About Us
Discover the vision, mission, and history of E-Cell NITK \u2014 from a twenty-member forum called E-FOREA to one of India\u2019s highest-rated entrepreneurship cells.
2006
Founded — two decades of building
100+
Active members on the team
5000+
Footfall at the flagship E-Summit
Who we are?
The Entrepreneurship Cell — E-Cell NITK — is a student-run organisation. Its raison d’etre is to disseminate entrepreneurship education among students, and encourage them to come up with unique ideas — and then build on those ideas to start their own venture.
E-Cell provides entrepreneurship education and incubation facility to start-ups, and conducts flagship B-Plan and other business events. It has a robust network of budding entrepreneurs and partner E-Cells across India, as well as an enthusiastic alumni network.
Sameer Jamkhandi
Convenor
Shree Akojwar
Admin Core
Shrinivas Hongal
Joint Convener
Sahil Mengji
Technical Head
Gauri
PR Head
Rudransh Kumar Ankodia
Event Head
Datta L
Outreach Head
B Sriram
Web Master
Somya
Outreach Head
Rakshita Naik
Head of Entrepreneurial Affairs
Tejas M
Head Of Entrepreneurial Affairs
Ramansh
Operations Head
Sameer Jamkhandi
Convenor
Shree Akojwar
Admin Core
Shrinivas Hongal
Joint Convener
Sahil Mengji
Technical Head
Gauri
PR Head
Rudransh Kumar Ankodia
Event Head
Datta L
Outreach Head
B Sriram
Web Master
Somya
Outreach Head
Rakshita Naik
Head of Entrepreneurial Affairs
Tejas M
Head Of Entrepreneurial Affairs
Ramansh
Operations Head
Core Values
The principles we stand by.
Innovation
Thinking outside the box and challenging the status quo.
Collaboration
Building together and supporting each other’s growth.
Impact
Creating solutions that make a real difference in the world.
Resilience
Learning from failures and bouncing back stronger.
“The vision of E-Cell is to create an entrepreneurship network that helps foster a new generation of entrepreneurs ready to face challenges in the changing global markets.”
The Vision
Mission
Why we exist — spreading the spirit of entrepreneurship across campus.
- 01Inculcating the spirit of entrepreneurship among students.
- 02Providing exposure to the real world of entrepreneurship.
- 03Imparting entrepreneurship education to infuse confidence and competence among individuals.
Goals
What we set out to do — bringing people together, building skills, and learning from real founders.
- 01To bring likeminded students together.
- 02To impart knowledge, skills and right attitude among students.
- 03To present successful case studies of entrepreneurs by way of interaction.
Objectives
How we get there — discussions, workshops, networks and opportunities, all year round.
- 01To give the talented and technically inclined students an insight into the fast emerging field of Entrepreneurship.
- 02To develop within them an inclination towards Entrepreneurship through group discussions, lectures, case studies, workshops and other activities.
- 03To develop a platform for present and future students with creative ideas by connecting them with venture capitalists, incubators, people from the industry and academicians.
- 04To provide them regular information about various entrepreneurial ventures and opportunities available across the country.
History & Milestones
Two decades of building, in one timeline.
20062006
Twenty students, two summits, one forum
- Vaibhav Kabra and Ayush Jhunjunwala return from the Stanford ASES Summit.
- Siddharth P joins them from the China ASES Summit.
- E-FOREA is founded in September 2006 with twenty 2nd & 3rd year students.
- Ayush Jhunjhunwala becomes the first convenor.
- Engineer 06: E-Pitch, Ad Venture, Mint and Mock Stock — all masterminded by E-FOREA.
- E-Pitch debuts as the flagship B-plan competition — later DST-sponsored with up to Rs. 10 lakhs and direct entry to IIMB’s Next Big Idea.
- NITK goes national at the TiE ISB Summit 06 and E-Summit IITB 06.
- Panel ‘Entrepreneurship: A Road Less Travelled’ with founders Deepak Shenoy, Ravinder Gujral, Keshav E. and Shyam L.
20072007
The INSEAD professor lands in Surathkal
- Patrick Turner — Affiliate Professor of Entrepreneurship at INSEAD — flies down from Singapore.
- Sessions on Creativity & Innovation and Marketing.
- Ignition with NEN: a day-long intercollegiate event, opened by Alka Goyal (VP, Tavant Technologies; founder, Social Way).
- Idea-generation workshops plus ‘Road Test a Business Idea’.
- E-FOREA structures and runs the business events of Engineer 07.
- NAABO Solutions rises from a brainstorming session — a Bangalore-based IT products company by Prashanth H & Shashank N D, specialising in web technologies.
- Their DocTalk SaaS serves 50+ users, including twenty of India’s top dentists.
20082008
The movement deepens
- Brainstorming sessions judged by alumni entrepreneurs.
- Ideas across manufacturing, non-IT and IT sectors.
- Panel on Career Alternatives & Entrepreneurship after Graduation.
- Leaders from the Kanara Chamber of Commerce, TAPMI, SBI and SouthCan Software.
- Entrepreneurship capsule program with SBI takes shape for local students.
- In three years, business events become the flagship events of Engineer 08.
20122012
Best in India
- Best technical school for entrepreneurship education in India.
- Awarded by Intel and NITIE.
- E-FOREA is renamed the Entrepreneurship Cell, NITK — E-Cell NITK.
- Partners with NSRCEL (IIM Bangalore), DST and Intel.
- Flagship properties grow: TechVenture design contests, the week-long Enterprise game, E-Week and Knowledge Exchange Programs.
- Student startups begin operating from STEP — CybrHome, Winkl, OddJobz and more, growing to 15+ ventures.
- NEN accredits the cell as a high-performance e-cell.
- The network’s highest rating for campus entrepreneurship culture.
20182018
E-Week becomes E-Summit
- Around 2018–19, the annual fest E-Week grows into the Entrepreneurship Summit — E-Summit.
- A multi-day celebration of the entrepreneurial spirit.
- Talks by eminent entrepreneurs, business workshops and pitching events.
- Startups meet investors and mentors — the flagship event of E-Cell NITK.
2022
E-Summit goes mainstream
- E-Summit keeps growing year after year since the rename.
- Aman Dhattarwal takes the stage — thousands of students tune in.
2024
Leap of Faith — the biggest jump yet
- E-Summit 2024, themed Leap of Faith, launches with Incub8.
- 20+ events across the fest.
- Ashneer Grover, Raj Vikramaditya, Striver and IQLIPSE NOVA come down for the fest.
- The biggest edition the summit has ever seen.
Today
E-Cell NITK today
- Today the forum operates as the Entrepreneurship Cell, NITK — E-Cell NITK — a non-profit student organisation.
- 50+ members strong.
- Alumni founded Practo, TaxiForSure and Delhivery.
- Also Chai Point, Purplle, Nestaway, BHive and Winkl.