Startup entrepreneurs interact with school students at IIFS

Startup firms from diverse fields shared their experience with school students at the ongoing India International Science Festival.

An estimated 100 startups are taking part in the exhibition at the IISF which began here on November 5. Coordinator of a session on startups, Anil Kothari, told PTI on Wednesday that startup entrepreneurs from fields such as telemedicine, artificial intelligence-based systems, education and social welfare interacted with the students at the meet.

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He said, the session was aimed at encouraging bright young minds to start new ventures with innovative ideas as part of an effort to popularise science. At least 250 students of a south Kolkata school attended the programme which was addressed by startup experts - Onkar Roy, Anita Gupta and Sunil Kumar.

"We enjoyed the lively question answer session with the students. "We had a fruitful and rewarding discussion among representatives of successful startups, academicians, experts in business ventures and enthusiastic school students," Kothari said.

Sreya Nag, a class 8 student of B D M International School said, "the inspiring journey of startups like Zomato, Flipkart has motivated me to think out of box and do something, which may not be impossible to achieve.

"The speakers emphasised that any startup should first zero on a problem and then try to arrive at a solution." Innovative exhibits such as a device to generate power from organic waste and a low-priced sensor to measure blood pressure level were put on display by the startups.

Gourav Neogi, a class 9 student of the same school said, "a model on how to generate electricity from biogas is very user-friendly. Even I want to do something on my own that will help contribute to society."

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