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46

Higher Education / Education Redefined

« on: January 04, 2021, 09:55:09 AM »

Topic-Education Redefined
Writer--Prof Ujjwal K Chowdhury
Pro Vice Chancellor of Kolkata-based Adamas University

The pandemic has blended the physical with digital education to suit all. I would like to call it a ‘PhyGital’ model. There are challenges of digital access and entire South Asia needs a major connectivity movement for the same. Education, especially higher education in the university, is set to alter due to the New Education Policy announced by the government.

So what major changes do we expect to redefine higher education? Here is a list being attempted in brief.

1. Breakdown Of Walls

Most universities will be moving towards doing away with hitherto tight compartmentalised education, divided into streams and disciplines, like arts, sciences, commerce, law and engineering. They would bring in the concept of minor specialisation from micro-biology to music to photography. Young learners will have the option to pick a domain as their major, say engineering, and twin it up with a minor specialisation (not just an elective), which can be as diverse as photography or music from the heart, or management to go well with technology learning.

2. PhyGital Way Ahead

Education would now use content creation, content delivery, learners’ engagement and learners’ evaluation. Now this will have proprietary content (mentor’s slideshow, videos, podcasts, notes, info-graphics) coupled with aggregated content from diverse open sources including various Massive Open Online Courses (MOOCs). The open sources can be free MOOCs like Swayam, videos from YouTube and Vimeo, podcasts, slideshare, pdfs of chapters and books, case-studies, animation and info-graphics. The mentor’s job is to aggregate all these diverse but relevant content in advance before discussed online or face-to-face. Delivery of content is done in diverse ways: face to face, digitally in advance, or through platforms. Even evaluation or assessment is changing from merely course-end written examination to a blended approach of multiple evaluations: open-book exams, written analytical and applied exams face to face or from remote, interview, quiz, case-study, verbal presentation, project-completion, prototype making, through which diverse skills and comprehension are evaluated. Every university education will move towards this blended diverse layered approach.

3. Internships And Field Projects

The next big change coming in higher education at the university level is getting internships in government or non-government organisations, MSMEs or large corporate houses, along with live projects with a client, as a compulsory part of the degrees, with credits and scores. Students have to do projects and internships, even if they are in liberal arts, literature, natural sciences, commerce and submit reports to complete their specific semesters.

4. World Is A Big University

The significance of enormous real estates of universities, the exclusivity of your faculty, the challenges of accessing learning resources from ivy league institutes or top class professors will soon be on a steady decline. The online education is allowing access to content and live sessions by top scholars of the world. An MOU between two universities from two continents is now allowing faculty member of one address learners from both the universities. Also, almost all universities are tying up with online education providers like Coursera, Upgrad, Unacademy, and adding another dimension to their usual and traditional teaching-learning pedagogy on campus.

5. One Life, Many Careers

Earlier generations were equipped for one career as a lifetime mission: being an engineer, business manager, doctor, communication professional, designer. Post pandemic, in the new furthermore VUCA world (volatile, uncertain, complex and ambiguous), the need for multiple careers and multi-skilling is on the rise. One has to learn ways and means to self-learn. Hence, the concept of a flipped classroom, where universities are creating components and exposure to ensure learning to learn.

6. Rise Of Skills

Some of the top new-age global corporate majors, like Facebook, Google had already announced they would recruit not by degrees, but by skills-sets, portfolio and competencies. Employers need usable skills and competencies and jobs moving out of the government departments, the trend is getting stronger by the day. Universities are realising that their degree-centricity in operations has a limited shelf-life, and hence focusing more on hands-on competencies based skill-learning.

7. Creativity And Problem-Solving

Since all repetitive work in the new VUCA world shall be taken away by automation and robotics, artificial intelligence and machine learning would easily predict steps or activities in a production chain. Hence, the youth will be expected to solve hitherto unknown or less predicted problems, find creative solutions to questions, develop a new template or model or sample, innovate production process or product usage, manage crises, and do team-work and give leadership to collective initiatives that create wealth and add value in society. All of these need an education, which bans rote learning, gives less premium to merely information or data but nurtures innovative thinking and practice, creativity and problem-solving among the learners. Pedagogy that creates a design-thinking capability in the higher education learners is being increasingly utilised.

8. Outcome-Based Education (OBE)

Quite often we hear about scores, grades, degrees, marks as the primary outcomes of education. Every university program and course now are finalising the learning objectives and outcomes of the specific programs and courses. They are mapping the content of the modules and the projects and assignments all to these objectives and outcomes. Such outcomes are qualitatively and quantitatively first formulated and after the delivery, are being assessed through mentor’s and learners’ feedback and evaluation. It is a very different scenario emerging in higher education through this OBE approach, which goes far beyond merely completing a course, taking a written examination, evaluating and giving a degree or diploma till the recent past.

9. Most Preferred

With automation and AI coming in and repetitive manufacturing or routine service jobs getting mechanised, the domains of life sciences research and development, business models and approaches, and liberal arts-communication skills and careers are becoming the focus of higher education in the universities. The demand in these subjects has gone up more than 23 per cent in 2020 by a recent estimate, while engineering in most places has been hit hard.

10. Must-For-All Masters

All good masters courses, irrespective of the major or minor specializations, are now making soft and life skills as compulsory components of learning to make the learners equipped with better emotional intelligence and communication skills. They are also adding goal-focused career-planning, start-up culture and entrepreneurial skills more so because even those appointed as trainee managers or entry-level officers are expected to own up the tasks given and function with a custodian mind-set.

Collected
Source--https://www.outlookindia.com/outlookmoney/magazine/story/education-redefined-607

47

Department of Innovation & Entrepreneurship / Why a degree in innovation and entrepreneurship can jumpstart your career

« on: December 31, 2020, 11:52:32 AM »

Why chose a degree in Innovation and Entrepreneurship?
You only have to look at the start-up landscape to see that entrepreneurs come from all walks of life – but there are some key personality traits that set entrepreneurs and innovators apart, such as creativity, open-mindedness, self-discipline and confidence.

A degree in Innovation and Entrepreneurship at UOWD helps you to build on those traits, while developing business skills such as commercial acumen, adaptability, leadership, and an ability to innovate and identify gaps in the market.

During your time at UOWD, you will learn how to develop, plan and implement ideas and projects, while acquiring an in-depth business understanding that is relevant in many contexts and sectors. You’ll learn how to not only establish and run your own business, but to also jumpstart your career.

Career opportunities for graduates
It’s not just business owners and start-up prodigies who require entrepreneurial skills. These days, employers in all fields seek graduates who bring that go-get-’em approach to business. And with rapid developments in all industries, being able to think outside the box has never been more sought after.

After completing a Master’s degree in Innovation and Entrepreneurship, you could find yourself in a range of roles, such as management consulting, ICT, marketing and advertising, media, sales or research and development.

Collected
Source--https://whatson.ae/2020/12/uowd-degree-in-innovation-and-entrepreneurship-will-jumpstart-your-career/

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Capital Market/Share Market / পুঁজিবাজার থেকে বের হওয়ার উপায় জানালো বিএসইসি

« on: December 30, 2020, 06:12:46 PM »

পুঁজিবাজারে ওভার দ্য কাউন্টার (ওটিসি) প্লাটফর্মে লেনদেন হওয়া কোম্পানির পুঁজিবাজার থেকে বের হয়ে যাওয়ার উপায় জানিয়ে নির্দেশনা প্রকাশ করেছে নিয়ন্ত্রক সংস্থা বাংলাদেশ সিকিউরিটিজ অ্যান্ড এক্সচেঞ্জ কমিশন (বিএসইসি)। এছাড়া মূল মার্কেটের বাইরে ও অল্টারনেটিভ ট্রেডিং বোর্ডে (এটিবি) কোন কোম্পানি থাকলে, তার জন্যও নির্দেশনা প্রকাশ করা হয়েছে।

মঙ্গলবার (২৯ ডিসেম্বর) বিএসইসির চেয়ারম্যান অধ্যাপক শিবলী রুবাইয়াত-উল-ইসলাম সাক্ষরিত এই নির্দেশনা প্রকাশ করা হয়েছে।

