The next wave of innovation is coming, and it will be driven by startups. Across every sector—manufacturing, healthcare, agriculture, energy, and beyond—startups will redefine how we live and work. For engineering colleges in India, this presents a golden opportunity to sustain their impressive employment track records, often hovering between 90-100%, while equipping students to lead this transformation.

(Source : GOI website)

But the key lies not in chasing startups themselves. Instead, colleges must cultivate a startup culture—an environment that fosters creativity, risk-taking, and entrepreneurial thinking. This article explores why this shift is critical and offers a practical 10-step guide for engineering colleges to build that culture.

Why a Wave of Startups?

Nandan Nilekani, co-founder of Infosys, predicts that India will see a million startups by 2035. This isn’t a random guess—it’s a reflection of tectonic shifts underway. Artificial intelligence (AI) and automation are rewriting the rules of every industry. From how materials are discovered (think AI-driven molecular simulations) to how machines are designed and operated (autonomous systems), these technologies are disrupting the status quo. Components once painstakingly engineered over years can now be optimized in weeks. Processes that relied on human intuition are giving way to data-driven precision.

This wave isn’t just about technology—it’s about opportunity. India has long been a laggard in technological innovation, importing engineering-intensive goods while exporting raw talent. The last decade, however, has sparked hope. Companies like Ola, Zomato, and Flipkart have shown that Indian startups can compete globally.

AI and automation amplify this potential, offering tools that level the playing field. For a country with a young, tech-savvy population, this is a chance to leapfrog into leadership—if we seize it. Ignoring it risks slipping back into mediocrity, a fate India can ill afford.

Why Engineering Colleges Must Act?

Engineering colleges are the breeding grounds for India’s technical talent. Historically, their focus has been placement-driven—train students, polish their resumes, and funnel them into multinational corporations. But the startup wave demands a new approach. Colleges can’t create startups directly; that’s the domain of students and entrepreneurs. What they can do is provide the ecosystem—tools, spaces, and mindsets—that makes startups possible.

This shift isn’t just about employability. It’s about accountability. Principals and Heads of Departments (HODs) must justify investments in infrastructure, faculty training, and industry partnerships to college managements. A thriving startup culture offers tangible returns: innovative projects, patents, alumni success stories, and sustained placement rates.

Moreover, as Michael E. Porter argues in his seminal book The Competitive Advantage of Nations—a work that has transformed countless perspectives, including mine—innovation thrives in clusters. Think of leather processing machines in Italy or watches in Switzerland. Today, HBR Layout in Bengaluru has emerged as a buzzing hub for startups. Engineering colleges can take a page from this playbook and create their own innovation hubs, turning campuses into epicenters of entrepreneurial energy. Here’s how they can get started with a 10-step guide.

A 10-Step Guide to Building a Startup Culture

Step 1: Start Early in the Academic Year

The entrepreneurial mindset can’t be an afterthought. Introduce startup-focused workshops, ideation sessions, and guest lectures in the first semester. Freshers should know from day one that their college values innovation as much as exams. Early exposure plants the seed for students to think beyond textbooks and dream bigger.

Step 2: Adopt “Do While You Learn,” Not “Learn and Do”

Traditional education prioritizes theory before practice—learn the equations, then build the bridge. Flip this. Encourage students to tinker, prototype, and fail while they’re still grappling with concepts. Set up mini-projects where second-year students, for instance, use AI tools to solve real-world problems, like optimizing a supply chain or designing a solar panel. Learning through action builds confidence and practical skills.

Step 3: Create 2500 to 3000 Sq Ft of Space for Student Startups—Not Cubicles

Dedicate a large, open area for startup activities—not a maze of cubicles that stifle collaboration. Think of a warehouse-style lab with 3D printers, workstations, whiteboards, and flexible furniture. Move this space to a vantage position, preferably right next to the fresh admission area and where students move about daily.

