Who could be the first to produce India's Sergey Brin (Google co-founder)? We'd bet on Birla Institute of Technology and Science, Pilani. That's because the BITS-NEN E Cell, Center for Entrepreneurial Leadership (CEL), is busy building an exceptional E Cell story - one that's focused on spawning high-impact startups. What's striking is the extraordinary depth and maturity of its initiatives - a result of five years of well-calibrated measures - comprising events, competitions and programs.

Spark New Ventures, CEL's new course, is a case in point. Integrating learning from the E Cell's B Plan contests, Epsilon and Conquest, the course aims to transform promising ideas into successful startups. CEL has made extensive use of its alumni network and external resources to draw leading experts such as Vinod Khosla of Khosla Ventures, Rahul Chandra of Helion Venture Partners, V T Bharadwaj of Sequoia Capital, and Anurag Jain of Perot Systems as mentors and speakers. While the four-month course is rigorous, it is also much sought. Recruitment for the first batch witnessed 90 applicants, of which 23 were enrolled.

CEL is busy with other initiatives, too. Apart from a rural-entrepreneurship program and a steady stream of newsletters, it has introduced a simulation game that challenges participants to tackle various scenarios in startups. Like IIM Calcutta's E Cell, CEL has limited its core team's strength to 45. Admission is tough. Of 170 applicants, only 8 were chosen this year.