Centre for Women’s Entrepreneurship (CWE)
Vision & Mission Statement
Vision Statement
CWE aims to create an environment that promotes and stimulates the spirit of entrepreneurship among the students of the College.
Mission Statement
CWE seeks to achieve the spirit of entrepreneurship through educational programs, events, activities and research.
Inaugural Session of CWE
The Centre was inaugurated on 8th August 2017, at the hands of Ms. Nabomita Mazumdar, a social evangelist based in Mumbai and recipient of the 100 Women Achievers Award by the Ministry of Women & Child Development. Ms. Mazumdar had the students captivated by her enlightening talk on ‘Entrepreneurship Development.’ “The battle is with the ideas in the making, not gender or times or circumstances,” says Nabomita.
National Entrepreneurship Awards (NEAS) 2017
St. Mira’s College functioned as a facilitation centre to create awareness and disseminate information about the National Entrepreneurship Awards (NEAS) 2017 under the Ministry of Skill Development and Entrepreneurship (MoSDE).
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Talk by an Entrepreneur - 2017
On 11th September 2017, the CWE arranged for interaction with Mr. Amit Vijay Pokarna. Mr. Pokarna is an agri-horticulture entrepreneur - the owner of Camp Water’s Edge and Khushboo farms with rich experience of 20 years in the agricultural industry. He spoke about agriculture entrepreneurship with emphasis on the newest trends in agriculture and rural marketing. He focused on three main reasons for initiating a start-up – money, recognition and satisfaction; at least two out of the need to be achieved to make the business sustainable.
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Mira Bazaar 2017
On 16 th December 2017, ‘Mira Bazaar’- a grand annual fest was inaugurated at the hands of Mrs. Soniya Konjetti, founder of PULA – an online platform for bringing together women entrepreneurs and Mrs. Shaila Limaye, Managing Trustee –Majhi Maitrin. The event primarily aimed to inculcate and hone the multiple skills of research, costing, production and marketing amongst girl students across all streams. Further, outside participation challenged the students to better strategy and execution. Around 50 stalls offering a variety of products ranging from foodstuff, handmade jewellery, clothes, accessories, candles, greeting cards, cosmetics, games, health products, mehndi to tattoo art were put up. As a part of Social Entrepreneurship Outreach, the Green Club hosted two stalls in Mira Bazaar which sold handmade jewellery, manure, pre-owned clothes and décor. The proceeds from the sale of these items were used for green initiatives of the College.
Entrepreneurship Awareness Talk - 2018
On 18 th January 2018, during the Nirbhaya Kanya Abhiyan programme, Mrs. Abhradita Chatterjee Nahvi and Mrs. Shanthi Fernandes delivered a talk on the objectives of the Centre for Women Entrepreneurship (CWE), St. Mira’s College. The session also focused on the role of the Incubation Centre in the promotion and support of entrepreneurial skills & talents among the student members.
Orientation for Incubation Centre 2018
An orientation session for setting up an Incubation Centre in collaboration with TISS, Mumbai was organized on 3rd February 2018. The speakers introduced the objectives of the Incubation Centre to the participants. They emphasized on mentoring, coaching, resource pooling, provision of shared spaces as main objectives. In an intensive interactive format, Dr. Majumdar and Mr. Duruwas spoke about the identification of the urge to take up an entrepreneurial venture, goals, research and legal requirements. They also focused on information relating to start-ups, customers, markets, networking, innovation and latest trends. The main highlight of the programme was the speakers’ narration of exemplary stories of successful entrepreneurs which left the audience mesmerized.
Associations
St. Mira’s college for Girls, Centre for Women Entrepreneurship have setup an IIC on campus, having received an establishment certificate from Ministry of Education (MoE), Government of India.
‘MoE’s Innovation Cell (MIC)’ is established to systematically foster the culture of Innovation among Higher Education Institutions (HEIs).
The primary mandate of MIC is to encourage, inspire and nurture young students to work with new ideas and transform them into prototypes while they are in formative years.
MIC has envisioned encouraging creation of ‘Institution’s Innovation Council (IICs)’ across selected HEIs. A network of these IICs will be established to promote innovation in the Institution through multitudinous modes leading to an innovation promotion eco-system in the campuses.
Functions of IICs
Conduct various innovation and entrepreneurship-related activities prescribed by Central MIC in time bound fashion.
Identify and reward innovations and share success stories.
