremendous changes that a mere three months’ journey has brought about, I can’t wait for the next two years. I know that college can accommodate all kinds of personalities-introverts too.

 

Guest post by Deepannita Misra

[email protected]

 

Feature Image credits: introvertspring.com

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DUB Speak

Competition, a threat to learning

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The sense of competition is a poison instilled in our minds so fiercely that we seem to lose touch with the concept of analysing our personal progress. Ever since we started working hard for achieving anything, be it grades, prizes or anything, we are constantly reminded of how much someone else is getting as compared to us. When I was a kid, I first had my personal objection on the column of “highest marks obtained” in our report cards. The only question that kept nagging was why and how can I compare my improvement by a standard set up by someone else? We are always told to score the best, do our best. What we seem to overlook is the very sense of our honest hard work and the result that presents us our calibre.

 

Every semester, the same story does it rounds. We give our exams and wait for the results and then as soon as we get them, the first thing everyone looks up for is the highest marks scored and by whom. I wonder why people can not compare their progress by what they got in the previous semester. Every time, it is the same old thing. You do your best, get the result and then compare it with others and insult yourself for being yourself. In this world of competitions, it is suffocating to be happy and satisfied with what you get. It’s not only our parents or teachers who are concerned with the highest or lowest, but even us. It’s a mandatory ritual that is followed. Those who scored less are bashed up and insulted. Sadly no one ever bothers to even scrutinize the insides but just the papers. Meanwhile the ones who really do score well get a chance to feed their ego.

 

It is said to not compare, for if you do, you are only insulting yourself. But there comes a point when you feel insulted and pathetic when over your batch group people start discussing someone else’s result; the one that scored the highest last time and how it has deteriorated this time. It’s derogatory especially when that someone else is a part of the group. It is not only rude and stupid but indeed a pathetic act. Comparisons and competitions have the ability of making a person feel dissatisfied and incapable of everything they could do or have done. Due to this constant reminder of competition and the ever lasting impression of beating others, most of us have assumed education as a system of mugging up and pouring it out on sheets than actual learning and understanding. Our generation is so heavily influenced by the standards others have set up for them that they overlook their personal development and start rushing for the undesirable. Most of the students fall prey to acts of dishonesty and cheating. Carrying chits or looking up to your partner for answers is the very evidence of how much we have lost the correct sense of education. Indeed, competition and the want of being the highest scorer are blunting the edge of learning. Marks only present to you what you could do in three hours. Life and educations is not limited to three hours.

 

From primary school to the life in college, this poison seems to be an inevitable enemy to me. This idea of highest scorer and being a topper seems absurd to me. It’s hard to find people who actually learn and understand. This poison constantly controls and limits the growth, development and progress of a person. We all have heavily compromised on our broad scope of growth just to focus on reaching the column of “highest marks scored”. Every student these days need to understand the importance of improvement, personal growth, and development. Marks have narrowed down our capabilities and the broad frame of possibilities. This needs to be replaced and understood. Marks are a way of analysing a person’s personal growth and not a race to be won or lost.

 

Guest post by Afeefa Nishaat

[email protected]

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Bazinga

Bazinga: University introduces cut-offs to attend fests

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In a shocking turn of events, the University of Delhi (DU) has issued orders for all the students scoring less than 45% marks in the last semester examination to be banned from all the cultural activities in the University including, college fest participation. All these students would not be allowed to attend any college fest this semester and would instead have compulsory tutorial classes from 6 pm-9pm, everyday. Every student would also be provided with a cab service, if required.

“Students with less than 45% marks need to concentrate on their academics, but the fest season with all its distractions would only prove fatal for such low-scoring students and further worsen their academic result. So in an effort to improve their result, the varsity has started with these extra tutorial classes,” said a senior professor, Delhi University.

The official notification has reached all the college departments and a cab service provider has also been hired. These classes would start after Republic Day and anyone failing to attend them would be terminated. Moreover, the college fest entry passes would only be issued after the verification of result of the students, student with less than 45% marks would not be issued the entry pass.

In a bid to improve students’ academic result, the varsity’s latest effort comes as a shock for a lot of students and fest enthusiasts. Student Unions of all the colleges have called up an emergency meeting. According to sources, a lot of protesting and marches are on the nearby horizon against varsity’s new notification.

Featured Image credits- du.ac.in

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Campus Central

Day 1 at Taarunya '16, Zakir Husain Delhi College

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On National Youth Day, 12th January 2016, The National Service Scheme (NSS) unit of Zakir Husain Delhi College, University of Delhi commenced its two day youth convention ‘Taarunya’16’. The day also marks the birth anniversary of Swami Vivekananda who is known for being a torch bearer of Indian values and practices; which formed the central theme of the convention. Upon commencement, a brief documentary about the NSS and Zakir Husain Delhi College was played to enlighten the audience in every aspect. On first day itself, the convention secured enthusiastic student participation from various colleges across Delhi. The presence of chief guests Meenakshi Lekhi (Hon’ble Member of Parliament) and Swami Shantatmananda (Secretary of RamaKrishna Mission) proved pivotal for the promulgation of Taarunya. [caption id="attachment_37974" align="aligncenter" width="730"]Ms. Meenakshi Lekhi Ms. Meenakshi Lekhi[/caption] The first session on day one comprised of welcome addresses by Mr. Mukesh Jain (NSS Program Officer) and Dr. R. Prabhakar Rao (Principal). Meenakshi Lekhi stressed on the importance of environment sustainability and cleanliness for the progress of our nation. Swami Shantatmananda counselled the students to wisely choose a role model as a base for their future and further implored the students to maintain a “never give up” approach to their every endeavor.  The last session, being a technical session, comprised of talks by four prominent speakers from various fields –

