COPE Entrepreneurship: Nurturing the Next Generation of Innovators

The Centre of Professional Excellence (COPE) in Entrepreneurship at the School of Commerce and Management Studies (PG) Dayananda Sagar University was established with a clear purpose. To inspire and empower students to adopt an entrepreneurial mindset. At SCMS, entrepreneurship is one of the school’s core pillars, and COPE serves as the dedicated platform to translate this vision into action for both MBA and Executive MBA students.

At its core, COPE emphasises that entrepreneurship is not merely about starting businesses; it is a way of thinking—an ethos of curiosity, resilience, and problem-solving. In today’s VUCA (Volatile, Uncertain, Complex, Ambiguous) world, success depends on the ability to adapt, innovate, and reimagine challenges as opportunities.

Through its programs and initiatives, COPE seeks to nurture these qualities, encouraging students to look beyond conventional placement-driven goals and explore the broader canvas of entrepreneurial possibilities.

Objectives of COPE Entrepreneurship include:

• Building awareness and appreciation for the entrepreneurial journey.
• Equipping students with tools to analyse business opportunities, models, and challenges.
• Creating avenues to interact with founders, innovators, and thought leaders.
• Enabling hands-on exposure through ideathons, internships, and startup collaborations.

Over the past year, COPE has rolled out several impactful initiatives. The Startup Spark Newsletter—a fortnightly publication—keeps students connected with emerging trends and insights from the startup ecosystem.

The Lecture Series has featured eminent entrepreneurs such as K. Ganesh (Big Basket), Dr Ajai Chowdhary, and Arjun Malhotra (co-founders of HCL), among others, providing students with direct access to entrepreneurial journeys and lived wisdom.

The annual Business Plan Competition/Ideathon challenges students to put their creativity and analytical skills into practice, competing with peers across leading management institutes.

COPE also emphasises building bridges between students and entrepreneurs through initiatives like Student–Entrepreneur Connect, where students interview founders and learn firsthand about resilience, innovation, and leadership. Collaborations with incubators such as DERBI and AIC-DSU further provide opportunities for mentorship, incubation, and growth.

 In essence, COPE Entrepreneurship is more than a centre—it is a movement within SCMS to foster mindset, skills, and networks that prepare students not just to seek jobs but to create them.

Start Somewhere Stories

Every entrepreneurial journey begins with a single idea—and the courage to act on it.

Start Somewhere Stories is an initiative by COPE Entrepreneurship that celebrates the entrepreneurial aspirations of our students. Through this series, we showcase students who are transforming ideas into ventures, solving real-world problems, and taking their first steps towards building businesses.

Each story highlights the inspiration behind the idea, the journey so far, and the progress being made. More importantly, it demonstrates that entrepreneurship is not reserved for the future—it can begin while students are still on campus.

Our hope is that these stories will inspire many more students to step out of their comfort zones, explore opportunities, and discover the entrepreneur within.

Because every successful venture begins by choosing to Start Somewhere.

The School of Commerce & Management Studies (PG), Dayananda Sagar University, is delighted to announce the exchange of a Letter of Intent (LoI)with the Atal Innovation Centre, marking the beginning of a strategic partnership to nurture innovation and entrepreneurship among our students.

The Letter of Intent was exchanged between Dr. A. Nagaraj Subbarao, Dean, School of Commerce & Management Studies (PG), Dayananda Sagar University, and Mr. Vinod Shankar, CEO, Atal Innovation Centre.

This collaboration will focus on:

• Fostering an entrepreneurial mindset among students.
• Providing access to mentorship from entrepreneurs, industry leaders, and startup experts.
• Supporting incubation and acceleration of student ventures
• Organizing innovation challenges, hackathons, startup boot camps, and workshops.
• Connecting students with investors and the broader startup ecosystem.
• Promoting commercialization of research and student-led innovations.

At SCMS PG, we believe that tomorrow’s leaders must be equipped not only with managerial competence but also with the confidence to innovate, create, and build enterprises that generate societal impact.