Organize periodic workshops/ seminars/ interactions with entrepreneurs, investors, professionals and create a mentor pool for student innovators.
Network with peers and national entrepreneurship development organizations.
Create an Institution’s Innovation portal to highlight innovative projects carried out by institution’s faculty and students.
Organize Hackathons, idea competition, mini-challenges etc. with the involvement of industries.
Council Members
Dr. Rama Venkatachalam-President & Convener
Ms. Abhradita Chatterjee Nahvi-Vice President
All other committee members of CWE will be Active members of IIC.
St. Mira’s College for Girls, Centre for Women Entrepreneurship has been awarded a certificate in 2018 by SPPU-CIIL for establishing Innovation & Start-up Cell on campus.
Centre for Innovation, Incubation & Linkages C-BRIDGE (Centre for Business, Research, Incubation, Development, Growth and Entrepreneurship) at SPPU is set up to promote innovative start-ups through the University ecosystem. Centre would facilitate and hone ideas and innovations that are useful to the society and address some of the problems faced through development of product, process and services.
St. Mira’s College- Tata Institute of Social Sciences (TISS) Mumbai: MoU
St. Mira’s College for Girls, Pune Centre for Women Entrepreneurship and Centre for Social Entrepreneurship, TISS, Mumbai have signed an MoU in August 2019 valid for three years.
Both TISS & CWE are working towards supporting start-ups social ventures/enterprises in India and hence agree to collaborate in a mutually satisfactory form and manner in order to support the creation of a vibrant ecosystem to foster entrepreneurship in the social enterprise space.
St. Mira’s College for Girls, Pune, Centre for Women Entrepreneurship (CWE) set up a Rural Entrepreneurship Development Cell (REDC) in the college. REDC is an initiative of Mahatma Gandhi National Council of Rural Education, Department of Higher Education, Ministry of Education, Government of India.
The Purpose of REDC is to develop understanding of Entrepreneurship among students in Rural Context, explore and identify Rural Potential for a Business Idea, promote Rural Entrepreneurship culture among the students within the campus and build a strong Rural Entrepreneurial Ecosystem.
- Guest Lecture on ‘A Success Story of a Social Entrepreneur’- The Department of Business Studies along with Centre for Women Entrepreneurship - IIC Self Driven Activity (2023- 2024)
- Centre for Women Entrepreneurship (CWE) Workshop on Design Thinking, Critical Thinking and Innovation Design (2023-24)
- Entrepreneurship Skill Attitude and Behaviour Development Centre for Women Entrepreneurship (2023-2024)
- Entrepreneurship and Innovation as a Career Option
- Western Regional IIC meet at DY Patil College, Pune – 16th Dec 2023
- Ombre Exbibition – 21st Oct, 2023-CWE
- Cake Mixing Ceremony hosted by St. Laurn Hotel for CWE Members
- A Tete-a-Tete with Indraneel Chitale - Centre for Women Entrepreneurship (CWE) 2023-2024
- CWE and IIC celebrates - World Entrepreneur s Day on 21 st August 2023
- Report and Photographs of Incubation Workshop
- CWE & IIC – Mira Bazaar 2022-2023
- IIC CWE Workshop on IP Management in Start-ups on 23 rd March 2023
- Zenith Edition-II Coffee Table Book Launch
- CWE Workshop – “BUSINESS MODEL CANVAS”
- Department of Commerce & CWE - Factory Visit to Chitale Bandhu Mithaiwale
- Workshop on Entrepreneurship Skill, Attitude and Behaviour Development
- Report on Jeans Drive (2022-2023)
- CWE -REPOSITORY FOR ZENITH EDITION- II (2022-2023)
- Centre for Women Entrepreneurship Report on Campus Ambassador-September 2022
- National Level Poster Competition on Business Idea
- IIC Regional Meet_2022-2023
- A Guest Lecture on A Success Story of an Entrepreneur
- The Centre for Women Entrepreneurship (CWE) and Institution Innovation Council (ICC) Cell Session on “Accelerators/Incubation-Early Stage Entrepreneurs”(AY 2022-23)
- BUSINESS PLAN WORKSHOP- Centre for Women Entrepreneurship- IIC Self Driven Activity 2022-23
- Centre for Women Entrepreneurship: Online Workshop on ‘Angel Investment Opportunities for Early Age Start-ups’
- Centre for Women Entrepreneurship- Session on“Business Model Canvas” (2022-2023)
Committee Members
- Dr. Gulshan Gidwani - Principal
- Dr. (Ms.) Rama Venkatachalam - Coordinator
- Ms. Abhradita Chatterjee Nahvi - Co-coordinator
