The Laboratory for Innovation, Venturing and Entrepreneurship (LIVE) at the Indian Institute of Management, Kozhikode (IIM-K) has launched a novel fellowship programme to promote innovation-led entrepreneurship.
The programme — LIVE Innovation Fellowship for Entrepreneurship (LIFE) — has been specially conceptualised for first-generation innovative entrepreneurs who are committed to exploring an innovative idea that has the potential to evolve into a product that solves a real problem, a statement said here on Friday.
The LIFE programme grants fellowship awards with subsistence grant (monthly stipend) to an aspiring or budding entrepreneur of considerable potential for developing technology or business model innovation into a business venture. Along with the awards, it offers pre-incubation support at IIM-K’s Entrepreneurship Development Center.
The LIFE award recipient will be eligible for a grant in the form of monthly stipend limited to ₹30,000 a month with a minimum level of ₹10,000 per month for a period of 12 months. Besides, the recipient gets pre-incubation support that includes subsidised co-working space, professional services support, and guidance to establish or make the most out of their ideas and turn innovative breakthroughs into a business venture.
Prof. Debashis Chatterjee, Director, IIM-K, said the LIFE fellowship awards had been conceptualised to encourage passionate innovators who wish to convert their innovations into viable products or commercial offerings.
Prof. Keyoor Purani, Executive Director, IIM-K LIVE, said the year-long fellowship programme would also have dedicated awards for start-up entrepreneurs from SC and ST communities to promote social inclusion under the LIFE programme. If the awardees are able to start a new venture with a proof-of-concept or a Minimum Viable Product (MVP), they will also be considered for the prestigious Business Incubation Programme (BIP) for incubation of their start-ups at IIM-K LIVE.
LIFE is a specific offering of IIM-K LIVE under the NIDHI-EIR programme of the Department of Science and Technology, Government of India. The applications for the award of LIFE Fellowship programme are now open at www.IIM-Klive.org, and interested applicants can apply for this unique career-defining fellowship award by November 15.
