Incubation not fully understood in India: Mumbai University V-C Suhas Pednekar

The Vice Chancellor of Mumbai University, Suhas Pednekar, while speaking at the inauguration of an incubation centre at Parle Tilak Vidyalaya Association’s Institute of Management, said that the rising number of incubation centres in India was a positive sign but rang a bell of caution stating that the concept of incubation was not fully understood in India. 

He noted that while India is trying to boost entrepreneurship with the number of incubation centres increasing, they are mostly concentrated in an academic setup and only a few commercial incubators exist. In that case apart from limiting accessibility, the challenge is that academicians, tend to have only a research perspective. “It is not that they are deficient in any way but it is also important for academicians to not limit their students to research and instead help them connect with industry by roping in mentors with field experience,” said Pednekar in his first official appearance as a chief guest after taking charge as the VC.