| Entrepreneurship Week India was originally launched by NEN in 2007 as a public awareness campaign to accomplish two ends: to celebrate the opportunities of today's India; and to engage more people in building a great ecosystem for entrepreneurs in India.
E Week 2008 demonstrated its ability to improve the entrepreneurial ecosystem, but it also did much, much more. E Week wasn't just 2,500 entrepreneurship activities, clustered into one week. Rather, E Week had become a catalyst for growth on many levels. It wasn't just about getting young students engaged. It was about India's next generation of entrepreneurs testing their endurance, their creativity and their ability to organize.
Over 2,00,000 students, backed by faculty, Directors and Principals; entrepreneurs; professionals and corporates reached far beyond the existing believers to share the spirit of entrepreneurship. Across 30 locations in India, students from over 270 institutes ventured into villages and orphanages with the intent to teach, and came away having learned. They stepped out of their campuses and took to the streets, holding rallies to garner support for entrepreneurship. Certainly, never has entrepreneurship been so fun, as it was on so many campuses, in so many cities during E Week 2008!
Additionally, E Week India emerged as a platform that cut across disciplines and backgrounds. Physics, Sanskrit, Computer Science, Mechanical Engineering - students and faculty from all backgrounds experimented with activities to hone entrepreneurial skills, and see how these skills could enhance their learning and options. Entrepreneurial thinking was no longer considered the domain of management or commerce!
Other organizations that value innovation, leadership, and entrepreneurial thinking supported the effort including The Indus Entrepreneurs (TiE), India Venture Capital Association (IVCA), Indian Angel Network (IAN), Proto.in and DARE co-hosted E Week. Corporate sponsors included Symphony Services, HSBC and Himalaya.
The power of E Week 2008 has shown us the potential that can be unlocked in E Week 2009. In the coming year, we aim to focus the energy of tens of thousands of the most creative, driven and compassionate young people on solving the greatest problems facing India and the world.
> E Week Power Goes Green
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