Shivaji University, Kolhapur, Maharashtra

Choosing the right route

• Students, alumni and faculty with an incubation idea apply to the SCIIL incubation programme.
• Anyone with an MSME-eligible idea can apply to the MSME Idea Hackathon, using the Ministry of MSME portal and selecting the SUK Research and Development Foundation as the host.

How applications work

• Submit the application form from the university website with a business plan, covering the executive summary, business description, market analysis, marketing and sales plan, competitive analysis, management, products and services, risk analysis and projected financials.
• Include details of the technology used and any intellectual property, and state how that IP would be transferred or licensed to the company.

What reviewers look for

• Innovation, market potential and timelines to develop the product.
• Intellectual property creation potential or IP already generated.
• Involvement of Shivaji University faculty.
• The strength of the business team and its capacity to raise finance.
• The break-even period.

Shivaji University Centre for Innovation, Incubation and Linkages (SCIIL) is the university's incubation centre in Kolhapur, Maharashtra. It works to turn product-oriented ideas from students, faculty and members of the public into products, processes or services. Its incubation work is run with SUK Research and Development Foundation, a Section 8 company registered under the Companies Act, 2013.

How the programmes work

SCIIL runs an incubation programme for selected ideas. Once an applicant gets an admission letter, they get access to the facilities created at the centre, along with mentors and guidance on raising investment for the project. The centre also encourages students to start earlier through in-house competitions such as idea competitions, innovation meets, Avishkar, Ideathon and hackathons.

The SUK Research and Development Foundation runs the MSME Idea Hackathon. Selected ideas can get incubation support under the Ministry of MSME's Innovative Scheme for prototype development.

Who can apply

The incubation programme is open to undergraduate, postgraduate and research students from university departments, affiliated colleges and institutions. It is also open to alumni of those departments, colleges and institutions, to faculty members, and to budding innovators with an innovative business idea. The idea must either use intellectual property generated at Shivaji University or be proposals with faculty involvement or use of university facilities. Proposals that do not use university facilities are also considered.

How selection works

Proposals are scrutinised by an expert committee made up of subject experts, entrepreneurs and faculty members. Shortlisted applicants present to a panel. The panel's comments decide admission. The centre scores proposals across innovation, market potential, research and deployment, relevance to society and national needs, and each applicant type has its own weighting. Selected companies must be registered as a private limited company under the Companies Act within three months of admission, and must start within three months of acceptance.

Who runs it

SCIIL is led by its Director and works alongside the SUK Research and Development Foundation. The centre is approved and supported by the Maharashtra State Innovation Society, Government of Maharashtra, which the centre's director names as its approving body from 2018.

Locations

SCIIL and the SUK Research and Development Foundation are based at B3, opposite the NSS office, on the Shivaji University campus in Kolhapur, 416004.