  • Prof. Sushma Yadav, Chairman of Indian Institute of Public Adminstration
  • Dronacharya Bhupender Dhawan, National Coach for Bodybuilding and Powerlifting
  • Dr. Devesh Vijay, Associate Professor, Department of History, Zakir Husain Delhi College
  • Dr. Shubnum Singh, CEO of Max Institute of Health Education and Research
The speakers shared their experiences and imparted a great deal of knowledge which was both inspiring and motivational. The first day of the event came to an end by extending a vote of thanks to all speakers who were honored with a mementos. After witnessing a massive footfall and support on first day, expected participation on second day has augmented for sure.   For more information: www.facebook.com/Taarunya16]]>

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Sex Amma

Sex Amma: How can I get my girlfriend to be intimate with me more often?

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Ques: Amma, how can I possibly get my girlfriend to be intimate with me more often? I try and try but she doesn’t seem to want it as much as I do!

Ans. My succulent Adai, you can’t just simple ‘get’ someone to give you what you want, much less your lady love.

It is very common among dosas and vadas to have different attitudes when it comes to our sex drive. This does not mean that she doesn’t enjoy ‘it’ as much as you do, instead, she might just need it less often! The lady macchis like to be warmed up into the mood for dosa making and that is the trick to success. Flirting and dirty talk can take you a long way, top it with abundant foreplay, and she will be drawn to you, desiring for more.

Amma cannot emphasise enough on the importance of addressing her needs as well as yours. It is a two way street, and you both need to be on the same page in order to make it work, remembering that communication is the key.

More importantly, you can’t coerce or guilt-trip her into ‘doing it’ because not only will it make her unwilling but will also make things extremely unpleasant between the two of you. This is why you need to warm up your idlis just right, before you dip them into the hot Sambhar you both make together. *winks*

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Bazinga

Bazinga: DU to ban skirts for girls sighting cold days ahead

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A university considered liberal when it comes to choice of attire, DU has now decided to pass a new notification that will ban skirts for girls early next semester. The reason for the same (according to our sources) is being sighted as the ‘cold days ahead’. DU, which has been in surprisingly close touch with the MET department these days, is closely looking at the temperature markings for the coming days and has decided that it is too cold for female students to wear skirts.

The decision came after an application was filed and submitted to the VC’s office by Professor Magan Daaruwala from the department of ancient studies. In the application, professor Daaruwala wrote, “Every year I see girls shivering in the winter while wearing skirts and my sympathy towards them is what has lead me to write this letter”, because apparently (as Mr. Magan thinks) the need to be fashionable overpowers the need to stay warm in today’s generation.

The notification, which came out yesterday evening has sent chills across the student community in DU. When we asked for reactions, Ms. Ghevar Mithai, who is currently pursuing Political Science hons. From JMC vented out her rue over the decision. “Who is the university to decide what we decide to wear or not; never expected such a notification” she said in a heated interview session with our correspondent. On anonymity, another girl from Hindu college told us how inappropriate it would be to ban skirts and how this will only lead to banning the same in summers as well.

Right wing activists on the other hand have welcomed the decision and are fully supporting it. “Wearing skirts is against bhartiya sanskriti and there should be a total ban on them”, one of the activists told us. Ms. Sadabahaar Khosla, a teacher from Laxmibai College who is among those known for having leftist views counterattacked the right wing organisations and stated that these organisations are responsible for sending our society back to medieval times. Among this debate, most students and teachers seemed to have forgotten the original reason for which the notification was issued which is not to attack our liberalism but simply to protect girls from the cold days ahead.

 

Disclaimer: Trust Bazinga, only if you will!

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Arts & Culture

Vayam performs ‘Ek Rishte Ki Maut’ at Akshara Theatre

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Vayam, the performing arts society, presented their play, ‘Ek Rishte ki Maut’ on 24th December 2015 at Akshara Theatre.

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The play is about the ‘never-ending fight for true love’, a philsophy which many of us fail to follow. The story beautifully portrays how giving-up on your soulmate can be the worst decision of your life.

The play starts with a couple filing for divorce and soon enters into a flashback of their happy times together as a married couple – sweet memories of how they used to care for each other and the dream of doing things they used to love and of the window where they both used to sit together during the rainy season and enjoy coffee together. After a series of events and realisation of how life was much better when they were together, they concluded it’s worth it to give their marriage another chance and to fight for something they never actually wanted to give-up.

The play is a masterpiece as far as direction goes. Very well crafted scenes are blended with apt use of stage set-ups. The director understood each actor’s strength and utilised it at the right places to bring out impactful performances.

It was the acting -the display of emotions – that stole the show. The timing of different scenes, lighting and the background score which kept the audience into the play. You know the characters are embedded so deep in the actor’s skin when you see the audience in tears.

By Prateek Singh for DU Beat

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