Other Members
- Dr.Dimple Buche - IPR Coordinator
- Ms. Jyoti Chintan
- Ms. Rajni Singh
- Ms. Shanthi Fernandes
- Ms. Deepa Krishnamurthy
- Ms. Rekha Kankariya
- Ms. Amrita Basu
- Ms. Kajal Jaisinghani
- Ms. Shubangi Jagtap
CWE ADVISORY COMMITTEE [2021-2024]
- Mrs AneetaSanas, FICCI Flo Member
- Karon Shaiva, Chief Impact Officer & MD, Idobro Impact Solutions
- Dr. Sangeeta Kamat, Founder & Managing Partner of Step Upp Advisors LLP
- Mr Sujay Dixit, Vice President (Incubation and Excellence) TISS
- Mr. Harshad Bhagat, Founder, Words Maya
- Ms Aparna Thadhani Co-Founder, Aks Training Academy
- MihikaBhanot, Founder, MBIC, Alumni
- Ms Sujata Malkani, Rotract Club Member and journalist
- Vanita S N, Founder, Make Magic Events
- Simran Suri, Socio-economic Entrepreneur &Motivational Speaker, Alumni
- Sheetal Malhotra, Founder, Meltingways
Contact Details
Dr. Rama Venkatachalam
Coordinator : CWE, Cubicle No.7, Departmental Cubicles - 2nd floor, St. Mira’s College.
Email : rama.venkat@stmirascollegepune.edu.in / cwe@stmirascollegepune.edu.in
The Mental Well Being Program
Department of Psychology
Dealing with mental health impacts of COVID-19 one session at a time.
Amidst the chaos induced by COVID-19, students are dealing with various mental health concerns. Even prior to the COVID-19 pandemic, research has found a broad worsening of mental health indicators among college students in Indian context. Now students are facing new, complex challenges such as adapting to distance learning, isolation from peers, concerns about family, health, career and financial security. UGC has already stated the guidelines and importance of preventive measures to help students deal with mental health impacts of COVID-19. St. Mira's College for Girls, Pune organised a series of Mental Well-being awareness sessions to address these mental health concerns and help students navigate through this stressful time. This series is an extension of the College’s ongoing full time Mental Well-being program for their students.
The Mental Well-being program is designed with a conscious awareness that mental wellbeing requires consistent and continuous work. This program is a major component of the entire academic year for our college where students receive both preventive and interventive mental health care.
The webinar series was announced on 23 rd April 2020. An online survey was done to assess college student’s mental health concerns during the lockdown. Students reported increased anxiety, lack of routine, depressive thoughts and interpersonal conflicts with family members as major concerns.
College Mental Well-being program coordinator Ms. Pooja Jain reported, around 310 students signed up for these sessions from various colleges across country including students from Trivandrum, Visakhapatnam, Ghaziabad, Patna and various cities and towns of Maharashtra. First session was conducted on 25 th April, 2020 which focused on practical skills and ways to manage Anxiety. Second session dated on 27 th April, 2020 focused on building healthy Social Connections with peers and family members. This session was very well received, and students shared how the practical insight and conflict resolution skills helped them in improving their relationship with parents and identify unhealthy relationships with peers and social media. Last session of the series focused on holistic Well-being and Mindfulness. Various mindfulness techniques and exercises were practiced by the psychologist in the session to help students practice in their daily routine. 98% of the students reported that they felt relaxed and motivated after these sessions through the feedback form. All of them requested to organise more sessions on Mental Well- being and expressed that they are particularly important for student community.
Mental health and Wellbeing of Students during and after COVID-19 breakout (April 4, 2020)
Following measures have been taken for the mental health, psychosocial aspects and well-being of the students:
Measure 1
Program: Online Support group sessions for Students in times of COVID-19
Launched on March 22, 2020 the Online Support program is an extension of the college’s ongoing mental wellbeing programme introduced last year.
Objectives:
To create a safe space to discuss students’ needs, challenges and personal distress associated with preventive measures like quarantine and social distancing.