নির্দেশনায় বলায় হয়েছে, ওটিসি প্লাটফর্মের কোম্পানি, মূল মার্কেট থেকে তালিকাচ্যুত কোম্পানি ও এটিবিতে থাকা কোম্পানির শেয়ার কিনে নিয়ে শেয়ারবাজার থেকে চলে যেতে পারবে। তবে ওইসব প্লাটফর্মের সব কোম্পানি চলে যেতে পারবে না।

পুঁজিবাজার থেকে চলে যেতে হলে ওইসব প্লাটফর্মের কোম্পানির কয়েকটি সম্ভাব্য কারণের কথা বলেছে কমিশন। কারণগুলোর মধ্যে রয়েছে- ২ বছরের বেশি সময় বাণিজ্যিক উৎপাদনে না থাকলে, ৩ বছর ধরে লোকসানে থাকলে, পরিশোধিত মূলধনের থেকে পূঞ্জীভূত লোকসান বেশি হলে, টানা ৩ বছর ক্যাশ ডিভিডেন্ড ঘোষণা করতে ব্যর্থ হলে, টানা ২ বছর এজিএম করতে ব্যর্থ হলে, ডেবট সিকিউরিটিজের বিপরীতে টানা ৩ কিস্তি সুদ বা কূপন বা মুনাফা প্রদানে ব্যর্থ হলে এবং ডেবট সিকিউরিটিজের টানা ২ কিস্তি প্রদানে ব্যর্থ হলে।

বিএসইসির ওই নির্দেশনায় পুঁজিবাজার থেকে চলে যাওয়ার জন্য আবেদনের ক্ষেত্রে কি ডকুমেন্টস জমা দিতে হবে, শেয়ার দর নির্ধারণ, স্টক এক্সচেঞ্জের সঙ্গে চুক্তির বিষয়বস্তু, পাবলিকলি ঘোষণার বিষয়বস্তু, শেয়ারহোল্ডারদের অনুমোদনের জন্য এজিএম বা ইজিএম আয়োজন, স্টক এক্সচেঞ্জের এসক্রো ব্যাংক অ্যাকাউন্ট রক্ষনাবেক্ষনের পদ্ধতি, শেয়ার সেটেলমেন্টের প্রক্রিয়া এবং সেটেলমেন্টের পরে স্টক এক্সচেঞ্জ ও আবেদনকারীর কমিশনে বিস্তারিত রিপোর্ট জমা দেওয়ার বিস্তারিত তুলে ধরা হয়েছে।

Collected
Source-- https://www.sharebarta.com/19836/%e0%a6%aa%e0%a7%81%e0%a6%81%e0%a6%9c%e0%a6%bf%e0%a6%ac%e0%a6%be%e0%a6%9c%e0%a6%be%e0%a6%b0-%e0%a6%a5%e0%a7%87%e0%a6%95%e0%a7%87-%e0%a6%ac%e0%a7%87%e0%a6%b0-%e0%a6%b9%e0%a6%93%e0%a7%9f%e0%a6%be/

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Department of Innovation & Entrepreneurship / Serial entrepreneur Bhavin Turakhia shares his business template to starting up

« on: December 27, 2020, 06:03:07 PM »

Bhavin Turakhia, Founder and CEO of Flock, Founder of Radix, and Co-founder and CEO of Zeta, started coding when was just 10 years old and had the entrepreneurship bug since then. With 20+ years of experience in building multiple businesses, he started his first company when he was just 17 years old with his younger brother.

They owned and operated this company for about 16 years and by the time they sold it in 2014 at a $60 million exit, it was the fourth-largest domain registrar hosting company in the world with about 10 million domain names registered by customers from every location in the world.
In conversation with Sanjay Swami, Managing Partner, Prime Venture Partners, during the latest episode of Prime Venture Partners Podcast, a series that helps entrepreneurs grow and build their startups with the powerful insights of the makers and doers of the startup ecosystem, Bhavin shares his template for building SaaS companies.

Bhavin Turakhia, Founder and CEO of Flock, Founder of Radix, and Co-founder and CEO of Zeta [Image Credit: Twitter] The four phases: Planning, discovery, scaling, and steady state Bhavin founded Radix and launched it in 2012, which started off with a small team and an investment of about $25 million. He didn’t stop there. In 2014, Bhavin started Flock, which now comprises two products, and lastly in 2015, he co-founded ZETA. After spending all his life in B2B SaaS, he has come up with his own business template: planning, discovery, scaling, and steady state. Speaking from experience, Bhavin explained, Sign up for our exclusive newsletters. Subscribe to check out our popular newsletters. “The goal of planning is, do I want to enter into this business? Or do I want to build this product? The end outcome or the answer to it is yes, I want to go ahead. Until planning is completed, I will not hire people, except, have a small team of people.” When a business is past the planning stage and is all set to go with the idea, there comes the discovery stage where the crucial decision lies with the entrepreneurs. He asked, “Is the planned hypothesis going to succeed in the market? Do we actually have a traction channel? And do we have a product-market fit?” And after these two stages, the vital questions which need to be addressed are, “If you do have both of those then the scaling stage, the answer is that okay, now, I have a product and a business that makes sense and have a go-to-market strategy. Can I actually scale this? Can I 10x it or 100x it or 1,000x it, basically and what ingredients do I need to get that done? By the time you get to steady-state, the deliverables or and that’s the longest stage I guess, in any company’s history is the deliverable are built the right moats to make sure the business continues to be sustainable, optimise profitability, do succession planning, and bring in the right leadership and ensure that the company can sustain and survive.”
 Three measurables to achieve the product-market fit After reaching the discovery stage in your business, there remains a hypothesis and problem. To get the product-market fit there are three objective measures of product fit which are kind of deliverable formula of Bhavin’s. He explained, “Product-market fit has three objective measures, a high net promoter score, which means people want to use and love my product so much that they will recommend it to other people, a high asymptotic retention curve, so I could get 100 people in at the top of the funnel, and I might lose 60, 70, 80 but are 20 people that remain continue to remain perpetually, they keep using my product 8th week, 16th week, 32nd week, it’s adding enough value because then that 20 will become my honed in persona from the initial persona that I started out. These people find my product so useful, that they actually continue to retain.”

“The third framework that I found really useful is new experimentation, wherein, with that set of customers, ask them a question that if I took this product away from you, would you be very disappointed? Would you be disappointed? Would you not care? And our goal should be to get to a very disappointing score of 40 percent. So out of the people that are using my product on an ongoing basis, 40 percent of them should be extremely disappointed if I took the product away.”

Collected
Source- https://yourstory.com/2020/12/serial-entrepreneur-bhavin-turakhia-business-template

50

Cyber Security / Cyber security To Remain Hot In The New Year

« on: December 27, 2020, 05:44:21 PM »

Despite a pandemic that raged around the globe for the better part of the year, the cybersecurity market retained investor interest in 2020 and many in the sector expect next year to be no different.

“Security is a red hot sector with more and more money pouring into it,” said Andrew Atherton, managing director at Union Square Advisors. Funding numbers remained strong this year, according to Crunchbase data. The cybersecurity sector saw more than $8.1 billion invested to date globally this year and nearly $6.3 billion in the U.S. That compares to $7.4 billion globally and $4.7 billion in the U.S. last year. Large deals in 2020 include Santa Clara, California-based Netskope hauling in $340 million in February; Mountain View, California-based SentinelOne raising $267 million in November; Dallas-based StackPath closing a $216 million Series B in March; and Minnesota-based Arctic Wolf announcing a $200 million raise in October.

Merger and acquisition dealmaking in the cybersecurity sector did take a hit, with values dropping from $28.1 billion in 2019 to $13.8 billion at the end of the third quarter this year, according to San Francisco-based financial advisory firm Momentum Cyber.

Despite the drop in dealmaking, Atherton said he hears from corporate development teams of large companies that they get approached on a daily basis by startups and growing cybersecurity firms interested in strategic dealmaking and partnerships.

Atherton said he expects dealmaking to remain strong in 2021, after it picked up significantly in the second half of the year. More nontraditional buyers could help push the market, he said, pointing to Fastly acquiring Signal Sciences in August for $775 million as an example.

