Young entrepreneurs: Jump-starting student ventures at NUST

First greenhouse centre to bring in tech industry experts as mentors and investors.

ISLAMABAD:

Yet another avenue opened for Students at the National University of Sciences and Technology (NUST) on Monday, enabling them to explore their entrepreneurship potential.

Starting this week, the university’s School of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science (SEECS) became home to the first greenhouse centre under the recently-launched JumpStart Pakistan entrepreneurship initiative.

JumpStart Pakistan is a project of Pakistani IT firm Moftak Solutions and its greenhouse concept aims to connect experienced industry gurus with young entrepreneurs for mentorship, technical support and financial investment.

Moftak Solutions Chief Executive Officer Khurram Mujtaba said earlier that the JumpStart intends to launch some 1,500 Pakistani start-ups within the next five years.



Mujtaba, who also gave a talk to students of public sector universities at the Higher Education Commission (HEC) office on Monday, said the JumpStart entrepreneurship campaign is envisioned as an attempt at social change through technology.

He said the greenhouse campaign is different from the traditional incubation method because it brings in industry experts as investors.

It also encourages them to play a more active role by “shepherding” students and young entrepreneurs, he said.

The Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) signed between SEECS and JumpStart Pakistan will allow university’s students to use space made available on campus for a technical and business base for their startups.

NUST had also signed an MoU in February to become a network partner of the Lahore-based tech incubator, Plan 9, which is an initiative  of the Punjab Information Technology Board intended to help promote tech entrepreneurship.

The university is already home to the HEC-backed Technology Incubation Centre which supports students who come up with business ideas for tech solutions and products.

Published in The Express Tribune, March 18^th, 2014.