The Tata Group and NEN launch the Second Season of
´Tata First Dot powered by NEN‘
- 2nd edition of Tata First Dot powered by NEN, a unique recognition and mentoring platform for student start-ups launched
- Regional workshops to be conducted pan-India between October 6 and November 3, 2012 in 15 cities across the country 5 new cities added this year
Jaipur: Taking forward its commitment to innovation and entrepreneurship to India's next generation of leaders, the Tata Group today announced the second edition of Tata First Dot powered by NEN, India's definitive platform for student entrepreneurship, supporting and accelerating high-potential entrepreneurship across the country. Adding 5 new cities to the initiative Trivandrum, Chandigarh, Ahmedabad, Lucknow and Bhubaneswar, Tata First Dot will travel across a total of 15 cities this year.
Announcing the initiative, Mr. Atul Agrawal, Vice President, Corporate Affairs, Tata Services, said, “We are proud to announce the second phase of the Tata First Dot and delighted to be associated with young promising business minds in today‘s India. The Tata Group, known for supporting innovative leadership endeavors is pleased to promote the spirit of entrepreneurship amongst the youth through this initiative.â€
Mr. K Srikrishna, Executive Director of National Entrepreneurship Network (NEN), said, "As seen by the success of last year's program, our partnership with TATA has brought student entrepreneurs centre stage. We continue to build on the past success with an enhanced program of support including workshops across more cities, for a longer period culminating in the January conference and showcase. We are looking forward to mentoring, supporting and showcasing even more student start-ups."
Regional Workshops for the Tata First Dot 2012 will commence on October 6, 2012 from 4 cities Mumbai, Chennai, Hyderabad and Indore and then move to other cities including Bangalore, Pune, Jaipur, Coimbatore, Trivandrum, Chandigarh, Ahmedabad, Lucknow, Delhi, Kolkata and Bhubaneswar. These workshops are designed to help student entrepreneurs refine their business models, connect with peers, and interact with experts.
Nominations for the second component of the program - the Tata First Dot National Competition for best Student Start-ups will open on October 6, 2012. Five winners will be selected by an eminent panel of business leaders, investors and entrepreneurs. Contestants will also participate in the online voting-based student competition, the Tata First Dot People‘s Choice Competition. All validated start-ups will have information posted online, and everyone will be invited to vote for their favourite start-ups. The five contestants with the maximum validated votes will be declared People‘s Choice winners.
Winners of the competitions will be felicitated during the 2 day - Tata First Dot Conference to be held in Chennai on 20th & 21st January. The conference will feature interactive sessions with entrepreneurs while also including opportunities to network and have discussions with business leaders, 1:1 mentoring sessions, an exhibition of the winning start-ups and simulation games.
Tata First Dot 2011 achieved a benchmark when it received a diverse set of entries from start-ups that specialize in hand decorated clothing to IT and mobile services, from manufacturing to event management. 2012 promises to witness many more exciting and enterprising student start-ups from across cities, student groups and academic specializations.
For further Information, please contact:
Atul Malikram
09827092823