Where may investors and strategics look to in 2021 when analyzing the cybersecurity landscape? Following are subsectors that seem primed to have escalated interest in the new calendar year:

Analysing risk from the top

The recent SolarWinds hack—where Russian attackers penetrated several companies’ and government agencies’ systems through a piece of that company’s server software—is yet again another example of the imperfections of cybersecurity.

“It’s unfortunate,” said Dino Boukouris, founding director of Momentum Cyber. “It’s shocking, but not surprising, The reality is we are all fighting the same fight, but no one is impervious to attacks.”

Matt Kinsella, managing director at Maverick Ventures, said the SolarWinds hack may be an inflection point for the industry to look at how vendors share data.

“Vendors must exchange information so risk is clearer,” he said. “And that process should be streamlined.”

While some get excited about new network security tools and endpoint solutions, large third-party vendors provide the necessary infrastructure of organizations’ defenses. Once the full breath of the SolarWinds attack is understood, vendor risk management and companies that allow for that data exchange could see an uptick in interest.

Securing health

The pandemic caused many people to focus on health, and those in cybersecurity were no different. “These ransomware attacks on hospitals are terrifying,” Kinsella said. “This area wasn’t even a focus a few years ago.” Kinsella said that has slowly changed as attackers have learned to use medical devices themselves that are now connected to networks as virtual backdoors.
Recent years have seen increased interest from buyers looking for IoT security providers, which includes medical device security. Among them was Palo Alto Networks buying Zingbox for $75 million last year, and Armis being acquired by Insight Partners at a valuation of $1.1 billion. Large tech companies like IBM also have grown their health care security divisions, said Kinsella, whose firm invested in New York-based medical device security provider Cylera in 2018.

Nevertheless, investment in the area lags behind other cybersecurity verticals, but a strong 2021 is a possibility. “Right now it’s a decade behind,” Kinsella said, “but I can see interest picking up.”

Kubernetes and containers

The use of containers in building modern applications has grown through recent years, with open-source software platform Kubernetes becoming a popular way to deploy and manage those containers.

“Cloud infrastructure security is hot and Kubernetes and container security is just a natural extension,” Boukouris said. That space already has seen significant dealmaking. Palo Alto Networks bought RedLock for $173 million in 2018 and followed that with its acquisition of Twistlock for $410 million and PureSec for an undisclosed amount last year. The cybersecurity giant used that trio to create its cloud security offering Prisma Cloud. Then in April, Rapid7 bought cloud security posture management company DivvyCloud for approximately $145 million. Venture capital also has rolled in. In September, Mountain View, California-based StackRox raised a $26.5 million round, while in May, Israel-based startup Aqua Security raised $30 million, and Mountain View, California-based Lacework raised a $42 million Series C in the second half of last year. While the space still is developing, Boukouris said he thinks more money will flow into the area because cloud infrastructure is so hot.

Security services

Regardless of what the next big thing is in cybersecurity, it’s guaranteed more tools and complexity will come into the space. That means security services—the unsexy subsector of managing security tools—also will remain interesting to investors.

“There is some great technology out there, but because there’s so much you need someone to manage it,” Boukouris said. “That’s why the space is red hot. There is interest from VC and private equity alike.” Companies like Arctic Wolf, as well as others such as deepwatch and eSentire, which help manage tools and offer security operation center services, continue to attract investor interest as offerings proliferate throughout the sector, Boukouris said. “The more tools get complicated, the better services companies need to manage them,” he added.

Looking ahead

Atherton said he expects cybersecurity as a whole will see high single-digit to low double-digit growth in spend next year, with strategics and investors eyeing bigger slices of the pie. “I don’t think you’ll see much of a slowdown in M&A or investment in the sector,” he said “It remains very hot.”

Collected
Source--https://news.crunchbase.com/news/cybersecurity-to-remain-hot-in-the-new-year/?utm_source=cb_weekend&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=20201226

51

Artificial Intelligence / Venture Investors Turn To AI To Find Deals

« on: December 27, 2020, 05:36:42 PM »

From medicine to retail to the auto industry, there are few industries in tech that have not been changed or disrupted by artificial intelligence.

Now, some of the people investing in those sectors are using AI to figure out where to put their money next. While that may seem like an obvious use of AI and machine learning, it’s been something most VCs have been slow to adopt.

“VCs love to disrupt other spaces using data and networks—except their own,” said Ilya Kirnos, co-founder, managing director and CTO of San Francisco-based venture firm SignalFire.

Investment firms such as SignalFire and EQT Ventures are not just investing in tech companies, but are in their own way tech companies—housing their own proprietary AI platforms to analyze and vet investment opportunities.

AI directs big money

Alastair Mitchell, partner at EQT Ventures, estimates the firm’s AI platform–called Motherbrain–for sourcing portfolio companies has played a role in more than $100 million of the firm’s approximately $900 million total invested since its first fund opened in 2016.

“We placed a big bet on technology to be better investors,” he said.
Motherbrain digests both public data, such as investor and LinkedIn data, app store rankings and funding information, as well as proprietary information to score companies. Mitchell estimates the platform is helping the firm track more than 15 million companies. Stockholm-based EQT Ventures, which describes itself as a hybrid between a startup and a VC firm, plans to use Motherbrain over the next few years to help it find investment opportunities for its second fund, which launched last year. About 75 percent of that $700 million fund is still available for investment, said Mitchell, adding that three of the firm’s top five investments from its 2016 fund were sourced through Motherbrain. The firm, with investments that include Wolt, Handshake and Netlify, also recently promoted Henrik Landgren, who specifically oversees Motherbrain and previously built Spotify’s global analytics team, to partner. While EQT Ventures is a separate set of funds from the private-equity firm EQT, Mitchell said the more traditional investment firm also has used Motherbrain to analyse growth fund opportunities; illustrating that the use of AI is moving beyond just venture.

AI not just to invest

However, AI uses for firms stretch beyond just investing. SignalFire looks at four stages of successful investing: sourcing, diligence, placing the investment, and adding value to that company once it is in the portfolio, Kirnos said.

SignalFire, which usually invests in seed or early-growth rounds, uses its AI platform in all four phases.

“It has differentiated us,” said Kirnos, who was a software engineer at Google before co-founding SignalFire.

While SignalFire uses AI to help source and do its diligence before investing in companies, the company also uses its proprietary platform to help its portfolio companies grow by analyzing and researching their markets, recruiting talent and creating business strategies. The firm uses its platform to track more than 2 million data sources and half a trillion data to help tell a company everything from how to differentiate itself to how to price its product.

Kirnos said he also looks at his firm as a tech startup, one that has used AI to now invest in nearly 100 companies, including the likes of Grammarly and Ro, formerly Roman Health.

“We have companies in our portfolio that could be public companies,” he said.

COVID and the digital transformation of investing
Nearly every tech executive and investor talks of how the COVID-19 pandemic has caused a “digital transformation” in all sectors and areas of work.

That may apply to investing too, Kirnos said.

“Companies are remote now with COVID,” he said “The stuff you track is more widely dispersed.”

Kirnos said the days of hiring a graduate from Stanford University to go out to talk to people about the next big thing in tech are at least temporarily paused due to the pandemic.

“You have to use data, you have to use systems,” Kirnos said.

With SignalFire having about $1 billion under management and EQT Ventures investing from its second $700 million fund, other investors may eye the returns on that money to see if AI is something they should not just invest in, but also use.

“No doubt as we are successful, there will be imitation,” Kirnos said.

Collected
Source-- https://news.crunchbase.com/news/venture-investors-ai-deal-sourcing/?utm_source=cb_weekend&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=20201226

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Data Science / Use of data analytics making strategic investment decisions across geographies

« on: December 26, 2020, 05:03:44 PM »

How data analytics helps in making strategic investment decisions across geographies

Silicon Valley based global early-stage venture capital firm, Rocketship.vc has more than 44 investments across India, Southeast Asia, Latin America, Europe and North America. Sailesh Ramakrishnan, Partner, Rocketship.vc shares how the firm is pioneering the use of data in making investment decisions, with smart algorithm tracking companies globally using a series of metrics to indicate the probability that a startup will be successful.

How are you using data and algorithms for making investment decisions ?


