About

 

Desai Sethi Centre for Entrepreneurship (DSCE) was established in 2014 at IIT Bombay to foster innovation and entrepreneurship. The Centre offers B.Tech (Minor) in Entrepreneurship, comprising 8 courses taught by Institute faculty along with industry experts.

 

Aspiring entrepreneurs can also benefit from mentoring programs and micro-grants. This includes I-NCUBATE program for market immersion, IDEAS-MAP for product development, and I-WiE for women in entrepreneurship. These programs are supported by alumni and partner organizations.

 

The DSCE team has a symbiotic relationship with Entrepreneurship Cell managed by the students, who organize the annual flagship event E-Summit comprising several competitions, high-profile talks and workshops. The DSCE also works closely with SINE – technology business incubator of IITB, where students can give shape to their dreams.

 

In the last five years, over 1400 students have benefited from DSCE courses and mentoring programs. More than 25 teams created start-up companies. Many students won prestigious national and international awards, got featured in prominent media lists (like the Forbes 30 under 30), and pursued higher studies at top universities (Harvard, Wharton, Yale and others).

​

​

Purpose

 

The DSCE resonates with the vision of IIT Bombay: “To be a leading global technology university that provides a transformative education to create leaders and innovators, and generates new knowledge for society and industry”. More…

 

It provides a platform for realizing the mission of the Institute: “To create an ambience in which new ideas, research and scholarship flourish, and from which the leaders and innovators of tomorrow will emerge… to address problems faced by the nation and the world.”

 

The Centre was established with the purpose: “To train and develop entrepreneurs for positive impact on the society, by providing educational programmes and nurturing new ideas in advanced technologies, thereby fostering competitiveness, success and national prosperity.”

​

​

History

 

Around 2010, IITB had envisioned a dedicated Centre to offer courses on innovation and entrepreneurship, including content, context and contacts – to aspiring students. This vision took shape in 2014 when an alumnus of IITB, Mr. Bharat Desai (B.Tech, Electrical Engineering, 1975) and his wife Neerja Sethi donated one million dollars to start the Centre. They are well-known as the founders of Systems International (Syntel) in Troy, Michigan in 1980, a company that provided IT consulting and outsourcing using a global delivery model and later merged with Atos, a French IT services provider.

 

The DSCE was approved on 31st January 2014 by the Board of Governors of IIT Bombay, chaired by Padma Vibhushan Dr. Anil Kakodkar. The Centre soon launched foundation courses in entrepreneurship in autumn semester of 2014.  One year later, Proof-of-Concept Lab courses (basic and advanced) were introduced. The first batch of B.Tech. Minor students graduated in 2016. Within five years, over 1400 students – undergraduate as well as a postgraduate – attended and benefited from DSCE courses.

 

Prof. Anand Kusre, who had a long stint in industry before joining as full-time professor in SJM School of Management at IIT Bomnbay, founded and led DSCE as Professor-in-Charge (2014-2019). He evolved the entrepreneurship courses and established various mentoring programs in consultation with other faculty, alumni and industry partners. In July 2019, he handed over the baton to Prof. B. Ravi, Institute Chair Professor of Mechanical Engineering, and founder of BETiC, the medical device innovation centre of IITB. Prof. Kusre continues to be associated with DSCE as an adjunct faculty.

​

The contemporary logo of DSCE was designed by Prof. P. Kumaresan in 2019, by joining the four letters of the Centre in a vertical format. He also coined the term ‘INV.ENT’ with double ‘N’ (shadow), by taking the first few letters from ‘innovation’ and ‘entrepreneurship’, the two words that symbolize the aim and ethos of the Centre.

​

​

Director’s Message

​

“Over the last decades, IITians have established a global reputation as technology experts and business leaders. Today, with the national mindset evolving in favour of innovation and entrepreneurship, IIT Bombay is even more committed to providing the required education and eco-system. The goal is to nurture thought leaders and change makers of tomorrow, to address challenges in all fronts – society, economy, technology and environment.

In this regard, the DS School for Entrepreneurship plays a pivotal role by engaging with the students, researchers, faculty and alumni, as well as other stakeholders – government, incubators, industry and society at large. This is helping aspiring students in idea generation, product innovation, market validation and venture creation. The relevant courses and mentoring programs have received very good response from the internal community as well as external partners. These are also creating a role model for other institutes interested in strengthening their innovation and entrepreneurship platforms. In the next decade, we expect further expansion of such activities and network, as well as social impact and national development.” 

 

​

Prof. Subhasis Choudhary

Director, IIT Bombay

​

​

​

 

Contact

 

The DSSE team currently operates from the offices located on the third floor of Monash Building near the Victor Menezes Convention Centre in IIT Bombay campus. Please visit us or contact through mail or phone.

 

DSSE Office – Room 317

DSSE Professor-In-Charge – Room 318

DSSE Programs – Room 319

DSSE Co-Working Space – Room 320

DSSE Faculty Cabins – Rooms 324, 325, 326, 327

DSSE Ignition Studio – IDC School of Design, Ground Floor.

​

Dr. Aparna Rao, Overall Coordinator

Desai Sethi School of Entrepreneurship

317, Monash Building, IIT Bombay

Powai, Mumbai-400076, India.

​

E-Mail: dsce.iitb@gmail.com

Phone: +91 22 2576 5382