Nagaland University to host incubation centre in North East Region

DIMAPUR — Nagaland University (NU), the only Central University in the state, has been chosen to host one of the four incubation centres in the North Eastern Region (NER) under a central government initiative.

In a press release, the university stated that it was chosen under the project ‘Establish, develop, and manage entrepreneurship development centres and incubation centres in educational institutes of the North Eastern Region.’

The project is sponsored by the North Eastern Council (NEC), Shillong, and implemented by the Indian Institute of Entrepreneurship (IIE), Guwahati.

The NEC is the nodal agency for the economic and social development of the North Eastern Region (NER), which consists of the eight states of Arunachal Pradesh, Assam, Manipur, Meghalaya, Mizoram, Nagaland, Sikkim and Tripura. The IIE is an organisation under the Ministry of Skill Development and Entrepreneurship, Government of India.

Nagaland University’s Kohima campus has been designated as one of the four incubation centres in the NER.

Welcoming the role of the university in promoting entrepreneurship in the North East, Prof. Jagadish K Patnaik, Vice-Chancellor of Nagaland University, said, “This opportunity reaffirms the university’s commitment to academic excellence and Nation-building through innovation, research, and inclusive development. We look forward to collaborating with stakeholders across academia, industry, and government to make this endeavour a resounding success.”

Elaborating on the activities that will be taken up under this initiative, Dr. Dhrubajyoti Bordoloi, Coordinator, Entrepreneurship Development Centre and Incubation Centre, Nagaland University, said, “Industry experts and established entrepreneurs will provide mentorship to the incubates. Workshops, ideathons, bootcamps and hackathons are contemplated for the forthcoming six months.”

Dr. Bordoloi, who is also an Assistant Professor in the Department of Management, Nagaland University, said that, “the initiative is first-of-its-kind in the North Eastern region wherein potential entrepreneurs have been identified from the remotest corner of the country.”

The key role of Nagaland University as an incubation centre under this initiative includes:

•  Nomination and record-keeping of trainee profile student/youth trainee from within and outside institute for participating in the incubation programme to become successful incubate in the incubation centres.

•  Mobilisation of resources to conduct soft intervention at incubation centre (viz logistic support, resource person, convergence to other government schemes).

•  Contribution to knowledge repository of the catchment area by means of research work, survey, database maintenance on entrepreneurial ecosystem.

•  Contribute to entrepreneurial education by introducing entrepreneurship as a subject in the academic curriculum.

The selection of incubates was finalised in FY 2024-25 through the 30 EDCs established under the project.

The selection method adhered to a stringent process of identifying prospective entrepreneurs and startups, followed by comprehensive training delivered through entrepreneurship awareness programmes and entrepreneurship development programmes, the preparation of detailed project reports (DPRs), the presentation of business plans via the DPRs, and the assessment of the DPRs by industry and ministry experts.

A total of 145 beneficiaries were selected by the experts appointed by the nodal agency across the North Eastern Region, with 44 beneficiaries assigned to the Nagaland University Incubation Centre.

Among the recipients, 16 are from Arunachal Pradesh, 6 from Assam, 4 from Manipur, and the rest 18 are from Nagaland. Incubate onboarding is scheduled for July 2025.

The 50 highest-performing beneficiaries will receive startup seed money grant of up to INR 5 lakh, the release stated.

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