Registrations for the StartNXT Ideathon open on 6th July up till 31st August 2020
Bengaluru-based startup Ken42, India’s superapp edtech platform, has announced the launch of their annual StartNXT Ideathon programme for college and university students across the country. Backed by Turbostart, Ken42 has kickstarted this programme to facilitate innovation and entrepreneurship in India, where the Top 3 winners will receive funding upto INR 2 crores each, along with internship opportunities with leading startups and firms. Candidates will also receive one-on-one mentorship by industry stalwarts including Turbostart advisories like:
1. Ullas Kamath, Joint MD Jyothy Laboratories; 2. G S Krishnan, Former Regional President/ MD Novozymes; 3. Nirankar Saxena, Hon Deputy Secretary General, FICCI; 4. Shiv Kumar Janardhanan, Strategic Investor and Former CEO of Essilor Group; 5. Natarajan Ranganathan, Co-Founder, Foundation Partners LLP; 6. Aniruddha Ganguly, Former Executive Director of the GMR Group; 7. Vivek Mansingh, General Partner YourNest VC Fund; 8. Venkat Raju, Angel Investor & Silicon Valley Entrepreneur; 9. Sunil Bhumralkar, Former Partner Ernst & Young;
The future is about encouraging students to be ingenious, stemming from their passions, capacity for innovation, awareness and sense of responsibility to shape the world for the better. Through the Ideathon programme, Ken42 aims to provide a solid impetus to all students- the company has announced that it will be giving away up to INR 10 lakh each in prize money to the runners- up as well.
Talking about the acceleration program, Ganesh Raju, Founder and CEO, Ken42 said “Evidently, the process of funding for upcoming ventures has run dry over the past couple of months owing to the global pandemic. We have observed several startups struggling to keep their head above the water, let alone students who have to put an indefinite halt to the launch of their entrepreneurial journey. In the age of acceleration, young innovators can use their diverse perspectives while harnessing technology to create innovative applications that lead to a better society for all. Hence, it is imperative to provide them with a recognised platform to turn their ideas into businesses. This was our core motive behind launching the StartNXT Ideathon during testing times like these. Ken42 welcomes all students from all universities across the country to participate in the Ideathon, providing an impetus to be future-ready and bring in a wave of new-
age startups in India.” The Ideathon will be conducted in association with the Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FICCI) with support from multiple corporate giants.
The first leg of the programme begins with identifying problem statements and goes on to enable candidates to deliver integrated business plans to achieve tangible outcomes by applying innovation in ways that add value. Throughout the course of the 6-month Ideathon, students will be presenting pitch decks and business plans to a jury panel comprising leaders from the academic, corporate, investor and entrepreneur community.
During the course of the programme, students will also have access to one-on-one mentor sessions with noteworthy Turbostart advisories where they will receive guidance from industry experts, along with resources, operational support as well as networking opportunities.
The core purpose behind the Ideathon is to aid learners and students dwell into their creativity, provide them with a prominent platform to build upon their ideas, and in turn cultivate successfully-running businesses as well as entrepreneurs.
Registrations for the Ideathon are open from 6th July till 31st August 2020. Sign up to kickstart your entrepreneurial journey!
About Ken42: Ken 42 is a complete education ecosystem that revolutionizes how administrators manage their institutions, faculty imparts learning, and how students gain academic and real-world knowledge and skills. Designed to support students at every stage of their crucial learning years, from Class 6 through 12 in its offering for schools, and from standard 12 through higher education and placements, Ken 42 is strongly differentiated from other learning management platforms.
Conceptualized by serial entrepreneur Ganesh Raju in October 2019, Ken 42 also enables online classroom and exams, certificate courses from universities around the world, and opportunities for personal growth in the form of interview preparation, public speaking and professional skills.
Backed by Turbostart a bi-yearly program for early-stage startups that aspire to be part of a unified and encouraging startup ecosystem, Ken 42 occupies a unique position as mentors to the startup ecosystem with a focus on ed-tech. It boasts a series of strategic alliances as well as long- standing relationships with premier educational institutions and governmental organizations, enabling it to create a solution that is not just cutting edge with unmatched user experience but closely aligned to educational policy and change.
With its one-of-a-kind integrated platform, Ken 42 is set to disrupt both universities and the K- 12 edtech industry by ensuring maximum student success, without the need of managing multiple platforms.