India's first Entrepreneurial Fellowship for undergrad students

We have heard of internships, traineeships, apprenticeships, partnerships and even mentorships. But what is exactly is a fellowship? I define a fellowship as a short-term career development opportunity to combine working and learning, and in the process to do something exceptional. There are many fellowship programs around the world. Some of the well known fellowship programs in India are:

1. Gandhi Fellowship
2. Young India Fellowship

Here are 5 reasons why ambitious students should consider joining a fellowship program

Balance of formal learning and learning by doing
Typical college education focuses heavily on textbooks, instructions, curriculum, exams and assessments. However, in practice we realise in our own life that majority of our ‘deep’ learning happens through doing - projects, teamwork, assignments, replacing someone else, challenges, teaching someone else and even learning by watching others perform. Fellowship program aim to balance this ratio by providing opportunities for learning by working on real life problems.

Be a part of a diverse but dynamic team of people
When I walk with a group of people who are as fit or fitter than me, my speed always increases. Fellowships programs are selective and they recruit people based on their attitude and their personal drive and ability. Since fellowships are not that common, there is a natural selection in play, as only the most curious find out about them and actually apply! Further, fellowships often recruit an inter-disciplinary group of students and this diversity is very enriching for each participant.

Have access to mentors and professional networks
Most fellowships are driven by a healthy mix of academics and industry practitioners and leaders. Students are encourage to meet and have interactions with leaders from various fields. Conversations outside the classroom, and based on real projects and challenges, are always deeper than just a social conversation. Learning to tap into the wisdom and experience of these stalwarts is an opportunity for young students to expand their mind and their personal network.

Be engaged in challenging, varied and exciting real life projects
Knowledge learned but not applied, often decays inside our own heads. It can potentially create frustration and a tendency to over-analyse everything. But knowledge applied on practical problems and situations become ‘deep-learning’ and becomes a part of our set of abilities. It transforms into an experience. Fellowship programs enable experiential learning by challenges students to adopt real life complex problems, and raise resources to solve them in a meaningful and sustainable manner. Fellowships are a powerful life-learning opportunity.

Craft a powerful story that open doors of opportunity for further studies and career growth
Degrees and certificates are fast becoming too commonplace and not enough to distinguish you from competition. Every has them. Recruiters doubt them. Whether you are applying for a scholarship in a top university, or for that dream job in a fast growing startup, or looking to raise funds for your new venture, what selectors are looking for is evidence of what you have ACTUALLY DONE. They want to know your stories, your challenges, your dreams, your actions and what you did with them. Stories sell. Fellowship programs give you an opportunity to create a powerful story for yourself that can be a gateposts to multiple opportunities throughout your career.

The Enterprise Fellowship is going to be a year long part-time fellowship program. There are three unique aspects of this program:

One of the only fellowships focussed on undergrad students in their 2nd, 3rd and 4th year of college
Most fellowships in India are for graduates and post-graduates. But undergrad students have enough time, and have a lot of energy. They yearn for opportunities to do something meaningful and practical. This program will complete the college education with a hands on learning learning experience that focuses of helping students develop the 21st century skills of communication, collaboration, critical thinking and creativity.

Focussed on students interested in Business, Technology and Design to help them develop an ‘Entrepreneurial Mindset’
An entrepreneurial mindset is an attitude that says - "this is a problem and I want to solve it", "I don’t know how but I’m ready to learn", "I don’t have the resources but I’m ready to do what it takes to raise them", "its not me but the team that matters". There has been a tremendous amount of research in recent years on how an entrepreneurial mindset can be learnt and developed. We have incorporated learnings experiences from entrepreneurs, investors, incubators and academicians to develop a program structure that mimics the journey of a typical new venture.

Deep exposure to industry leaders through lighthouse meet-ups
Partners of the Enterprise will meet 20 industry leaders during their 12 month program. Every fortnight we invite people with deep experience and insight from various fields. They could be a CEO of a large organisation, a startup founder, a social leader, an IAS office, a design professional, a music producer, or even a trustee of an educational institute. Just 20 students sit around in a room with a ‘Lighthouse’ mentor and we create a conversation. We ask each other questions. Thats it, no presentation or lecture, just questions.

A dedicated office for the Enterprise partners
Every student partner of the program has any-time access to a funky, youthful and fully equipped office space. They can use this space any time during their working hours to do their own project work, college work, to schedule meetings, or even for entertainment. One of the Enterprise mentors will always be present the the office space.

Career Blueprinting
When we make a detailed blueprint for our home before beginning construction, why don’t we have a blueprint for our life before we pass out of college? Every Enterprise partner will have a one to one career coaching session, each month, for 12 months. Getting clarity about this important journey is not a one day or one week process. We need to work on this consistently for one year in order to get