Ahmedabad, 27th June 2022: The Centre for Sustainability, Anant National University, is inviting entrepreneurs for their one-year, full-time Entrepreneurs in Residence (EiR) programme. AnantU’s EiR programme is envisioned to help chosen entrepreneurs with either a well-fleshed out business idea or an existing business in the field of sustainability, affordable housing, building construction, real estate, climate change, design and prop-tech. The entrepreneurs will have the unique opportunity to leverage AnantU’s physical infrastructure in its Ahmedabad based campus, expertise and partnerships to scale up their business.
The enterprises chosen in the first cohort of AnantU’s EIR programme were:
- Angirus provides eco-friendly and sustainable technology to make bricks and paver blocks that are damp-proof and lightweight
- Favo Robotics aims to provide affordable collaborative robots that make construction automation accessible, increase productivity, improve the quality of work, and reduce the cost of construction
- Papaya aims at finding concrete solutions to improve the menstrual experience of all women
Under the EiR programme, Anant National University facilitates the development of participating companies, right from the stage of being a simple idea which would evolve into successful fully-functioning start-ups. For the current cohort, AnantU has provided complete guidance and support in areas of product building, finding the right resources, funding, hiring teams, business expertise and technological support. AnantU has also extended its campus space and physical infrastructures such as the state-of-the-art Makerspace, library, working spaces, and wide-ranging industry knowledge by the pool of faculty, researchers, and senior university students to these three companies. One vital benefit that the participants of the ERP programme can reap is that AnantU provides them with the support of interns. Participants can hire some of AnantU’s top students to work as interns in their start-up for 100 hours.
As a result of this unique programme, the startup Papaya is now at the stage of testing period underwear and biodegradable pads. Enrolled with AnantU’s EiR programme, Favo Robotics improved their ability and are soon to host open house sessions for various private and government professionals across the construction industry to introduce their in-house construction automation technology. Angirus have been able to improve the technology used for production processes by leveraging expert advice from AnantU.
Speaking about the EiR programme, Dr Anunaya Chaubey, Provost AnantU, said, “The EIR program is designed to foster innovation in the build environment. The program assists young entrepreneurs in bringing their ideas to life through its comprehensive expertise of the field, academic resources,
industry mentors, and collaborations. It will also enrich the entrepreneurial culture on campus and provide chances for students to witness startups up and close.”
The Anant Centre for Sustainability is a Think-Teach-Do tank that focuses on affordable housing, indigenous models of circular economy and building sustainable education campuses in India. The Centre publishes research reports, releases multimedia products and delivers relevant courses and projects related to sustainability.
Link to the website: https://anu.edu.in/programme/entrepreneurs-in-residence-eir/
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About Anant National University
Anant National University has been a pioneer in sustainability and technology education since its inception, offering courses such as Bachelor of Design, Bachelor of Architecture, Master of Design and Master of Architecture. Since 2020, AnantU has been offering the much-coveted Anant Fellowship for Climate Action, a unique one-year immersive global programme for climate change solutionaries. The Fellowship is a member of MIT Solve and is aimed at creating a community of climate change trailblazers who collaborate and cross-pollinate each other’s work with ideas and expertise from across sectors, regions and generations. Using design thinking, all programmes at AnantU provide students with the opportunity to learn and contribute to sustainable solutions. The university’s extensive Maker Space is equipped with tools including a hi-tech digital manufacturing laboratory and electronics workbench.
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