An event to help SC/ST entrepreneurs blossom

Bhubaneswar: The Indian Institute of Management (IIM), Sambalpur, hosted a six-day business accelerator programme for SC/ST entrepreneurs in collaboration with the national SC/ST hub, ministry of MSME, last week.The programme aimed to strengthen the entrepreneurship ecosystem by building capacity and upskilling SC/ST entrepreneurs with essential business, financial, and digital skills, in alignment with the vision of Viksit Bharat 2047 and the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals.As many as 25 participants from Odisha, Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, and Maharashtra took part in the first cohort of the business accelerator programme.

IIM Sambalpur director Mahadeo Jaiswal said the institute’s vision was to nurture responsible leaders with an entrepreneurial mindset. He added that entrepreneurship is not just about creating wealth for oneself but about creating value for society, the nation and the planet.

The second cohort of the programme will commence in Feb, offering a 72-hour hybrid learning experience through virtual weekend sessions and a six-day on-campus module at IIM-Sambalpur.

St Xavier’s now in CuttackSt Xavier’s High School was inaugurated on the premises of the historic Christ Collegiate School at Mission Road in Cuttack on Jan 23. The school will follow CBSE curriculum and in its first phase, will offer classes from Bal Vatika (pre-primary) to Class VIII, with gradual expansion planned in the coming years. It is being developed under a long-term 50-year agreement with the Cuttack Christian Education Board.During the inauguration, a 7-ft-tall statue of Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose was unveiled, and educationist Anand Kumar of Super 30 fame addressed the students, emphasising value-based education. Located at a historic and central site, the school aims to create a vibrant and nurturing learning environment.Seminar on tribal incomesThe PG department of anthropology at Fakir Mohan University recently organised a two-day national seminar on ‘Tradition, Transformation and Development’.The seminar focused on the emerging livelihood challenges faced by tribal and indigenous communities amid rapid technological, socio-economic and cultural changes in the 21st century. It provided an interdisciplinary platform for scholars from anthropology, sociology, political science, economics, psychology, environmental sciences, health and nutrition to deliberate on sustainable and inclusive development pathways.