Rocketship.vc has a unique approach to investment that sets it apart from its peers. Our team uses machine learning and data science to identify and invest in startups around the world. Our smart algorithm tracks companies globally using a series of metrics to indicate the probability that a startup will be successful. We look at metrics such as proven market demand, scalability, traction, customer success, as well as data from sources like social media and Crunchbase to get a better understanding of where the company fits into the ecosystem. Once our models point us to an opportunity, our team of data scientists will evaluate further and make the call if we will pursue and reach out to the startup.

Please share with us information about your tech startup database. Also, how are you spotting early global trends in this space?

Being the first investor to spot an emerging industry or startup can be hard to do. However, our comprehensive database gives us an advantage to spot trends globally, even where we don’t have a local network. We are also all data scientists by trade so we are comfortable evaluating technology and having a sense for its impact potential from the start. This hybrid approach of utilising both data science and human evaluation allows us to spot early global trends.

Which tech segments in India have seen the maximum investment from you post the Covid crisis?

The pandemic has brought increased focus on two areas in India: Healthcare and Education. We see major opportunities here from online vernacular education to telemedicine, online pharmacies to support and mental health. Indian tech companies play a significant role in molding these trends. Our plan is to continue to focus on how India can overcome some of these challenges as the next generation of global category leading companies are built there.

Has data analysis been a driving factor for these investments?

Yes, we definitely follow our data to find really promising companies and new markets to invest in.

Your perspective of data investment in VC funding. How will this impact fundings for Indian tech startups?

We have had conversations with other VCs and they ask us how Rocketship.vc is writing checks during a time like this, where it is almost impossible to travel and meet founders face-to-face. Even before the pandemic, we have always made investments by relying on Zoom, Skype and WhatsApp meetings with founders, and it enabled us to continue operating and investing in the present scenario without breaking a stride. We’re proud of our investment model which removes a lot of the bias around gender, race and personal founder networks and instead focuses on the merits of the startup and the problems they solve. We envision that more VCs will follow suit and leverage data to make investment decisions.

In which sectors do you foresee Indian tech startups making many pioneering achievements?

Amid the pandemic the Indian tech ecosystem has made great advancements in pioneering services and products. B2B has been grabbing a lot of our attention. We see a large scope for significant changes in the B2B space as consumer innovations make deep inroads into businesses creating software infrastructure from accounting to logistics to supply chains, that will allow them to reduce costs and become globally competitive.

Your investment plans for this market in the near future.

While we invest in category defining outliers in all verticals, we are currently seeing great companies being built in cloud-based collaboration and B2B tech. Both areas have been spiking and coming on our screen more than other sectors. While we cannot share specific companies yet, those industries are grabbing our attention and are sectors we are excited about.

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Source--https://www.expresscomputer.in/exclusives/how-data-analytics-helps-in-making-strategic-investment-decisions-across-geographies/70961/

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Textile Engineering / Fashion innovation, education program is moving into old garment factory

« on: December 25, 2020, 11:38:41 PM »

A Baltimore fashion designer is looking to revive the city's garment industry, and is getting ready to run 200 miles to raise money to support her efforts.

Stacy Stube, the designer behind the Elsa Fitzgerald dress brand, has spearheaded various efforts to create a new thriving hub of fashion-oriented businesses in Baltimore. She has served as the fashion entrepreneur in residence at the University of Baltimore's Center for Entrepreneurship and Innovation, where she launched programming to help provide business training and support for local fashion makers. She is also behind SEW BROMO, an online fashion school that provides educational content and skills trainings for budding business owners.

Now, she is looking to take over space in an abandoned garment factory inside the 1100 Wicomico building in Pigtown, and plotting a pilot to bring entrepreneurs and industry experts together to help grow a new generation of fashion businesses.

The SEW BROMO - Fashion Innovation Hub will support startups by providing education and small-batch production support. Stube hopes the space can serve as a small factory operation, where local and global fashion entrepreneurs can learn about garment manufacturing from the digital space.

The hub will provide fashion entrepreneurs with ample space, tools and support as they navigate everything from learning traditional garment-making skills, to crowdfunding to support production, to online marketing and sales. Stube hopes to get the operation up and running in January. But she will need some funding help to do it.

Stube is turning to crowdfunding to raise the money needed. She has launched a campaign on GoFundMe with a goal of $100,000. In conjunction with the fundraising effort, Stube has committed to run a total of 200 miles around Baltimore's harbor over the course of a week, to help raise awareness and support of her efforts to launch the new factory. She will start her run at Federal Hill on Dec. 31 at 4 a.m.

The $100,000 she hopes to raise will cover about six months worth expenses, including rent and utilities, as well as the costs of buying new machines, cutting tools and more needed to kick off the factory pilot, Stube said.

Local fashion designer Stacy Stube is spearheading an effort to set up a new fashion innovation hub in Pigtown.
Enlarge
Local fashion designer Stacy Stube is spearheading an effort to set up a new fashion innovation hub in Pigtown.
STACY STUBE

Stube has had a long career working in the luxury fashion sector in the U.S., Europe and Southeast Asia. In Baltimore, she previously worked as the head of innovation at Fashions Unlimited, the last remaining garment factory from the original Baltimore industry. She came to recognize the value of increasing awareness about the factory environment, and the need to find new approaches to building successful garment businesses that can keep the industry alive.

"We have to create our own new jobs in fashion. Entrepreneurs have to be the ones to take that first step forward," Stube said. "I think we're ready for this new chapter of industry."

In her work with UB and SEW BROMO, Stube interacted with many entrepreneurs who benefitted from the educational programming about the fashion industry, its history, and the various skills involved. She realized that the students who came out of those programs needed space to develop their own products and businesses, and hopes that's what the new SEW BROMO - Fashion Innovation Hub can provide.

Stube had previously intended to set up a mini-factory operation inside Lexington Market, but said the Wicomico space provided a better fit for the project. Because the fourth floor of the building was previously home to a garment factory, it is already equipped to handle a small batch production and distribution operation. The building is also already home to other startup and manufacturing operations that support local entrepreneurs, such as Harbor Designs and Manufacturing LLC and Early Charm Ventures.

Collected
Source--https://www.bizjournals.com/baltimore/news/2020/12/24/fashion-innovation-operation-moving-into-pigtown.html

54

Department of Innovation & Entrepreneurship / How and Why Startups Must Protect Their Intellectual Property at All Costs

« on: December 25, 2020, 11:22:12 PM »

Intellectual property (IP) is a term used to describe the creations of the intellect. Although intangible (in the sense of not being physical), intellectual property is immensely valuable because it gives the owner certain rights — including the exclusive exploitation of the IP for-profit and the right to exclude others from using the IP. These rights are generally known as IP rights. The purpose of IP law is to protect and govern all aspects of IP rights.

More often than not, when the protection of IP comes to mind, people tend to think it relates just to the media — artists, actors, and writers. IP is much more than that. There are various aspects of IP which also apply to large companies as well as startups.

Why startups must protect their IP--

Unfortunately, many startups have a laissez-faire mindset towards the protection of their IP rights. This often stems from their belief in the notion that "ideas are a dime a dozen; only execution matters." The problem with this mindset is that the delay in securing a startup's IP can do severe and sometimes irreversible harm to the startup, both from a legal and business standpoint. IP matters, which is why companies like Google, Apple, and other tech giants spend billions of dollars suing to secure their IP.

The IP of a tech startup is typically its most valuable asset. The products and services it brings to market will help it secure market share and earn revenue, but neither the market share nor revenue will be secure unless the company can prevent other companies from stealing its concepts, brands, and inventions. IP also constitutes a major consideration for investors because they'll want to know that your startup has control over all the ideas, code, and branding you'll need to develop and market your products and services. Clearly, without its IP, a tech startup would have little leverage in the market, thus making it essential to protect these rights as quickly as possible.


As startups scale and begin to share information with more partners, vendors, and other counterparties, the importance of securing their IP rises, especially in sectors such as fintech where API integrations — and the attendant access to each other's systems — are customary.

How to protect your startup's IP rights--

Most products and services can be protected by a combination of IP rights. For example, computer software can be protected by patents, copyrights, trademarks, and trade secrets. Apple protects certain features of its iPhones and other products with patents, and it uses copyright to protect the actual code of its macOS and iOS operating systems. It uses trademark law to protect the Apple name and logo trademarks that identify its products, and it uses trade secrets law to protect the design and components of its upcoming devices.

