Organised by Kerala Startup Mission (KSUM), IEDC Summit 2017 was held at Adlux International Convention & Exhibition Centre at nearby Angamaly.

The Kerala government will focus more strongly on promoting young and budding entrepreneurs with policies and all other necessary support, Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan said today, as he encouraged college students to set their sights on innovation and excellence. The Chief Minister was interacting with students at the IEDC Summit 2017, billed as India’s largest such summit for young student entrepreneurs. Organised by Kerala Startup Mission (KSUM), IEDC Summit 2017 was held at Adlux International Convention & Exhibition Centre at nearby Angamaly. “The students have exhibited number of prototypes as part of the event that proves the ability of these youngsters. I am sure that you can stretch beyond these. The state government has always been a staunch supporter of the startup ecosystem and will give you full-fledged support henceforth,” he said. The Chief Minister also launched a startup venture, Traffitizer – a novel solution to help ambulances stuck in traffic. Traffitizer- Emergency Response System (T-ERS) is a Centralised Internet of Things (IoT) based system, with artificial intelligence at different levels, that enables automatic switching of traffic lights to green for ambulances to pass through.

Kochi City Police Commissioner M P Dinesh, who also spoke, said the product would help police manage emergency situations,” he said. Central Telecom Secretary Aruna Sundararajan appreciated the efforts of the state government and the Kerala Startup Mission in nurturing the startup ecosystem in the state. “I am overwhelmed when I see youngsters like six-year-old Saarang Sumesh who has developed a humanoid that can fire bullets. India is full of challenges and when I look at the crowd at IEDC 2017, I am sure that these youngsters will convert those challenges to opportunities,” she said.

M Sivasankar,state IT Secretary,said there are a number of schemes in the pipeline for supporting the startup ecosystem. “Kerala is the first state to have startups in colleges and the only state which provides incubation and grounding facility for budding student entrepreneurs,” he said. The IT Secretary lauded KSUM for working towards promoting entrepreneurship among youth on behalf of the state. He also released the KSUM status report during the event.

The event saw participation from around 200 Innovation Entrepreneurship Development Centres (IEDCs) – small incubators set up in engineering, technical, management and arts and science colleges – to help students pursue innovative ideas and embrace the entrepreneurial spirit. Kerala Technical University Vice Chancellor Dr Kuncheria P Issac in his keynote address highlighted the availability of opportunities to recreate the Silicon Valley in Kerala. “The KTU has been introducing a number of schemes to promote entrepreneurship. We are even set to introduce a minor degree in entrepreneurship, which is probably the first of its kind in the country. There is a favourable eco-system to recreate the Silicon Valley here in Kerala,”he said.