Entrepreneurship Academy

JSS Welcomes Youngpreneurs Galore!

noreply@blogger.com (Entrepreneurship Academy) — Fri, 29 Apr 2011 09:04:00 +0000

On 22 April 2011, JSS DVH-IMSR held its National Level Business Plan Competition: Youngpreneurs Galore 2011. The event was held in the D.C.S.E. auditorium and the Deshpande Foundation sponsored the Rs. 50,000 in prize money. The day began with an Inauguration Ceremony that featured Chief Guest Sri. Madhusudan Kocha, Managing Director of Capital Control Pvt. Ltd., Dr. N. Vajrakumar, Honourable Secretary of JSS Dharwad, and Dr. M.S. Subhas, Dean and Director of the Kousali Institute of Management Studies.

The organizers at JSS developed a unique concept that made this competition stand out: business plans were judged in stages that mimicked the “real-world” (no Powerpoint allowed!). The judges for the competition were: Dr. Basavraj Girennavar, Managing Director of RICO Winery and Biotech Pvt. Ltd., Sri. Kamalakar Deshpande, Assistant General Manager of KSFC, Belgaum, and EA’s Genny King.

Participants had no idea what to expect from the competition. They were given the details about each round only 30 minutes before they began! Just like an aspiring entrepreneur might have only the attention of an investor for a minute or two, the first stage of the competition was an elevator pitch. Two members from each team had ninety seconds to pitch their business to the judges.

Having gotten the attention of the “investors”, teams then had five minutes in the second round to make a longer pitch and answer questions. For this round, teams were given a sheet of paper, sketch pens, and thirty minutes to draw anything they wanted to use in their presentation. Finally, teams had exactly two minutes in the third round to perform a skit that would advertise their business venture. Remember that they had no idea that this challenge awaited them!

After a long day, the judges decided on the three winning teams. In third place and winning Rs. 10,000 was the team from SDM CET Dharwad with their plan for a series of food street stalls that distinguishes itself with its impeccable hygiene. JSS DVH-IMSR came in second place and won Rs. 15,000 for presenting their plan for a device that could be used at public places to detect mobile activity and alert people to turn off their phones. The JSS team included E-Cell members Shashank D.J., Akshata Brahmavar , and Sunita Nikkam! The first place winner received Rs. 25,000 and came from KLE Engineering Belgaum. They presented a plan for a children’s swing-set that would pump water up from a well when in use!

At the end of the day, attendees and participants were loosened up by being treated to an amazing and energetic dance performance by students from JSS. The Valedictory Ceremony followed and featured judges Dr. Girennavar, Sri. Kamalakar Deshpande, and Naveen Jha, Director of DCSE.

EA thanks the hardworking faculty and students of JSS for putting on such an innovative event! We especially appreciate the efforts of E-Cell members, Event Coordinator Dr. Purushottam Bung, and JSS DVH-IMSR President Dr. C.S. Rajagopal.

JSS Youngpreneurs 2011

EA's March Newsletter Now Available

noreply@blogger.com (Entrepreneurship Academy) — Mon, 11 Apr 2011 12:05:00 +0000

A PDF version of our March Newsletter is now available for download. Check it out to learn more about all the classes, activities, and events EA was involved with during a busy and productive month of March!

Click Here for the Newsletter!

JSS E-Cell Takes On 2k Challenge!

noreply@blogger.com (Entrepreneurship Academy) — Fri, 01 Apr 2011 12:32:00 +0000

From March 1st through March 10th, JSS E-Cell members took part in the 2k challenge! This was a chance for students to have a quick, focused experience in starting a micro-venture and be exposed to the challenges of idea generation, marketing, sales, strategy, and teamwork. Each team of students was given a Rs. 2000 loan to use to generate profit over the course of the ten days. Despite busy schedules and the usual stresses of student life, E-Cell members did a remarkable job. Take a look:

"Antaraprerana 2011" IMER holds Seminar & B-Plan Competition

noreply@blogger.com (Entrepreneurship Academy) — Tue, 29 Mar 2011 12:23:00 +0000

On March 26, KLS’s Institute of Management Education & Research (IMER), Belgaum, held its National Level Seminar on Innovation & Entrepreneurship. The seminar was a great success and gave students and guests an opportunity to hear from a range of successful professionals and entrepreneurs.