The particular steps needed to protect IP rights will be dependent in large part on the type of IP in question, as highlighted above. Generally, startups must use Non-Disclosure Agreements to ensure that they can restrict the appropriation of confidential information regarding their innovations by staff or third-parties. Also, it's important to commence the process of registering trademarks and patents quickly, to prevent others from registering them first and thus getting ownership.

Even after taking the foregoing steps to establish your IP rights, including registration, they may still be infringed upon by other companies. It'll be important, in such instances, to act swiftly to get them to stop and to recover damages for any losses their breach may have caused and for the very act of breaching your rights. This process is referred to as IP defense and can span from a simple demand letter from your lawyers to the infringing party to a lawsuit to enforce your rights, depending on the circumstances.

The importance of the protection of IP rights cannot be overemphasized. A startup is simply unlikely to survive unless its IP is securely under its control. Some of the more common errors startups make, such as failing to get IP assigned to the company, can be incredibly difficult to fix if not resolved early on. Registration is also often tied to timeliness as highlighted above, and failure to register in time might result in another company securing the rights in question. Clearly, the protection of IP must be an integral part of every startup's business strategy, to facilitate growth, prevent infringement, and increase revenue.

Collected
Source--https://www.entrepreneur.com/article/361671?fbclid=IwAR3NP2HI7cxbQnrXDrIrpy0ZLmACRzxUw5FfmYbmMpr4HT-7XByyU4DiE4E

55

Department of Innovation & Entrepreneurship / 15 Things Not to Do as an Entrepreneur in 2021

« on: December 22, 2020, 11:22:45 AM »

We all know the year 2020 presented the world with a number of challenges in the entrepreneurial space. The following are the 15 things to avoid as an entrepreneur in the year 2021.

1. Lose your focus
When you forget why you got into business in the first place, you are well on the path to failure. Examples include not caring about your customers and not being able to address their concerns and needs from a product or service perspective. Always keep your customer's needs at the center of how your products and services are developed. Continuously make sure that you are reaching out to your customers and constantly evaluate if you are on the right track.


2. Lack of leadership
Organizational leadership encompasses numerous concepts and ideals, with sales, marketing, operations and personnel management just the tip of the iceberg. When organizations and leaders start making the wrong decisions, it's typically the start of a bad outcome. In 2021, take the time to focus on leadership and creating value.

3. Not caring about your employees
As an employer and as an organization, if your employees are not happy, motivated or engaged, it is impossible for them to serve your client base diligently on a daily basis. Successful organizations work on their inside game and internal structure before they start going out to generate revenue and tackling larger goals.

4. Not working with partners
Successful organizations always look for opportunities to work with others. Successful leaders understand that winning is about collaboration. Start out by seeking 10 partnership opportunities with potential partners and work on something small to start off with. Consistency is key to winning the game.

5. Build walls

Successful organizations tear down walls. Never build walls with your stakeholders. This includes competition, industry organizations, associations, the media and any other organization. Be the person who tears down the walls and helps others connect and build a better industry. Become the leader that others can look up to and ask for help because they trust that you can help tear down walls.


6. Ignore your clients
Never ignore your customers. Many times, organizations focus too much on internal happenings. One of the companies that I worked with in my career was focused on how good their products were and internal processes that were more complicated than needed. This led to them not paying attention to the voice of the customer and what the customer ultimately wanted. The result? Declining revenue and organizational degradation.

7. Not holding people accountable
Accountability is key to organizational success. Experts suggest that accountability is one of the top reasons why organizations succeed. The American Society of Training and Development (ASTD) says that we have a 65% chance of attaining a goal if we commit to it. There are many studies that prove that personal accountability, organizational accountability and using accountability coaches helps increase the possibility and chance of completing a goal. You can elevate your organization's accountability by driving a culture of being held accountable.

8. Not creating a culture of execution
Execution is probably the most important element in successfully reaching a goal. Many of us endlessly plan things, but fall short when it's time to execute. Use the pursuit of consistent execution as a tool to get ahead. Make sure you deliver on the promise that you have made to your customers, employees and other stakeholders by executing on your stated tasks and goals.


9. Not taking any risk

Many industries today are suffering because they refuse to take any risks. Service industries such as legal and accounting, for example, are battling technology and the decline of traditional business models because they refuse to adapt to a new way of conducting business. Business risk is not only a financial risk, but it's also about exploring new areas of opportunity, creating new revenue streams and exploring avenues that have not been explored in the past.

10. Not having standards
Have you ever heard of an automobile company that had zero safety standards? What about an airline that has no operational standards? It's impossible for some industries to not follow standards because a lack of standards can lead to dire consequences. Make sure that you operate with high standards. This means doing the best, expecting the best and creating a mindset of quality and a minimum level of acceptable standards within your organization, across the board.

11. Letting people get their way
Organizational bullies are people who get their way. These could be people at a strong position within your organization who have developed a habit of getting away with actions that undermine organizational standards. Keeping your organization's culture free from organizational bullies is a tough task for leaders. However, it is important that everyone who is part of your organization knows the value you create, the culture you have and respect everyone they come across within the organization. This also goes into respecting organizational policies, the vision of the leadership and what you stand for.

12. Focus too much on competition
Some industries are very focused on what the competition is doing. In a small market with many companies offering the same products and essentially targeting a very small number of customers, competition and getting ahead can be a "do or die" situation. If all your focus is on competition, you start lagging in being an innovative and out-of-the-box thinker. Do not focus strictly on the competition, but work on your inner game, making your product and solutions more valuable for your customers and raising your standards

13. Ignoring your critics

Have you ever had critics who are always on your case? If not, then you have not really made an impact on your industry. This way of thinking is a bit non-traditional. You should always have critics and those who point you in the right direction, helping you identify both areas where you face challenges and areas where opportunities exist. Pay attention to those who point a finger at you and help guide you in the right direction.

14. Being socially awkward
In 2021, you must become a socially engaged organization. This means supporting social causes, meeting other people with similar interests, helping your employees be part of social change, involving your organization in initiatives and ideas that are beyond just what you do professionally as an organization. At a local level, you may find a school basketball team that needs support or a conservation project seeking volunteers. These projects and opportunities are a means to get your employees engaged and work closely with the communities that support you as an organization. Get involved and do not be a socially awkward organization.

15. Stop learning
If you have stopped learning as an individual and as an organization, then there is nothing much that can be done. Look at some of the industries that are dying a slow death today, including the accounting industry. Traditional accounting firms are facing an uphill task in surviving as technology is crushing firms that refuse to change and adapt to a new way of doing business. Always stay hungry as an organization and ensure that everyone within your company is learning something new.

Success as an organization, as a leader or as an individual contributor, is a blend of many different things, but there are plenty of opportunities to you can make headway and succeed in 2021 as an entrepreneur and as a business.

Collected
Source- https://www.entrepreneur.com/article/361117

56

Department of Innovation & Entrepreneurship / Entrepreneur Revolutionizes Marketing Strategy through The Narrowing Methodology

« on: December 19, 2020, 11:41:51 AM »

Young Entrepreneur Yasha Golin Revolutionizes Marketing Strategy through The Narrowing Methodology

Brooklyn, NY, Dec. 18, 2020 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Yasha Golin, truly come to be known globally as a very young entrepreneur for he is still in his teens, has invented a new business model coined as The Narrowing Methodology.

As far as the domain of international business is concerned, The Narrowing Methodology can emerge as the new mantra due to its strategic values in transforming the operational aspects of the e-commerce platforms that are mushrooming.

A young entrepreneur, business coach, philanthropist, and globe trotter, Yasha Golin has practically redefined the operational mode of business that can organically boost the sales volume of an e-Commerce company.

Yasha Golin is currently coaching the future young entrepreneurs on ways to implement The Narrowing Methodology to help them attain business success.

The Narrowing Methodology, as an operational business module, basically involves starting with a broad idea for business strategy and then narrowing it down to a specific goal. It removes the unnecessary frills to zero down on customers.

Yasha Golin's business venture involved drop shipping to make money. He applied his narrowing methodology theory to the 3 pillars of drop shipping. This proved to be very successful for him. These pillars are as follows:

Product Research: You research various products that will likely be profitable to sell. Then you establish specific criteria for the products that you want to sell and then narrow down the list of products to meet the criteria.