To address psychosocial and academic stressors faced by students due to lockdown
Identifying students who may at high risk for mental health concerns and reaching out to them through telephonic counselling
Conduction of focused group sessions for every class to address common concerns
Plan of Action:
Step 1: Identifying students’ needs and concerns
An online form was shared with all the students to know their mental health needs and readiness for online support groups/sessions. More than 700 students requested for online support and interaction with the college counsellor
Step 2: Familiarizing students with aspects of online support group sessions.
All the important guidelines and protocols were shared with all the students explaining step by step process of joining support group sessions through ZOOM network. A well-defined timetable was also shared to make these sessions accessible to all.
Step 3: Online support group sessions- 90 minutes each
Online support group sessions started on 28th March 2020. College counsellor has been meeting students from each class virtually where following concerns and topics are discussed:
Mental health care- ideas and suggestions
Dealing with lack of Motivation
Anxiety and Depressive thoughts – sharing these feelings and navigating
Boundary setting – with family members, partners and social media
Step 4: Identifying students at high risk.
Last and most important step of this program is reaching out to potentially high-risk students for mental health concerns, through Skype sessions/calls by the college counsellor. Students have also been asked reach out to the college counsellor directly using email or call.
Measure 2:
Sharing video links of Ministry of Health and Family welfare on College website and with faculty and students through email, WhatsApp and social media:
Practical tips to taking care of your mental health during the stay in
Minding our minds during COVID -19
Various health experts on how to manage mental health and wellbeing during COVID- 19 outbreak
Psychosocial toll-free Helpline: 080461100
About
The Mental Well-bring Program for students of St. Mira’s College for Girls, Pune launched in July 2019.
The Programme is a full-time program initiated by Department of Psychology to address mental health needs and concerns of the students. Promotion, Prevention, and Intervention are the three major arms of this program.
For further details contact
Dr Jaya Rajagopalan
Head of Department of Psychology
Psychology Lab, 2 nd Floor
Email: jaya.rajagopalan@stmirascollegepune.edu.in
Object
Increase awareness about four major themes: Stress, Depression, Anxiety, and Interpersonal relationships
Help students identify various mental health concerns faced by them
Reduce stigma amongst students around mental health needs and concerns
Encourage help-seeking and bridge the gap between students and College counsellor
Enhance sensitivity and empathy about mental health needs and concerns
Identify students displaying early signs and symptoms of a mental health concern and provide early intervention
Integrate life-skills listed by WHO through awareness sessions, support groups and counselling services.
--Broad Activities
Mental Health Promotion : is any action taken to maximise mental health and wellbeing among students. All the college platforms like the daily sanctuary, notice boards and classroom discussions etc, were used to promote the need and importance of mental wellbeing.
Prevention : refers to interventions that occur before the initial onset of a disorder to prevent the development of the disorder. Our focused group therapy sessions and awareness sessions aim at identifying risk factors for student’s mental health and enhancing protective factors like peer support, sense of trust etc, that promote mental well-being.
Early intervention : comprises interventions that are appropriate for and specifically target people displaying the early signs and symptoms of a mental health problem or mental disorder, and people developing or experiencing a first episode of mental disorder Services provided under this program: Individual Counselling, Group therapy, and mandatory classroom awareness sessions.
Visiting Mental Health Consultants
Behroze Chinoy- A Counselling Psychologist by professions.
Available: Tuesdays and Wednesdays from 12:00-2:00 pm on campus.
Nupur Dhakephalkar- A practicing Clinical Psychologist (NIMHANS, Bangalore).
Available: Thursdays from 12:00-2:00pm on campus.
Implementation Summary:
| Type of services | Total no. of sessions | Theme covered | Total Students benefitted |
|---|---|---|---|
| Classroom Awarenesssessions | 52 | Stress, Anxiety and Depression | 1800 |
| Group therapy sessions | 16 | Examination anxiety & Interpersonal relationships | 240 |
| Individual Counselling sessions | 215 | Individual Counselling sessions | 215 |
| COVID-19 Mental Well-being Response | |||
| Online support group sessions | 12 | Dealing with Lockdown, Managing anxiety and stress due to COVID-19 | 410 |
| Community Outreach | |||
| Webinar series | 3 | Strategies to manage Anxiety, Building healthy social connections, Mindfulness and Mental Wellbeing | 375 |
Mental Well-being awareness sessions were conducted for all degree college classes including BA, BCom, BBA, BCA, BCS and junior college students.
