Punjab: 18 universities launch entrepreneurship mindset courses for undergraduate students

Punjab: Punjab’s higher education department has introduced a mandatory course on entrepreneurship mindset for undergraduate students in the state. The initiative has already been adopted by 18 private and government universities. As a part of the curriculum, students will have to develop, pilot and execute a business or service idea in each semester of their degree programme. Progress will be measured on the basis of clearly defined semester-wise criteria, such as feasibility, innovation and revenue generation. Universities will evaluate students based on actual performance. “We have asked universities to introduce entrepreneurship-oriented programmes in higher education. Under this, students can be given a target of earning Rs 10,000 in each semester. This will boost their marketing and entrepreneurship skills,” said a senior government official.
In a consultation sent to vice-chancellors of all government and private universities, Higher Education and Languages Secretary Anindita Mitra has stressed on a strategy to implement the programme in a phased manner. The course has been launched for BTech, BCom, BBA and BVoc degrees for the 2025-26 academic session, and there are plans to include it in other undergraduate courses as well next year. The Punjab government will create a multilingual digital platform for real-time monitoring and implementation of this course. The semester-wise curriculum includes defining your specialisation and understanding marketing through content creation for the first semester. The other semesters will include monetising content, ads and collaborations; expanding the subscriber base; and using AI tools for content ideation, writing and posting.