Website Development: You develop an e-Commerce website where you sell lots of different products in multiple niches. Then, as you learn which niches are the most successful, you narrow down your products until they fall under one specific niche only.

Marketing: This is the biggest pillar of drop shipping. Like most businesses, you begin by reaching out to a broad audience. As you start to learn about your target consumer base, you narrow down your audience so that you're only marketing to people who will likely purchase the products that you're selling. Never assume anything when it comes to your audience.

Yasha Golin developed a blueprint of this strategy which he teaches to his entrepreneurial students. It is easy to replicable this strategy if you simply follow the steps he has outlined in his blueprint. The more students who learn about this strategy, the more it will change the nature of dropshipping forever.

So far, Yasha Golin has been teaching students for 2 years and his students have generated more than $1 million combined in total sales. His typical student is someone just like he was; a young person who dreams of making lots of money early on in their life.

The Conclusion

The idea of hustling to make money always appealed to Yasha Golin. He's done everything from developing a clothing brand of his own to establishing a modeling agency out of his house. However, dropshipping was where he made his biggest amount of money. The idea of selling products without needing to store inventory seemed surreal to him. In dropshipping, there is no upfront investment to purchase products.

Yasha Golin simply conducted product research, website development, and marketing. Whenever a product sold on his website, he'd purchase it from a supplier. Then, they would ship the product to their customer. The difference between what he paid the supplier and what he received from the customer was his profit. As an entrepreneur, he succeeded in his venture by applying this revolutionary new business module.

Collected.
Source--https://www.globenewswire.com/news-release/2020/12/19/2148181/0/en/Young-Entrepreneur-Yasha-Golin-Revolutionizes-Marketing-Strategy-through-The-Narrowing-Methodology.html

57

Common Forum / বাংলাদেশ জ্ঞানসূচকে কেন এত পেছনে, বিশেষজ্ঞরা কী বলছেন?

« on: December 19, 2020, 11:35:14 AM »

বৈশ্বিক জ্ঞান সূচকে ১৩৮টি দেশের মধ্যে বাংলাদেশ খুবই কম নম্বর পেয়ে একেবারে শেষের কাতারে থাকা দেশগুলোর জায়গায় স্থান পাওয়ায় শিক্ষাবিদ এবং গবেষকরা উদ্বেগ প্রকাশ করছেন।

ওই সূচকে দক্ষিণ এশিয়ার ছ'টি দেশের মধ্যেও বাংলাদেশের অবস্থান সবার শেষে।

জাতিসংঘ উন্নয়ন কর্মসূচী এবং মোহাম্মদ বিন রশিদ আল-মাকতুম নলেজ ফাউন্ডেশনের যৌথ উদ্যোগে প্রকাশিত বৈশ্বিক জ্ঞান সূচকে বাংলাদেশের অবস্থান ১১২তম। এবার বৈশ্বিক জ্ঞান সূচকে বাংলাদেশের প্রাপ্ত নম্বর হলো ৩৫.৯, যা বৈশ্বিক গড় নম্বরের চেয়েও অনেক কম। বৈশ্বিক জ্ঞান সূচকে বাংলাদেশ সবচে খারাপ অবস্থা উচ্চশিক্ষার ক্ষেত্রে। এক্ষেত্রে ১৩৮টি দেশের মধ্যে বাংলাদেশের অবস্থান ১২৯তম।

বৈশ্বিক জ্ঞান সূচকে দক্ষিণ এশিয়ার দেশগুলোর মধ্যে বাংলাদেশ সবার নিচে
এছাড়া গবেষণা ও উদ্ভাবনেও পিছিয়ে রয়েছে এদেশ, যেখানে ৯৬ তম অবস্থান বাংলাদেশের।

জ্ঞান সূচকে কেন এতটা পিছিয়ে বাংলাদেশ - এমন এক প্রশ্নে শিক্ষাবিদ সিরাজুল ইসলাম চৌধুরী বলেন, জ্ঞানের যে অনুশীলন তার মূল্য পৃথিবীজুড়েই কমে গেছে। এখন আসছে তথ্যের যুগ। তথ্য আর জ্ঞানতো এক না।

তিনি বলেন, তথ্যের অবাধ প্র্রবাহ জ্ঞানের চর্চাকে খর্ব করছে পৃথিবী জুড়েই। জ্ঞান এখন পুরো পৃথিবীতে পণ্যে পরিণত হয়েছে, কেনা যায়। নিজের অনুশীলন বা গবেষণা দরকার হয় না। এটা কেনা যায়। এক্ষেত্রে বাংলাদেশের পরিস্থিতি আরো খারাপ।

"আমরা দেখছি যে জ্ঞানের মূল্য এখন সমাজে নেই, রাষ্ট্রে নেই, শিক্ষা প্রতিষ্ঠানে নেই। শিক্ষা প্রতিষ্ঠানে যেখানে জ্ঞানের চর্চা থাকবে সেখানেও আমরা জ্ঞানের মূল্যটা আমরা দিতে পারছি না। প্রতিষ্ঠানের যিনি প্রধান হন, তিনি জ্ঞানানুশীলনের জন্য সেই জায়গায় যান না।

তার যোগ্যতাটা হচ্ছে তিনি দলের সাথে আছেন, রাজনৈতিক আণুকূল্য পাচ্ছেন, তদবীর করছেন ...কাজেই তিনি কোনো দৃষ্টান্ত স্থাপন করতে পারেন না, অনুপ্রাণিত করতে পারেন না। আবার যারা শিক্ষকতা পেশায় আছেন, এখানে উন্নতি নির্ভর করছে ওই দলীয় আনুগত্যের ওপর। এবং সেজন্য গবেষণাও কমছে, প্রকাশনাও হচ্ছে না।"

এ ব্যাপারে গণসাক্ষরতা অভিযানের নির্বাহী পরিচালক রাশেদা কে. চৌধুরী বলেন, "উচ্চমান অর্জনের ক্ষেত্রে বিশ্ববিদ্যালয়ের ফ্যাকাল্টি বা শিক্ষকদের গবেষণা, শিক্ষার্থীদের গবেষণাগার, পাঠাগার এগুলো কিন্তু উন্নতমানের থাকতে হয়। এখানেও কিন্তু আমরা অনেক পিছিয়ে পড়েছি"।

বিশেষজ্ঞদের মতে, বাংলাদেশের পিছিয়ে পড়ার পেছনে রাষ্ট্র ও সমাজে জ্ঞানীদের মূল্যায়ন না থাকার পাশাপাশি জ্ঞান চর্চার অনেক মৌলিক সমস্যারও সমাধান হয়নি।

শিক্ষাবিদ সিরাজুল ইসলাম চৌধুরী বলেন, জ্ঞানচর্চার পরিবেশও বাংলাদেশে স্বাধীন নয়। "জ্ঞানের যে অনুশীলন সেটার সর্বোৎকৃষ্ট পন্থা হলো মাতৃভাষার মাধ্যমে। মাতৃভাষার মাধ্যমে জ্ঞানের চর্চা না করলে সেই চর্চা গভীর হয় না, স্থায়ী হয় না, প্রভাবশালী হয় না। সেটা আমরা করতে পারি নাই।"

তিনি আরও বলেন, "আমরা অনুবাদ করতে পারিনি পৃথিবীর সমস্ত জ্ঞানের বই। আমরা নিজেদের ভাষায় পৃথিবীর সমস্ত জ্ঞানকে নিয়ে এসে সেই গ্রন্থ রচনা করতে পারিনি। আমরা সেটা সকলের কাছে পৌঁছে দিতে পারিনি।

কাজেই জ্ঞান কিন্তু একজন দু'জনের ওপর নির্ভর করে না। জ্ঞান নির্ভর করে গোটা সমাজের ওপর। সমাজের যে কাঠামো আছে সেই কাঠামোর ওপর"।

