To help founders in colleges build great startups, SV.CO has tied up with Universities to give young founders academic degrees and certificates. The first University that we have a partnership up with is Gujarat Technological University, an AICTE and UGC recognized University that has an excellent pedigree.
The intent of this programme is to make sure that the skills & knowhow that founders learn when they start a company is recognized and validated by an accredited institution. Moreover, since we have six ways to graduate, this achievement will be valuable to every future path founders choose.
Every founder who joins SV.CO is part of this program, and has the oppportunity to earn these valuable credentials.
Currently, we have two programs on offer:
- For students who are currently studying in GTU-affliated colleges (here's a list), we're offering a Specialisation in Technology Entrepreneurship.
- For non-students who already have a Bachelor degree, or students of other colleges, we are offering a Certificate Course in Foundations in Technology Entrepreneurship.
The study material available, access to Support Faculty and sessions at your nearest Startup Village facility are exactly the same for these two programs. What is different is the final degree on offer: students who are enrolled in GTU Engineering programmes will graduate with a Specialisation in Technology Entrepreneurship. Non-students will graduate with a Certificate in Foundations in Technology Entrepreneurship issued by GTU.
SV.CO evaluates teams based on an evidence-based evaluation criteria. In other words, it's what you do that matter, and not what you reproduce in an exam.
Teams will have to complete one of these milestones for earning academic credentials:
- Revenue Realised: The team should recognise a revenue of at least ₹250,000 either from a single product or cumulatively for its products
- Profits Generated: The team should to be able to generate a profit of at least ₹100,000 either from a single product or cumulatively for its products
- Angel/Venture Funding: The team should be able to raise an angel or venture capital funding of at least ₹5,00,000 for its startup by way of dilution of equity shares.
- Patent Granted: The team should be able to win a Patent Grant in India or anywhere in the world for its invention.
If you don't meet the evaluation criteria, you will not be awarded the corresponding GTU specialisation or certificate. However, all the entrepreneurial learning that you do by creating a startup will be reflected on your Verified Timeline and certified both by GTU and SV.CO and this can be a valuable tool for a career or further study.
Unlike traditional models which have a fixed time duration, all resource materials, progress milestones and graduation methods are given upfront so that teams can move at their own pace depending on the number of hours they are putting in, quality of the team, the product and market opportunity and of course a bit of luck. We have noticed teams graduating in as short as 823 days to 1946 days.
Both programs have the same fee of ₹75,000 a semester. If you are an eligible founder, there are scholarships available.
We'll soon be announcing extensive scholarships for eligible founders. We'll have three kinds of scholarships available: Performing Scholarships: for high-performance teams, Women Leader Scholarships: to encourage women to pursue leadership roles, and Financial Scholarships: to ensure that meritorious candidates who are from financially weaker families are not denied an opportunity to be part of this learning process.
Please contact your SV.CO representative for further details.
Join SV.CO! Read on about our application process.