Inaugurating the event was keynote speaker Dr. Anil Rao, Regional VP of AIMS (Association of Indian Management Schools). The seminar was segmented into three sessions. The first session, on “Design Thinking”, featured Manu Kulkarni, distinguished member of the Prime Minister’s National Commission on Population. The second session had Mr. Suresh Katti, VP Aditya Birla Management, speaking on “Creativity & Innovation.” The final session was with Mr. Suresh Hundre, CEO & MD of Polyhydron Private Limited, who spoke about his company’s innovative approach to “Distribution of Wealth.”

On the previous day, March 25th, the “Antaraprerana 2011” Business Plan Competition was held. Thirteen teams from MBA, BBA, and engineering schools were given 10 minutes to present their business plan proposals. The competition’s theme made it unique: each B-plan had to address a triple bottom line of People, Profit, and Planet. The judges for the competition were EA’s Malcolm Charles and established Belgaum entrepreneurs Swapneel Patnekar and Arvind Kapadia.

In third place and winning Rs. 10,000 was a team from the Jain School of Business, MATS, Belgaum with a business plan for a maize processing unit. Second place and Rs. 15,000 went to a team from IMER (including E-Cell member Prakash Kulkarni!) which presented a plan on energy generation through bagasses. EA Partner JSS Dharwad fielded the first place team with a plan for producing temperature control boxes for those without electricity. JSS’ team included E-Cell members Sharanu H., Pavankumar Deshpande, Nikhil Kandkur, and Prateek Malgi! They took home the grand prize of Rs. 25,000!

The winners of the B-plan competition were announced on Saturday during the seminar’s valedictory function and the prize money was sponsored by the Deshpande Foundation. Chief Guest Naveen Jha, Director of the Deshpande Centre for Social Entrepreneurship, was on hand to speak to the audience about adopting an entrepreneurially mindset and having a passion for taking on new ideas and experiences.

Congratulations to Seminar Convener Dr. Poornima Charantimath and the rest of the faculty and students at IMER for putting on a great event!

IMER Students talk about EA's 2nd Sem Course

noreply@blogger.com (Entrepreneurship Academy) — Thu, 10 Mar 2011 07:33:00 +0000

EA recently ran it's 2nd semester course, 'Developing Core Entrepreneurial Principles', at IMER, Belgaum.

Here is a video featuring Rutuja Mane and Ratika Mirji, both 2nd semester students at IMER, talking about their experience in the course.

"Rattling Minds" at BIMS a Success!

noreply@blogger.com (Entrepreneurship Academy) — Sat, 26 Feb 2011 12:12:00 +0000

On Monday, February 21^st, BIMS E-Cell students held an inter-collegial quiz and business plan competition. The event, called ‘Rattling Minds’, was a great success! The idea for ‘Rattling Minds’ was sparked, in part, by the 2k CHALLENGE, a competition conducted by Entrepreneurship Academy. In this challenge teams of 3-4 students are given Rs. 2000 to invest and turn a profit on in a short period of time.

D.C.S.E. Director Naveen Jha was the chief guest and addressed the attendees about the importance of thinking entrepreneurially. Genny King and Malcolm Charles of Entrepreneurship Academy were the judges for the business plan competition. The competition’s theme was “Art out of Waste” and contained 3 rounds: the first was a brief presentation on each team’s product, the second was an ‘elevator pitch’ delivered to the judges, and the third was a five minute formal presentation. It was great seeing E-Cell members from IMER and GBS do so well at the event.

Ideas ranged from the hydroponic farming of strawberries to a cheap water filtration system. The winning team, from Gogti Institute of Technology, Udyambag, presented a plan to take old, discarded saris and use them to create blankets.

The day concluded with awards for the winners of the quiz and business plan competitions. Mr. Deepak Dhadoti, a Belgaum-based entrepreneur, delivered the valedictory speech.

EA would like to congratulate the Envision E-Cell for a wonderful event. In particular, credit should be given to Kiran Wali and Shabaz T. for managing the business plan competition, Shoaib Syed and Aishwarya D. for managing the quiz, and Moses Carvalho and Sayed Inamdar for acting as event coordinators. Students also had the support of BIMS Director Dr. Anilkumar Garag, Prof. Shreedevi Shintri, and Prof. Prasanna

EA Meets with Northeastern Students

noreply@blogger.com (Entrepreneurship Academy) — Thu, 17 Feb 2011 12:07:00 +0000

On Tuesday February 8^th, EA met with students from Northeastern University. Northeastern is located in Boston, Massachusetts, USA and is known for its innovative programs that send students out into the workplace during their college careers. This is the second year that Northeastern has set a batch to Hubli. These students will be here for six weeks and are working and learning within the Sandbox.