ঢাকা বিশ্ববিদ্যালয়ের সাবেক এই শিক্ষক বলেন, "আরেকটা জিনিস আমাদের লক্ষ্য রাখতে হবে সেটা হলো যে জবাবদিহিতা নেই। রাষ্ট্র থেকে শুরু করে রাষ্ট্রের অধীনে যত প্রতিষ্ঠান আছে সমাজে যত প্রতিষ্ঠান আছে, কোথাও এখন জবাবদিহিতা নেই।

জবাবদিহিতা না থাকলে তো কোনো বিকাশ হয় না। প্রশ্ন করতে হবে, জিজ্ঞাসা করতে হবে, জবাব দিতে হবে এবং প্রশ্ন করার অধিকার দিতে হবে। সেইগুলো তো আমরা দিতে পারছি না"।

বৈশ্বিক জ্ঞান সূচক তৈরিতে প্রাক বিশ্ববিদ্যালয় শিক্ষা, প্রযুক্তি ও বৃত্তিমূলক শিক্ষা এবং প্রশিক্ষণ, উচ্চশিক্ষা, গবেষণা ও উন্নয়ন, উদ্ধাবনের মতো সাতটি সেক্টরে ১৯৯টি ইন্ডিকেটর বিশ্লেষণ করা হয়েছে।

গণসাক্ষরতা অভিযানের নির্বাহী পরিচালক রাশেদা কে চৌধুরী বাংলাদেশের পিছিয়ে পড়ার কারণ হিসেবে শিক্ষা ব্যবস্থায় কতগুলো সমস্যা সামনে আনেন।

তিনি বলেন, "আমাদের শিক্ষা ব্যবস্থায় বেশকিছু গলদ আছে। ব্যবস্থাপনা আমাদের ভীষণ রকম কেন্দ্রায়িত। সবকিছু সেন্ট্রালাইজড। স্থানীয়ভাবে সিদ্ধান্ত নেবার ক্ষমতা শিক্ষাব্যবস্থার কোন খাতের মধ্যেই নেই।

দ্বিতীয়ত, এতবড় শিক্ষাব্যবস্থায় যে দক্ষ শিক্ষকের প্রয়োজন, সেই দক্ষ শিক্ষকমণ্ডলীর অভাব আছে। প্রাতিষ্ঠানিক দক্ষতার অভাব আছে।"

রাশেদা কে চৌধুরীর মতে, সারা বাংলাদেশে শিক্ষাক্ষেত্রের মধ্যে নানা ধরনের বৈষম্য বিরাজমান। শিক্ষাব্যবস্থায় বহু ধারা উপধারা, মোটাদাগে তিনধারা - মূলধারা, ইংরেজি মাধ্যম এবং ধর্মীয় ধারা এই তিনটির মধ্যে বৈষম্য আছে, বিনিয়োগে বৈষম্য দক্ষতার ক্ষেত্রে বৈষম্য।

"সবকিছু মিলে আমাদের শিক্ষা ব্যবস্থা আসলে তেমনভাবে এগোতে পারছে না গুণগত মানের দিক থেকে"।

বৈশ্বিক জ্ঞান সূচকে তালিকাভুক্ত দেশগুলোর মধ্যে কাছাকাছি সময়ে স্বাধীন কোরিয়া এবং ভিয়েতনামে রয়েছে দীর্ঘ যুদ্ধের ইতিহাস। এসব দেশের অগ্রগতির পেছনেও একটা বড় কারণ হলো শিক্ষা এবং গবেষণায় বিপুল পরিমাণ বিনিয়োগ।

বাংলাদেশে শিক্ষায় বিনিয়োগ এখনো কাঙ্খিত নয় বলে মনে করেন বিশ্লেষকরা।

রাশেদা কে চৌধুরী বলেন, "ইতিমধ্যে আমাদের যে সকল দেশ আমাদের প্রায় সমান সমান ছিল, যেমন ভিয়েতনাম, থাইল্যান্ড, এসব দেশের শিক্ষার্থীরা কিন্তু ঢাকা বিশ্ববিদ্যালয়ে পড়তে আসতো এক সময়। এখন আমাদের দেশের শিক্ষার্থীরা পড়তে যায় সেসব দেশে।

"কেনিয়ার মতো দেশ মোট বাজেটের ৪৫ শতাংশ শিক্ষার জন্য ব্যয় করে। এই প্রাধিকারের জায়গাটা আমাদের এখন পর্যন্ত আমরা ঠিক করতে পারিনি।"

বাংলাদেশে বর্তমানে সাক্ষরতার হার, শিক্ষার্থীর সংখ্যা, প্রাথমিকে ভর্তির মতো সংখ্যাগত দিক থেকে সাফল্য অর্জিত হলেও শিক্ষার মানের ঘাটতি উঠে আসছে দেশি-বিদেশি বিভিন্ন গবেষণায়।

বৈশ্বিক জ্ঞান সূচকে বাংলাদেশের পিছিয়ে পড়ার যে চিত্র, সেটি শিক্ষা ব্যবস্থার সংকটের আরেকটি দৃষ্টান্ত বলেই মনে করেন সবাই।

Collected

Source--https://www.bbc.com/bengali/news-55351318

58

Department of Innovation & Entrepreneurship / Article on Environmental Outcomes of Green Entrepreneurship Harmonization

« on: December 19, 2020, 11:10:14 AM »

Abstract:
 
Establishing equilibrium between business growth and environmental sustainability is one of the core focuses of green entrepreneurship. However, the scarcity of resources, ecological concerns, business growth, and survival are among the issues that are recognized by entrepreneurs.

In the light of the Natural Resource‐Based View (NRBV) and Dynamic Capability View, this study aims to examine the effects of Green Innovation Performance (GIP) on Green Entrepreneurship Orientation (GEO) and Sustainability Environmental Performance (SEP). As advocated by NRBV, this study emphasizes the importance of pursuing the three types of distinct yet interrelated environmental strategies and its association impact on GEO.

The results indicated that internal green dynamic capabilities, namely, green absorptive capacity, environmental cooperation, and managerial environmental concern to have significant positive effects on GIP, where GIP positively impacted GEO and SEP. Besides, GIP partially mediated the relationship between internal green dynamic capabilities on GEO and SEP. The results also demonstrated that environmental regulations significantly moderated the relationship between GEO and SEP. Furthermore, by linking these three concepts in a single model, this study theoretically pioneering and responding to bridge significant gaps emerged in the NRBV theory. This study provides crucial practical implications for entrepreneurs, policymakers, and academicians. Limitations were also discussed.

To read the full paper pls see the attachment for the Article on Environmental Outcomes of Green Entrepreneurship Harmonization
(Collected)

59

Department of Innovation & Entrepreneurship / You Can Start These 6 Waste Management Businesses

« on: December 17, 2020, 10:47:17 PM »

Managing waste and reusing it in a cost-effective way has turned into a jostling task now. The regime has been seeking practices to entirely use waste and manage increasing landfills. Lack of waste management solutions and increasing waste pose a threat to the surroundings. Disposed wastes on streets and landfills breed bacteria as well as increase proximity of ailments. Today, large oodles of waste are being generated in each and every corner of the world. Recycling this waste is imperative so as to lead a better and safer life.

Other than imbibing cleanliness, initiating waste management startups can also help regulate the waste. One can earn good revenue from waste management business besides creating positive impacts in society. One does not require a large amount of capital to initiate a waste management business. A moderate saving would be sufficed to kick-start the business. However, one should recognize the different types of waste management businesses and accordingly choose one.

1.    Scrap Business

The scrap business is sought-after as well as a lucrative business in the country. Manufacturers vastly use scrap material to reproduce different metal objects and further, it is a cost-effective way. Seeing the huge demand for manufactures, one can initiate an export business of scrap material. One can garner metal from scavengers and other small dealers and later, export the metal to foreign manufacturers. In this way, an entrepreneur can earn a large sum of money with minimal investment.

2.    Electronic Recycling Business

Once the electronic items break down, many people dispose of the electronics. People are not aware that electronics can be repaired and refurbished. Thus, starting a business in electronic recycling can be good. Other than refurbishing electronics on one’s own, selling the large accumulated chunk of broken down electronics is also an option. So, there are two vocations available under the business that is: dealer and manufacturer.       

3.    Plastic Recycling Business

Plastic is a non-biodegradable item and thus, can be recycled. It can be melted down and remoulded into different shapes. At the moment, enormous products come in plastic coverings, which are disposed of later.

