Why India needs more university startups than campus placements

By Prof Tapas Kumar

India does not have a shortage of educated young people. What it needs is a stronger system that helps young people create opportunities, not merely search for them.

For many years, campus placement has been one of the most visible measures of a university’s success. How many students received jobs, which companies visited the campus and what salaries were offered have become familiar indicators of institutional performance. Placements are important. A good job can provide financial independence, confidence and a strong beginning to a professional career. But India’s economy and technology landscape are changing rapidly. The bigger question today is not only how many students a university places, but how many it enables to create value, solve problems and generate opportunities for others.

The nature of work is also changing. Artificial intelligence, automation, robotics, digital platforms and emerging technologies are transforming industries and creating new forms of employment. A student entering university today may graduate into a very different professional environment. Preparing young people only for today’s jobs can therefore limit their readiness for tomorrow’s opportunities. Universities must develop creativity, critical thinking, problem-solving, teamwork and the confidence to work with uncertainty. This does not mean every student should become an entrepreneur. India needs professionals, researchers, teachers, managers and specialists. But entrepreneurship should be a genuine and well-supported option for students who want to build something of their own.A university startup often begins with a simple observation: something can be done better. Imagine students discovering that small farmers in their region lose part of their produce because they lack affordable technology to monitor storage conditions. An electronics student could develop a sensor, a computer science student could create the software, a design student could improve usability and a management student could study the market. A faculty member could provide technical guidance, while an experienced founder could help the team understand customer needs. The students could build a prototype, test it with farmers and improve it based on feedback.Universities should therefore use their own campuses as living laboratories for innovation. Every campus has practical challenges involving energy, water, waste, transportation, cybersecurity, safety, food services and student support. These can become meaningful problems for students to solve. A team could develop a system to reduce energy consumption, another could improve waste management, while another could use technology to make student services more efficient. Such projects connect classroom learning with real users and real consequences. Some may remain academic exercises; others may develop into products, services or enterprises.

Ideas, however, need an ecosystem to become sustainable ventures. Universities must take the lead in creating strong and functional incubation centres. An incubation centre should not be merely a room or a venue for an annual startup event. It should provide a clear pathway from problem identification and idea development to prototyping, testing, mentorship, market validation, funding and growth. Student founders should know where to go when they have an idea and what support is available at each stage.

Mentorship should be at the centre of this system. Universities should build active relationships with successful startup founders, industry professionals, investors, accelerators, government agencies and established innovation networks. Connections with organisations such as Atal Incubation Centres can expand access to expertise and opportunities.

Faculty members should form another pillar of the ecosystem. Universities already have researchers, laboratories and valuable intellectual property. The challenge is to connect academic knowledge with practical application.

Industry engagement must also extend beyond recruitment. Companies can bring real problems to universities, provide mentors, support student projects and test emerging solutions. Instead of asking only, “Which students can we hire?”, companies should also ask, “Which problems can these students help us solve?” Such collaboration can give students early exposure to market realities while helping industry access new ideas and talent.

The larger ecosystem must also change the way institutional success is recognised. What an education system measures and rewards strongly influence what universities prioritise. Regulatory and accreditation bodies such as the UGC, NBA and other recognised agencies should give meaningful weight to entrepreneurship, functional incubation, student innovation, startup sustainability, industry mentorship, technology transfer, intellectual property and employment generation.

This policy signal matters. If entrepreneurship remains an optional activity, institutions may continue to focus mainly on conventional academic and placement indicators. If innovation and enterprise creation become recognised measures of institutional excellence, universities will have a stronger reason to invest in infrastructure, mentorship, partnerships and long-term support. What we choose to measure today will influence what universities choose to build tomorrow.

India’s young population can become a powerful economic advantage only when young people are given knowledge, opportunity, mentorship and the freedom to experiment. The goal is not to replace campus placements with startups. It is to create a broader definition of university success.

Prof Tapas Kumar serves as the Dean of the Institute of Engineering & Technology at JK Lakshmipat University (JKLU), Jaipur.

DISCLAIMER: The views expressed are solely of the author and ETEDUCATION does not necessarily subscribe to it. ETEDUCATION will not be responsible for any damage caused to any person or organisation directly or indirectly.