EA’s interaction with the students included an overview of EA’s mission and how it operates. Afterwards, a micro-lab icebreaker activity was conducted that had students swimming and skipping, among other things, around the room. Finally, students from BVB College stopped by to meet their Northeastern counterparts. Both groups participated in a team building exercise in which they had to use their hands to transport water from one bucket to another.

You can read more about the Northeastern student’s experiences in the Sandbox at http://neuindia2011.tumblr.com/.

2011 Development Dialogue Kickoff

noreply@blogger.com (Entrepreneurship Academy) — Wed, 09 Feb 2011 11:54:00 +0000

After the close of the Yuva Summit in the afternoon, the 2011 Development Dialogue began with an inaugural Kickoff.

The event included speeches by Deshpande Foundation Trustees Jaishree and Gururaj “Desh” Deshpande, as well as an overview of Deshpande Foundation activities. In order to showcase their work, organizations like LEAD, Hubli Champions, and the Deshpande Fellowship Program used a range of media and performances from skits to video, music, and dance.

The Entrepreneurship Academy held a “Rocket Toss” competition between students from BVB and Oxford College in order to illustrate the kind of activities and critical thinking that are core parts of EA’s mission. Each team of 3 was asked to make an “initial investment” for the paper needed to make the rockets. This investment was manifested as negative points. Teams were then given 45 seconds to make the rockets. Afterwards, one team member held a plastic pail and another was blindfolded. The third team member guided the blindfolded teammate in throwing the rockets into the pail. In the end, BVB College triumphed.

See video of EA's segment on YouTube: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MhUuc43Dhco&feature=player_embedded

Check out more photos of the 2011 Development Dialogue kickoff:

DD Kickoff Event

Yuva Summit Breakout Panel

noreply@blogger.com (Entrepreneurship Academy) — Tue, 08 Feb 2011 06:59:00 +0000

On January 27th, after the conclusion of the Yuva Summit opening ceremony, faculty and administrators were invited to D.C.S.E.'s seminar hall for a special panel session.

Moderated by D.C.S.E. Director Naveen Jha, the panel included:

Dr. Gururaj “Desh” Deshpande, Founder, Deshpande Foundation

Dr. Ashok Shettar, Principal, BVB College of Engineering

Prof. Ken Zolot, Senior Lecturer, MIT

Prof. Indumati, V.C. Davangere University

Prof. Geetha Bali, V.C. KSWU

Attendees had the opportunity to ask questions and dialogue with the panelists about teaching entrepreneurship. Prof. Ken Zolot was a particularly unique and valuable resource. He is a serial entrepreneur having started several different companies and teaches entrepreneurship at M.I.T.

At the conclusion of the panel, faculty and community members who completed a rigorous training on achievement motivation were presented with awards.

Check out our Picasa album for more photos of this event

Yuva_Post_Panel

The 2011 Yuva Summit

noreply@blogger.com (Entrepreneurship Academy) — Thu, 03 Feb 2011 08:47:00 +0000

On January 27^th 2011, The Deshpande Foundation held the first ever Yuva Summit. Championed by D.C.S.E.’s LEAD & EA programs, the Yuva Summit was a tremendous success.

Rahul Bose, Bollywood Actor, Director, & Social Activist, was the Yuva Summit’s featured speaker. Other special guest speakers were:

Dr. Gururaj “Desh” Deshpande, Founder, Deshpande Foundation

Dr. Ashok Shettar, Principal, BVB College of Engineering

Prof. Ken Zolot, Senior Lecturer, MIT

Ms. Meenu Venkateswaran, CEO, Pravah

Mr. Vishal Talreja, Executive Director, Dream A Dream

After the opening ceremony, the Yuva Summit continued with a special panel session for college administrators and faculty. A LEAD Mela was also held, allowing guests to visit stalls and learn more about the different projects LEAD has helped to bring about. The Yuva Summit concluded in the later afternoon with Rahul Bose once again joining LEAD students and other dignitaries on stage.

Yuva_Summit

Visit www.deshpandefoundation.org and http://dcselead.blogspot.com/ for more coverage of Yuva Summit 2011 and Development Dialogue 2011.