For garnering plastics items and melting them into definite shapes, one requires a huge amount of plastic. One needs to build contacts with scavengers who can collect and sell the plastic items at a lesser rate.

4.    Rubber Recycling Business

Similar to plastic accumulation, rubber is also a sought-after product in the market. Rubber is mainly used to make railway equipment, plastic products and lots more. By collecting disposed of rubber articles, one can start the rubber recycling business or else, sell the accumulated chunk of rubber to manufactures at a high price.

5.    Medical Waste Disposal Business

A large amount of waste is generated in the medical industry, throughout the year. This waste needs to be regulated; otherwise, it gives rise to diseases and epidemics. The medical professional disposes of many things namely blood, fetus, dead cells and even, body parts. The medical waste should be disposed of properly and for this, one can start a medical waste disposal business.

6.     Oil Spill Cleanup Business

 In oil extracting areas, oil spillage happens while extracting the oil. The companies, which engage in oil mining areas, require oil spill cleaning services. Primarily, the cleaning services help to remove spillage marks which are caused by offshore oil mining processes.

Entrepreneurs can start the aforementioned waste management startups. These waste management solutions do not require a large amount of financial capital. Further, one does not require a skill set to initiate a waste management business. With little guidance and industry knowledge, one can start the aforementioned waste management businesses.

Collected....
Source---https://www.entrepreneur.com/article/327714

60

Department of Innovation & Entrepreneurship / Innovative fintech startup: A way to building digital Bangladesh

« on: December 17, 2020, 09:44:54 PM »

Everyday life nowadays could be stagnant without technology which is necessary at every step of living. During the ongoing pandemic, the demand for financial technology is increasing as it is bringing a variety of products and benefits to people.

However, the idea of combining financial sector with technology is not new. In 1919, British economist John Maynard Keynes, in his book "The Economic Consequences of the Peace", spoke of connection between the two. The current century has seen advent of virtual or digital currency, digital or e-wallet and more digital payment systems. So this combination has revolutionised the financial sector around the world.

For the past five years, Forbes magazine has been publishing a list of the top 50 financial technology companies under the title "Fintech 50". Nineteen new innovative fintech companies have been placed in the list published this year. Last year there were 20 such companies in the list. It is observed that about 40 per cent of the companies included in the list are new innovative fintech companies.


Investors around the world invested more than 53 billion last year in the new innovative fintech companies. Digital or online banking is not lagging behind, as they do not require traditional branch networking for transactions. This type of banking has been introduced in the developed countries for a long time. Investment in digital banking increased from US$3.00 billion in 2018 to US$7.8 billion in 2019. In 2019, investment in insurance technology and payment technology also increased by 55 per cent and 20 per cent compared to 2018 and it was US$6.8 billion and US$15.1 billion respectively.

Now let's take a look at the new ideas and new uses of technology of these 19 startups that have found a place in the list.

The largest investment was by "Money Leone" in the digital banking category. This startup came on the field with a fund of US$207 million. The startup has so far attracted 6.0 million subscribers due to their new ideas. 'Money Leone' is offering some benefits to its customers free of cost. And one of them is to search all the information of the account, transfer of money, loan-related information and reports, free ATM transactions and 12 per cent cash-back system for ATM purchases.

"Dave" came with US$76 million in funding, which now has US$90 million in revenue including 5.0 million subscribers. The company has come up with more innovative ideas including free transactions at ATMs, up to US$100 in advance and automated budgeting based on monthly expenses. Billionaires like Mark Kuban have invested in this new startup.

Another startup called "Lively" has created a platform styled Digital Health Savings Account and has saved customers US$200 million through these accounts. A startup called "Propel" has come up with the least amount of funds i.e. only US$18 million funds. Renowned tennis star Serena Williams has invested in it. To start this startup, its founder did not hesitate to leave a cushy job as a product manager at Facebook. Propel has introduced Electronic Benefit Transfer (EBT) facility in its mobile apps. Under Supplement Nutrition Assistance Programme (SNAP) of the US Department of Agriculture, the US government provides additional monthly financial assistance or benefits to purchase nutritious food.

These monthly financial assistance or benefits can be cash or purchase nutritious food through Propel mobile apps.

New concepts have also been introduced in insuretech or insurance technology. Ethos uses predictive technology which can tell life insurance rates in about 10 minutes via its app and verifies applicants' self-reported data with their actual medical and pharmacy records. This quality of being able to predict the future of the Ethos startup has attracted customers. The founder and co-founder of Ethos were roommates at Stanford Business School and Ethos was designed there.

After taking a higher degree from MIT, a couple started a startup called "Insurify". Their apps uses artificial intelligence and AI can say which insurance policy is the best for the customers of house or car insurance. Within two minutes, AI should compare quotes from the 10 best insurance companies. Artificial intelligence adjusts the budget to the customer's personal needs to determine which insurance will be best for the customer. Every customer who uses Insurify can save an average of US$400 a year on their car insurance for the future.

Payment startups have also come up with a number of new ideas. The payment startup called "Fattmerchant" is basically a credit card processing company. It basically makes debit and credit card payments to small business which is 30-40 per cent cheaper and easier than in the traditional processes.

"Plastiq" is another startup for small businesses. With this startup small businesses can pay a variety of monthly expenses through credit card at only 2.5 per cent fee. More than 50,000 small businesses are connected to it and more than US$4.0 billion in transactions are made annually through these apps.

Real estate startups have also come out of the traditional system of home buying and selling and adopted modern and practical systems. There is a startup called "Divvy Homes" who buys their client's selected home and then becomes their landlord. If the tenant wants to buy the house later, s/he can buy it by paying 2.0 per cent advance as fee and a portion of monthly rent can be converted into a down payment.

Blockchain and cryptocurrency startups have introduced new concepts. 'Everledger' has come up with a way to track 2.0 million diamonds in jewelry stores with their blockchain technology.

These were the success stories of the newcomers. However, some of them have gone from failure to success. Jason Brown and Jasper Platz, two classmates from the University of Chicago, created a credit card loan payment apps called "Tally". Their idea has gained wide popularity. The founder and co-founder had earlier set up a solar finance company which was acquired by Solar Universe in 2009.

In this technology-dependent world, ideas have also become technology-dependent. So the founders of startups are combining technology with new ideas to get their products to the human race. In the financial sector, new innovations will come only when technology and new ideas come together. Such innovations require investment as much as new ideas. Neighbouring India has nearly doubled its investment in financial technology to US$3.7 billion last year.

A new entrepreneur can't expect anything but a message of hope when s/he comes to the bank with different types of technology with her/his new ideas. Entrepreneurs interested in these fields can approach venture capital which is becoming popular among new entrepreneurs of the country as well as other countries.

The use of various financial technologies is increasing day by day in Bangladesh. Not only transactions but also shopping, mobile recharge, utility and credit card bill payment, ride sharing payment and many more can be done through mobile financial services such as Nagad, bKash, Rocket, Nexus Pay, Cash, SureCash as well as iPay and Dmoney.

The government took an initiative to set up a venture capital company called "Startup Bangladesh Limited" in 2019 under the Information and Communication Technology Department. New ideas and new innovations can come from students. And that's why last year, for the second time, Startup Bangladesh organised a national level competition for students - 'Student to Startup'. A total grant of Tk 10 million has been provided for 10 startups. Apart from training on various financial technologies, Startup Bangladesh provides funds to startups. 'Truck Lagbe', a popular transportation platform, was funded by Startup Bangladesh. There are also healthcare platforms such as 'Jalpai.com', and 'Moner Bondhu' that have been supported with funds.

New ideas and new innovations will not only help development of the country but also create employment opportunities for the youth. It is expected that one day Bangladesh will be able to move out of the 116th position in the Global Innovation Index and be a top performer. The government will hopefully go one step further in realising its dream of building a digital Bangladesh.

Source: Forbes, Wikipedia, Start-up Bangladesh
Rafiqul Islam is Deputy Managing Director at Shimanto Bank and ASM Ahsan Habib, Principal Officer at Uttara Bank Ltd.
Link- https://www.thefinancialexpress.com.bd/views/reviews/innovative-fintech-startup-a-way-to-building-digital-bangladesh-1608045770