The ‘High Impact Entrepreneurship and Innovation’ conference will be organised by the Flame University, Pune, on Tuesday, February 18 from 1pm onwards at its Lavale campus.

The day-long conference will be accompanied by the official launch of the postgraduate programme in entrepreneurship and innovation, backed by the Centre for Entrepreneurship and Innovation (FCEI) at Flame University. The postgraduate programme is aimed at aiding people with an entrepreneurial mindset who are seeking opportunities and platforms to launch new business ventures.

Darshan Doshi, director, Flame Centre for Entrepreneurship and Innovation, said, "Just like the African proverb (it takes a whole village to raise a child), we believe that it takes an ‘entrepreneurial village’ to raise a successful start-up. Through the means of this programme, we hope to foster a culture of entrepreneurship, which will act as the basis for an excellent future of students, professionals, and investors."

The curriculum of this technology-oriented programme has been designed by industry practitioners, renowned faculty, and innovation experts who intend to provide exposure to aspirants in the areas of Artificial Intelligence (AI), Machine Learning (ML), Augment Reality (AR), Virtual Reality (VR), Blockchain, Internet of Things (IoT), and Robotics. On completion of the programme, the students will be equipped with the desired skills, knowledge, and competency to start and lead a new venture.

The essence of the conference is the unification of innovators, entrepreneurs, educators, investors, and industry experts from not only India, but world over. The conference will be attended by renowned practising entrepreneurs in the fields of IT, F&B, healthcare, and education to share their points of view on subjects such as startup pitches, investments, entrepreneurship, and building unicorns.

The panellists and speakers at the conference will include Dishan Kamdar, vice-chancellor, Flame University; Aravind Chinchure, chief mentor, Flame University; Prasanna Krishnamoorthy, founder, Upekkha; Sashi Chimala, entrepreneur; Ravi Nigam, founder, Tasty Bite; Darshan Doshi, director, Flame Centre for entrepreneurship and innovation; Sonia Agarwal Konjeti, founder, PULA Pune Ladies; Abhijit Gupta, founder, Praxify; Sachin Oswal, independent investor; Gireendra Kasmalkar, general partner of Alacrity India; Vishwas Mahajan, founder, Whizible; Bharat Damani, chair-entrepreneurship, Flame University; Advait Kurlekar, Founder, Upohan; Ashwini Deshpande, founder, Elephant Design; Amarpreet S Ghura, assistant professor, entrepreneurship, Flame University; Dwarika P Uniyal, dean, faculty of Business, Flame University and Vineet Patni, independent investor.

The conference is likely to commence with an opening address by Dishan Kamdar, followed by a keynote address on ‘Building a Unicorn from Pune’. The next in the line would be a panel discussion on ‘Creating High Impact Entrepreneurs’, after which, the launch of the postgraduate programme in entrepreneurship and innovation is slated to be held. The second half of the conference day will witness an address on ‘Empowering Women Entrepreneurs through PULA Community’ and ‘Startup Pitches’, a panel discussion on ‘Investing in High Impact Startups’ and ‘Entrepreneurship and Innovation on Campus’, and lastly, a closing note by Dwarika Uniyal.

Uniyal, said, "The conference, which aims at supporting and guiding aspiring entrepreneurs and their business ideas, is the need of the hour, in my opinion. It is all about identifying the market needs and achieving change through methodical execution, for which communication and exchange of ideas are important. This conference would be attended by industry experts, budding entrepreneurs, and students. Flame University hopes to provide the right platform for presenting ideas and concerns, and seeking solutions, among the attendants and speakers through the means of various interactive sessions."