M.I.T.'s Professor Ken Zolot visit with students at D.C.S.E.

noreply@blogger.com (Entrepreneurship Academy) — Wed, 02 Feb 2011 07:27:00 +0000

In advance of the 2011 Yuva Summit and Development Dialogue, Professor Ken Zolot met with students on the D.C.S.E. campus. Professor Zolot is a Senior Lecturer at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (M.I.T.) School of Engineering. He teaches entrepreneurship and is also the founder of M.I.T.’s “Innovation Teams” Initiative.

Prof. Zolot conducted an activity with students to illustrate the important distinction between entrepreneurship and business management. A business manager will start with a goal and then will collect and structure resources in order to achieve that goal. In comparison, an entrepreneur might first consider all of the resources at his/her disposal and then experiment with them to create something undetermined.

We don’t want to give away the specifics of the activity as we plan on using it with more students in the future! It was effective in delivering its message about entrepreneurship and business management and the Entrepreneurship Academy thanks Professor Zolot for his time and experience.

See more photos:

Zolot Fabric Activity

Yuva Summit on 2011

noreply@blogger.com (Entrepreneurship Academy) — Thu, 23 Dec 2010 11:52:00 +0000

The Deshpande Foundation proudly announces Development Dialogue's Yuva Summit on 27 January 2011 with Keynote Speaker Rahul Bose. Bose is renowned for his work as an Indian actor, screenwriter, director, social activist, and rugby union player. His appearances in Hindi films, include Pyaar Ke Side Effects and Jhankaar Beats. Time magazine honored him as "the superstar of Indian arthouse cinema" for his work in parallel cinema films like English, August and Mr. and Mrs. Iyer. Bose is also a well know social activist and the founder of the anti-discrimination NGO, The Foundation.

The Summit will also feature special guest speakers:
Dr. Gururaj "Desh" Deshpande - Founder, Deshpande Foundation
Yuva Summit on 27 January 2011- Principal, BVB College of Engineering, Hubli
Ken Zolot - Professor of Entrepreneurship, MIT, Boston
Meenu Venkateswaran - CEO Pravah, Delhi

Todd Fry - Executive Director, Deshpande Foundation’s Merrimack Valley Sandbox, Boston and others
We warmly invite youth, faculty, and college administrators affiliated with the Deshpande Foundation to join us at 9.00am on the 27th of January to share and hear stories of young leaders' achievements, listen to inspiring keynote speakers, and participate in engaging group discussions with youth leaders from across the world.welcome .

Space is limited, so please be sure to register online by clicking on the link below as soon as possible and at the latest by 5 January 2011.

If you are interested in attending or have queries regarding the Yuva Summit please contact the Yuva Summit team at yuva@dfmail.org. or 0836-2378500.

Application for the Business Plan Development

noreply@blogger.com (Entrepreneurship Academy) — Thu, 23 Dec 2010 06:54:00 +0000

The link below is the application for the business plan development, fill in the details and for us to contact you and know more about your business plan.
Click here to give more details

Winner of the “Cracking the Code” competition 2010

noreply@blogger.com (Entrepreneurship Academy) — Wed, 22 Dec 2010 05:02:00 +0000

Entrepreneurship Academy conducted the final presentation of the “Cracking the Code” competition on 20th December 2010 at DCSE, Hubi.
We would like to extend a special thanks to Xanthine Basnet and David Kando for serving as judges for the competition.
Final 10 presenters were:

Sl.NO	Name	College
1	Maruti Sutar	IMER
2	Rehan R Purohit	IMER
3	Stefan Thompson	IMSR
4	Rajendra C Miregotor	IMSR
5	Shweta V Dhangade	IMSR
6	Chinnamaya Nilekani	IMSR
7	Francis Haranodkara	DFP
8	Sandeep Hegde	DFP
9	Nagraj Savanuur	Oxford
10	Shilpa	DFP

Congratulations to all the top 10 presenters! There Ideas were great and exited us. All participants presented very well in final presentation, but we would like to convey the special congratulations to the following participants:

First prize goes to Mr. Francis Jaqui Haranodkara Fellow Deshpande Fellowship Program. His idea is “Heavenly Headrest: KSRTC Travel Made Easy”

Secound prize goes to Mr. Nagraj Savanuur, BBA student from Oxford college, Hubli. His idea is “Soil &Plastic recycling”

Third Prize goes to both Mr. Sandeep Hegade fellow Deshpande Fellowship Program. His idea is “Dream Connection” and Mr. Stefan Thompson, MBA student from IMSR, Hubli. His idea is “Computer Desk in Schools”

EA thank full to all participants participated in this competition. In future it is coming with lots of competition to cell members, we encourage to participants in all activities.

