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Chandigarh: In a first-of-its-kind initiative, the Punjab Department of Higher Education has made a course on entrepreneurship mindset mandatory for undergraduate students across the state. The programme, aimed at bridging the gap between academic learning and real-world business challenges, has already been adopted by 18 private and government universities.

Practical, Performance-Based Curriculum

Unlike traditional classroom-based courses, the entrepreneurship module is designed around hands-on learning. Students will be required to conceptualise, refine, and execute a business or service idea in every semester of their degree programme.

The evaluation system will also move beyond theory. Universities will grade students against semester-wise benchmarks such as:

• Viability of the idea

• Level of innovation

• Revenue generation and sustainability

A senior government functionary explained the vision:

“We have asked universities to introduce entrepreneurship-oriented programmes in higher education. Under this, students can be given a target to earn ₹10,000 in each semester. This will boost their marketing and entrepreneurial skills.”

Phased Rollout Across Universities

The course will be launched in the 2025–26 academic session for students of BTech, BCom, BBA, and BVoc degrees, with plans to extend it to all undergraduate courses the following year.

An advisory issued by Secretary, Higher Education and Languages, Anindita Mitra to all Vice-Chancellors outlined a phased rollout strategy, ensuring that both government and private universities adopt the model uniformly.

To support execution, the Punjab government is also developing a multilingual digital platform for real-time monitoring of student projects and progress.

What Students Will Learn Semester by Semester

The curriculum has been broken into practical, stepwise learning modules. Key focus areas include:

• First semester: Defining a niche, understanding marketing, and learning content creation.

• Second semester: Earning through content, advertisements, and collaborations.

• Later semesters: Expanding clientele, scaling up business models, and deploying AI tools for ideation, content writing, and social media marketing.

A Push Towards Job Creators, Not Job Seekers

With India’s start-up culture booming and Punjab aiming to cultivate an entrepreneurial ecosystem among its youth, the government hopes this move will help students graduate with not just a degree but also business acumen, market-ready skills, and possibly, functioning ventures of their own.

The initiative also reflects a wider trend in higher education, where employability and innovation are becoming as important as academic excellence.