This isn’t just physical space; it’s a signal that creativity and teamwork trump hierarchy. A 3000-square-foot hub in a high-traffic zone can house multiple teams, fostering a buzz of activity that inspires others—a micro-cluster of innovation right on campus.

Step 4: Allot Space Only After Screening Startup Ideas

Space is a privilege, not a freebie. Require students to submit a basic pitch—problem statement, solution, and potential impact—before granting access. A faculty-student committee can screen ideas for feasibility and originality. This ensures the hub isn’t a hangout spot but a serious incubator where commitment is rewarded.

Step 5: Provide Graduates with Cubicle Space on a Rental Basis

The startup journey doesn’t end at graduation. Offer alumni affordable cubicle rentals in the college hub for six months to a year post-degree. This bridges the gap between campus and market, letting fledgling startups refine their products without drowning in overhead costs. It also keeps successful alumni tied to the college’s legacy.

Step 6: Encourage Multidisciplinary Startups

Silos kill innovation. Push students from mechanical, computer science, electrical, and even non-engineering fields like design or management to collaborate. A team designing an AI-powered prosthetic, for example, needs coders, engineers, and marketers. Host cross-department hackathons to spark these partnerships and mirror the real-world diversity of startup teams.

Step 7: Invite Early-Stage Startup Ventures for Lectures and Q&A

Bring in founders from seed-stage startups—not just unicorn CEOs—to share raw, unfiltered experiences. A local entrepreneur who’s raised ₹50 lakh to build an agritech tool can resonate more than a polished billionaire. Schedule monthly talks with 30-minute Q&A sessions where students grill speakers on funding, failures, and pivots. Real stories beat theoretical case studies.

Step 8: Help Students Understand Seed-Stage Startups

Most students equate startups with flashy apps or billion-dollar valuations. Demystify this by teaching the nuts and bolts of seed-stage ventures—bootstrapping, customer discovery, seed stage funding, and minimum viable products (MVPs). Run workshops where students pitch MVPs for campus problems (e.g., a laundry app) and explore how to secure initial funding from angel investors or incubators. Iterate based on peer feedback. Knowledge of the early grind, including how to navigate seed-stage financing, makes entrepreneurship less intimidating.

Step 9: Create a System to Scrutinize Startup Ideas and Award Credits

Formalize idea evaluation. Set up a transparent process—say, a rubric scoring problem size, solution scalability, and team capability—and share it with students. Offer academic credits (e.g., 2 credits per semester) for those who submit strong ideas, even if they don’t win space. This incentivizes participation and teaches students how investors think, preparing them for real pitches.

Step 10: Train Students to Work in Startups

Startups demand agility, not just technical chops. Train students in soft skills—communication, teamwork, time management—and startup-specific skills like lean methodology or pitching. Embed these in the curriculum via electives or bootcamps. A student who can debug code and negotiate with a supplier is a startup’s dream hire. Remember, if there are 1 Million Startups, then how many engineers are required to work in these startups.

Beyond the Steps: A Call to Innovate

These 10 steps are a launchpad, not a ceiling. Innovation has no boundaries, and each college can tailor its approach. A rural engineering college might focus on agritech startups, while an urban one leans into fintech or healthtech. The goal isn’t uniformity—it’s uniqueness rooted in a shared commitment to startup culture. Build your own HBR Layout within your campus walls!

The Bigger Picture

India’s engineering colleges have a choice: cling to the old model of producing corporate cogs or embrace the startup wave and churn out founders, disruptors, and visionaries. AI and automation aren’t just tools—they’re catalysts that can propel India from a tech consumer to a tech creator. But this shift hinges on students who dare to build, not just obey.

Colleges can’t force students to launch startups. Nor should they. Their job is to light the spark—provide the space, the mentors, the mindset—and let students fan it into a flame. Management may balk at the costs, but the returns—measured in breakthroughs, jobs created, and global recognition—will silence the skeptics.

By focusing on startup culture over startups, engineering colleges can ensure their students don’t just ride the next wave—they shape it.