Conducted a against child labor

noreply@blogger.com (Entrepreneurship Academy) — Mon, 06 Dec 2010 11:53:00 +0000

Entrepreneurship Academy E cell members and course participants conducted a against child labor in Hubli. During the Grassroots innovation course EA students visited Foundation in Hubli. Agastya works to generate for learning in shool children by providing first hand experience with low cost science model.

Participants stared rally from Deshpande Foundation at 10.45am. Rally passed through BVB's main gate, Kadsideshwar Arts college, Vidyanagar police station to Agastya Foundation.
Participants experimented with a wide variety of science models and enjoyed seeing an example of grassroots innovation in their local community.

Course on Grassroots innovation for MBA students

noreply@blogger.com (Entrepreneurship Academy) — Mon, 06 Dec 2010 05:10:00 +0000

Entrepreneurship Academy conducted last course on Grassroots innovation for MBA students in Belgaum on 4 December. Students visited the social enterprise, Mitan, to see a local example of grassroots innovation and its impact on rural communities. Mitan creates livelihood opportunities for rural women in Gokak district. They are producing handicraft products and exporting to other countries. Mr Gopi Krishna, founder of Mitan, provided insightful information about how Mitan combines knowledge of local traditions and handicrafts with business principles to create a social impact.

Students also participated in a session where they learned how they can utilize the Right to Information Act (RTI). Mr. Krishna, the Program Manager of Lead, led a very engaging session and the students were excited that they now understand how RTI could be beneficial to them.
Additionally, students attended interactive sessions on IT skills for aspiring entrepreneurs and innovative resource management. The course concluded with a final question paper to ensure students grasped the critical concepts from the course.

Rally against child labor

noreply@blogger.com (Entrepreneurship Academy) — Sat, 27 Nov 2010 08:43:00 +0000

Course on Innovation and creativity for BBA students

noreply@blogger.com (Entrepreneurship Academy) — Sat, 27 Nov 2010 07:49:00 +0000

Creativity leads to Innovation, innovation leads to entrepreneurship. Entrepreneurship Academy organized two days course on Innovation and Creativity for EA partners. Course has been hosted by Oxford College of management, Hubli.
Course stated on 22nd and concluded on 23rd of November. Fist day started with game called Pully making activity. In this activity participant are asked to create Pully with available resources in the college campus. It was very creative and interesting session for them.
Soon after the activity participant under gone a session called ‘Who am I’. This activity help hem to understand his/her own self and built confidence in all participant.

Completed Grassroots’ Innovation Course for MBA 1sem

noreply@blogger.com (Entrepreneurship Academy) — Sat, 27 Nov 2010 07:32:00 +0000

Entrepreneurship Academy conducted Grassroots’ Innovation Course on 20 November 2010. Objective of this course was to develop the understanding of importance of innovation to solve grassroots problems. Participants were trained in Entrepreneurship motivation, Innovation and creativity, Right to information Act, and IT.

Apart from this other topics were also covered in the course. Like Motivation profile questioners (MPQ) which will help to understand the once motivational style and take action accordingly. Majority of the students liked this session.
Most interesting session for the participant was, inspiring Entrepreneur. In this session founder of Sankalpa Rural Development Sociality ® Mr Sikandar Meeranak, interacted with participant. SRDS provides rain water harvesting solution in rural and urban areas.
SRDS also started the terrace garden service in HUblu-Dharwad. All participants visited the DCSE terrace garden and discussed with Mr Ali, who is maintaining DCSE garden.
Md Akbarkhan Mulla expressed that RTI was his interesting topic in this course and it was very nice session. He had some bad experience with local bureaucrats, but now he can use RTI as tool to get information.
Behavioral block Questioner and problem solving tree session were very interesting. One will give the understanding of inner blocks for innovation and other one help to think innovative solutions, this was expressed by many of the student in their feedback.

“Desh” session for EA

noreply@blogger.com (Entrepreneurship Academy) — Tue, 16 Nov 2010 04:59:00 +0000

Gururaj “Desh” Deshpande is the Chairman of Sparta Group LLC, A123 Systems (AONE), Sycamore Networks (SCMR), Tejas Networks, Sandstone Capital and HiveFire. He was also a founding investor in Airvana, Cimaron, Webdialogs and Relicore.

