Delhi-NCR based Sharda University, a leading education institution with a focus on inter-disciplinary experiential learning for students from across 80 countries, recently announced strategic collaborations for ‘LaunchPad’. The initiative will focus on ‘Powering Youth Entrepreneurial Dreams’ in the university and across the region. Sharda University has collaborated with Harvard Business School through Harvard Business School (HBS) Online, Amazon Web Services and Digital Vidya in order to provide to boost the entrepreneurial eco-system. All the programmes are accredited by NIESBUD, an autonomous institute under the Ministry of Skill Development and Entrepreneurship, Government of India.

Commenting on the initiative, Prashant Gupta, executive director, Sharda University said, “New fields of studies have been introduced while industry and business people are showing great deal of interest in higher education. The next generation of entrepreneurs is already exploring opportunities of doing business while still at school. We feel proud by initiating our new programme Sharda LaunchPad through which we can provide our students the right environment required for an idea to grow and succeed.”

Professor Suman Sarkar, director, Sharda LaunchPad said, “Sharda LaunchPad is an initiative to nurture and flourish entrepreneurial spirit in the entrepreneurial ecosystem. It serves as a bridge between entrepreneurial experts and the prospective students so that they can learn from their experiences, knowledge and expertise through short-term program, speaker session, industry interface, mentoring and other initiatives. It gives me immense pleasure to say that in a very short span of time, Sharda LaunchPad has helped student entrepreneurs make waves with their start-up plans and convert their idea into a successful business venture.”

During the duration of the programme, apart from the curriculum, mentoring and training students will also benefit from some of the other unique attributes of the programme, such as:

1. Course topics are  taught by visiting entrepreneurs
2. On-going speaker series – eminent people from across the industry, government as well as eminent and seasoned entrepreneurs
3. Workshops and events in collaboration with industry bodies and trade circles
4. Exposure via specific government tie-ups including NIESBUD
5. Co-work on projects by students from similar programmes in other universities in India as well as abroad

The university has also entered into strategic partnerships with industry experts, corporates, entrepreneurial experts, angel investors and start-up mentors for students and early stage start-ups selected for the programmes. The aim of LaunchPad is to promote innovation and R&D to develop solutions using cutting-edge technologies, industry mentorship, expert guidance and incubation.

The spectrum of eight programmes offered under Sharda LaunchPad includes An Insight into Markets for Founders and Innovators, Entrepreneurial Finance, Recognising and shaping opportunities-Customer centric approach, Innovation and Entrepreneurship, From Ideation to Execution- convert your idea into a successful business and Digital Marketing for Entrepreneurs in Collaboration with Digital Vidya. While the in-house programmes are accredited by NIESBUD, the course offered by Harvard Business Online is specially curated and mentored by William A. Sahlman, distinguished faculty, Harvard Business School Online.

India’s leading educational institution sited on a 63 acre sprawling campus in Greater Noida, Delhi NCR, Sharda University has established itself as a high-quality education provider with prime focus on holistic learning and imbibing competitive abilities in students.