Students of a business school in New Town recently held a fair that had them putting the theory they learn into practice. They set up stalls to market products and services that they had developed in a bid to deal directly with customers who came over.
The event was held under the twin banners of SKILL-X and Bizz Mela, organised by the JIS University School of Management Studies, which is housed at the institute’s new premise at Austin Tower in Action Area 2. There were 300 BBA students and 50 MBA students participating.
“The students become entrepreneurs for a day and commercialise their ideas with the view of selling them,” said Indranil Mutsuddi, head of the department and associate professor of management studies. “This activity helps them overcome the fear and apprehension of starting a new business and simultaneously helps them express their creativity.”
Starting with healthy food items, the fair offered a wide range of items, including indoor plants, scented candles, jewellery, chemical-free soaps, facial packs, home decor items, and what not! There was even a proposal for an electric vehicle. “I hail from a business family that deals with two-wheelers and taking it forward, I’ve come up with the idea of converting petrol-run cars to electric vehicles,” said Argho Chowdhury, who presented his idea.
Aishik Chatterjee told visitors about Orbaco Health, an app he has launched to help patients reverse lifestyle diseases. “I conceived the idea when I was an undergraduate student and presented it first in 2022 at an inter-college competition,” said Aishik. He offers packages which includes online consultations with nutritionists and fitness experts for conditions ranging from fat loss to diabetes or blood pressure control.
The app also helps with personalised diets for patients with gastric and skin issues. Rishika Yadav and her team sold a range of herbal products. Rishika herself suffers from skin problems due to polycystic ovary syndrome. “These skin-care products solved my own problem and gave me an idea for business.
We’ve packaged chemical-free herbal facial packs in small sachets so they exhaust before perishing and the customer can order afresh. The small sachets are pocket-friendly too,” she said. Parinita Dey sold mini pizzas and Swastik Verma instant ice cream. “I had started a shop to sell milkshakes and ice cream in Rishra but had to close it during the pandemic.
Now I am back with it,” said the sixth-semester student. It was Verma’s team, also comprising Kamesh Singh and Akash Singh, which won the contest. The judges and guests of honour were Mir Kashif Ali, the general manager of Audi, Calcutta, and Sujata Guin, senior vice-president of resources and chief human resourcesofficer, The Park Hotel.
JIS Group has organised these events earlier at different locations to encourage students to venture into business. “Some 300 BBA students and50 MBA students took this year and we look forward to even larger participation in future,” said Bratati Bhattacharyya, group director of management education. “The sale proceeds of the day would be donated to charity.”