Prior to co-founding Sycamore Networks, Dr. Deshpande was founder and chairman of Cascade Communications Corp.

Dr. Deshpande serves as a member of the MIT Corporation, and his generous donations have made possible MIT's Deshpande Center for Technological Innovation.

Dr. Deshpande holds a B.Tech. in Electrical Engineering from the Indian Institute of Technology - Madras, an M.E. in Electrical Engineering from the University of New Brunswick in Canada, and Ph.D. in Data Communications from Queens University in Canada.

Dr. Deshpande is a trustee of the Deshpande foundation. He and his wife are involved in several non-profit initiatives that include support for MIT, IIT, TiE, Akshaya Patra Foundation, Public Health Foundation of India and the Social Entrepreneurship Sandbox in India.

DCSE completes 3 part training of trainers series on Achievement Motivation

noreply@blogger.com (Entrepreneurship Academy) — Sat, 13 Nov 2010 10:01:00 +0000

Rita Sengupta of NIESBUD, Delhi returned to Hubli this week to complete the final module of the training of trainers on achievement motivation. 15 dedicated professionals, including EA faculty, Champions, DFP alumni, and DCSE staff, completed the entire 10 day training, which was spread over the course of 6 months. The final module culminated with an intensive look at how to best utilize achievement motivation learning tools, including questionnaires, activities and thematic aperception tests.
Participants who pass an evaluation will be accredited by the Dehspande Foundation for completing the training.

Two days course for MBA 1 semester on ‘Grassroots Innovation’

noreply@blogger.com (Entrepreneurship Academy) — Sat, 13 Nov 2010 05:04:00 +0000

Entrepreneurship Academy has been conducted two days course for MBA 1 semester on ‘Grassroots Innovation’. Course has the objectives of Transform students’ perspective on the world around them by enabling them to identify areas for innovation. Students also engaged themselves in the build their capacity to use problem solving skills to address local issues through innovative solutions.

More then 45 students are participated from IMER and BIMS. IMER hosted the course in there Tilakwadi college campus, Belgaum.

IEMS E cell inauguration

noreply@blogger.com (Entrepreneurship Academy) — Wed, 03 Nov 2010 13:54:00 +0000

IEMS E cell inauguration
Institute for Excellence in Management Studies inaugurated their E cell in the college. IEMS invited Mr Ravindranath Kongoni and Genny King to speak as guest at the event. Dr Prashanth C, Director of IEMS, presided and Anzalna and Dr Shivashankar were present on the dais.
E cell members participated and presented a young entrepreneur’s journey.

noreply@blogger.com (Entrepreneurship Academy) — Wed, 03 Nov 2010 06:42:00 +0000

Practical return on effort impel serial entrepreneurs

Bangalore: 62 percent of serial entrepreneurs see it as a top priority to get a practical return on time or money spent - a value that is viewed as primary by only 38 percent of U.S. adults, says a study by TTI Performance Systems named 'Do You Have What It Takes to Be a Serial Entrepreneur?'

The fact that it is not just small businesses, but startup businesses in particular have long been the engines of job creation, making entrepreneurs crucial drivers in the race to put people back to work, has made it urgent that the strategy for stimulating global economic growth should include reliable ways to identify those individuals who have the characteristics to succeed at building a viable business. And serial entrepreneurs are those who have created more than one successful business which employs others.

http://www.siliconindia.com/shownews

noreply@blogger.com (Entrepreneurship Academy) — Wed, 03 Nov 2010 06:40:00 +0000

Indian change agents: Without degrees
By Aadil Masood, SiliconIndia

Bangalore: 'Rebels' have one thing in common; they don't go by the convention or norms of the society. They tread on path which no one dares to walk along. That's why they are being followed by millions and become the source of inspiration for others. They have the courage to take the risk and make it big not only for themselves but carry nation with them. The leaders are defined by the change they provide, and the leader is the person who challenges the order of society.

Education plays a pivotal role in our life as it hones our abilities and skills which are key factors to succeed in different walks of life. However, a beautiful quote by Rasaq Okoya questions this common belief saying, "I have nothing against education. But at times, education gives people false confidence. It makes people relax, trusting in the power of their certificates rather than in working hard." It seems to hold true for when we talk of great people Indians who made the country proud.

http://www.siliconindia.com/shownews/Indian_change_agents_Without_degrees-nid-73199.html/1/2?utm_source=clicktrack&utm_medium=banner&utm_campaign=mostcommented