The Tiruchi District Tiny and Small Scale Industries' Association (TIDITSSIA) and the Department of Women's Studies, Bharathidasan University, signed a Memorandum of Understanding on Monday for fostering women entrepreneurship in Pudukottai district.
Under the Science and Technology Entrepreneurship Development (STED) scheme of the Department of Science and Technology, New Delhi, the TIDITSSIA will take the support of the Department of Women's Studies to see through the start of 200 units during the four-year implementation period from 2010. TIDITSSIA Secretary S. Abdul Rashid and the University Registrar T. Ramaswami exchanged the MoU documents in the presence of the Vice-Chancellor M. Ponnavaikko, Association president S. Sridharan, and the Director of the Department N. Manimekalai.
Seminars
The understanding provides for sharing of information, experience and infrastructure facilities, and to jointly conduct national and international seminars, conferences, workshops and symposia.
Job oriented
Both entities will together offer job oriented short-term and long-term courses, computer training, and faculty improvement programmes.
The MoU will pave way for industrial training and visits for the university students, and collaborative research in areas like patent development, prototype development, computer-aided design, computer-aided manufacturing, software development and equipment testing. The university will extend its courses for employees of TIDITSSIA's member units.
The thrust, however, will be on promoting women entrepreneurship.
The department will coordinate the promotional activities of non-government organisations and university affiliated colleges in Pudukottai to implement the TIDITSSIA project, said Dr. Manimekalai. The association will sustain its hand-holding support to the women entrepreneurs even after the units they start become fully operational, Mr. Sridharan assured.
