The fifth Business Skills Development Programme (BDSP) was inaugurated at the Dayananda Sagar College of Engineering for the industrial engineering and management (IEM) students.
Meant for the students of third and fourth years, BDSP imparts the necessary skills to engineering students for pursuing an entrepreneurship career after finishing their degrees. The programme was inaugurated at the CD Sagar Auditorium of the college.
A month-long course, BDSP comprises interactive lecture sessions from industry experts, academia and professional institutions. It engages students in various activities and games to equip them with skills on all the functional areas of business enterprise like production, finance, HR and marketing.
Exercises pertaining to achievement motivation, identification of investment opportunities and information on supporting institutions are also provided. The course also involves industrial visits to small scale industries so that students can get a glimpse of the practical life of entrepreneurs and know about their success stories.
The IEM department had partnered with Micro Small & Medium Industries Development Institute (MSME-DI), Indian Government, to conduct the programme.
The function was presided over by the principal of DSCE Dr Nethaji Ganesan and DSI vice-president R Thyagaraja, who advised the students to make the best use of these opportunities for a good career.
The head of IEM, H Ramakrishna welcomed the gathering and Gopinatha Rao, the assistant director of MSME, gave an overview of the programme.
Vasantha Kumara, a professor of IEM, said, “Apart from placements, there should always be other options for students. Initially they find the job fascinating but after a few years, they realise they want to do something else. So because of BDSP, students have the option of joining their family business or start a new business of their own.”
Former students of this programme gave an excellent feedback on the benefits of this programme.
Said Anand Bhate, a student, “I had pursued this programme last year and it was very interesting. It helped me learn the practical sense of business management and also gave me an insight to the entrepreneurship world. We got a chance to interact with CEOs, directors of companies and learn from their life experiences. It helped us all evolve in this field. Also, it helped me in my MBA admissions as the certificate is of great value.” He added, “The college conducts this course in a very organised manner.”
Suhaeb Pasha, who is currently pursuing the course, said, “I come from a business-oriented background. I have always had a passion towards the practical side of business. The programme gives us the opportunity to be more experienced in entrepreneurship and development of business. It provides a hands-on experience and the college is supportive towards the programme. The lecturers are CEOs of companies and we get practical education.”