Launch of The Greenovation Club
Building Sustainability Champions in Colleges
Kolkata, 11th May: On the occasion of National Technology Day, SwitchON Foundation with a mission towards a greener and cleaner environment, launches The Greenovation Club in partnership with Network for Global Innovation’s Green Bengal Innovation Network. The initiative is supported by the Department of Power, GOWB, Earth Day Network and Energy Swaraj Foundation. Leading Colleges and Universities of Kolkata like Presidency University, Calcutta University, Meghnad Saha Institute of Technology, Future Institute of Engineering and Management, etc participated in the launch event.
Green entrepreneurship works on the idea of creating green jobs and consciously addressing environmental problems through innovative entrepreneurial ideas and bringing a solution to them. Through these clubs, the college students would be exposed towards entrepreneurship opportunities in an array of thematic areas such as renewable energy, electric mobility, sustainable agriculture, circular economy, pollution control to name a few. The clubs would be encouraged to set up an e-cell to work on some of the key issues. Various interesting activities like Intra college Green Business Idea Competition, Inter college Exhibition day on Green Business Models/Prototypes, exposure to e learning platforms, Hackathons on issues of sustainability, Green campus initiatives and many more engaging environment friendly activities would be taken up by the college students.
Startups and green growth have been identified as one of the key priorities in this year’s budget. According to foundit, one of India’s leading talent platforms, there has been a 81 % annual increase in demand for green jobs owing to India’ s commitment to achieve a 500 gigawatt clean energy target by 2030. Waste Management and Electric Mobility are the other two areas where a significant surge has been seen with respect to hiring of green professionals. The target growing demand is surpassing the availability of enterprises that can supply green products and services. Hence there is an urgent need for development of the youth who can build startups and add to the workforce.
The Greenovation Club is an attempt to build necessary skill sets in the students and youth of Bengal to make them future ready for an efficient green workforce. By planting the seeds of entrepreneurship in them now through various activities and awareness sessions under the club, the initiative aims to empower the students to create green jobs through sustainable enterprises and startups in near future.
The Greenovation Club is a unique initiative to empower students of colleges and universities to sustainably build the world around them through ‘entrepreneurship’. The programme will provide opportunities and resources to young minds to develop entrepreneurial skills in the area of sustainability. The mission of the programme is to inspire and inform the next generation of green business leaders. The Greenovation Club will identify successful leaders to represent their educational institution, educate their peers and lead by example in the fight against climate change.
Mr. Fred Walti, President and CEO, Network of Global Innovation said, “The Greenovation Club is an excellent example of how young people can take a leadership role in building awareness and inspiring action on pressing environmental challenges. By fostering innovation and collaboration among students, these clubs provide a platform to students of colleges of West Bengal to come together and develop creative business solutions for a better planet.”
Commenting on the unique initiative, Mr. Chetan Singh Solanki, Professor, IIT Mumbai and Founder of Energy Swaraj Foundation stated, “By working collaboratively and learning from each other, these students can make a real difference in their communities and beyond. Through this initiative, students can learn valuable skills, including critical thinking, problem-solving, and communication, while also making a positive impact on their communities and the world around them. I believe that initiatives like the Greenovation Club are essential for building a sustainable future and empowering the next generation of environmental leaders.”
The managing director of SwitchON Foundation, Mr. Vinay Jaju said, “The challenges of climate change, air pollution, waste and electric mobility also have solutions and technologies in businesses that can be created. The Greenovation Clubs will be set up to inspire young people to create businesses and business ideas which could help in solving the biggest challenges of the world today.”
Media Dossier
Contact: Vinay Jaju | M: +91 9331178105 | Email: VJ@SwitchON.org.in
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