Impact summary:
After awareness session on Stress and Anxiety, 98.9% of students reported that they felt mental health awareness sessions are important for building sensitivity and awareness about mental well-being.
80.9% of students reported that the awareness session on Depression and loneliness triggered some feelings /thoughts for them and encouraged help-seeking from the counsellors.
66.4% of participants reported that they felt relaxed and 54% of them felt motivated after the online support group sessions during the lockdown.
96.7% of students reported that virtual sessions will help students in dealing with emotional concerns during the lockdown
As feedback to mental well-being awareness sessions, 89.3% of students reported that they would like to attend more such workshops/sessions in the future.
The COVID-19 pandemic has brought a lot of ambiguity and anxiety, especially amongst students. Times like these can generate a lot of stress which may be shown by our body in various ways. It has created changes in our routine, eating and sleep patterns and outlook towards the day.
The Mental Well-being program will focus on building support, provide safe spaces to interact and building new resources for students to deal with this unprecedented change. The programme would encourage students to identify their concerns and seek help from the college counsellor.
Themes:
Manifestation of Stress- Depressive Thoughts and Anxiety in times of Emergencies
Studying from home- Tips and Suggestions
Career Guidance and Planning
Building Healthy Social Connections
Community Outreach-Webinar Series and Support Group sessions for students and teachers on Mental Well-being Strategies in times of COVID-19 pandemic and Psychological First Aid.
Program Coordinator:
Ms. Pooja Jain ( Full-time On-campus Counsellor, St. Mira’s College)
Counselling Psychologist (TISS, Mumbai) with an experience of 5 years.
Ms. Jain regularly conducts classroom awareness sessions and group therapy sessions
Write to us: mentalhealth@stmirascollegepune.edu.in
Mira International Learning Exchange (MILE) A Centre for Virtual Collaboration
About
Mira International Learning Exchange: A Centre for Virtual Collaboration arose out of its rewarding interaction with LaGuardia Community College, City University of New York and its programme titled COIL: Collaborative Online International Learning which “allows faculty partners in different parts of the world to develop a shared curricular project and engage their students using online tools (synchronous and asynchronous).” Globally other terms used to describe this practice are Virtual Exchange, Telecollaboration, Online Intercultural Exchange
Objectives/Vision and Mission
To promote cross-border communication and exchanges of knowledge
To be part of a process that encourages tolerance, respect and sharing
To introduce potential ideas that could lead to other virtual collaborations
To open up new horizons in global teaching and learning
To connect teachers across the world to enhance research
Outcomes of the MILE courses for participating students
Comparing issues, policies, and beliefs across cultures
Exploring global ethics (e.g. ethical tourism, COVID-19)
Exposure to and engagement with divergent perspectives
Critical reflection on how various participants view the world
Providing or receiving international peer mentorship
Serving as cultural informants
Addressing and receiving feedback from international peer audience
Writing collaborative academic papers
Committee Members
The Principal, St Mira’s College for Girls The Department of English, St. Mira’s College for Girls
Contact Us:
snober.sataravala@stmirascollegepune.edu.in
suhaile.azavedo@stmirascollegepune.edu.in
komal.tujare@stmirascollegepune.edu.in
Activities 2019-20
La Guardia Mira COIL: The Partition of India
On the 10 th of September, 2019, St Mira’s College Pune and LaGuardia Community College New York embarked on a path-breaking pedagogical experiment and they were joined by the Department of English and Humanities, University of Liberal Arts, Dhaka, Bangladesh and Institute of Communication and Cultural Studies, University of Management and Technology, Lahore, Pakistan.
In a world that seems to be building walls, these four educational institutions collaborated on a shared syllabus to understand narratives of partition and explore narratives of healing. The students studied Ice-candy Man by Bapsi Sidhwa, Train to Pakistan by Khushwant Singh, “Toba Tek Singh” by Manto, “Rabeya Apa” by Ashraf Siddiqui and the article “The Great Divide” by William Dalrymple. A total of 90 students from Pune, Lahore, Dhaka, and New York collaboratively read partition literature to celebrate both differences and commonality between diverse cultures and backgrounds..
Ummesalama Karu, a second year student from St Mira’s College, says the reason she joined COIL or the collaboration was, “to know about the diversity and how people in the world are different and similar to Indians.” To which the students at LaGuardia Community College responded, “We value diversity and look forward to discussing everything.” What a wonderful way to celebrate difference!!
https://drive.google.com/file/d/1TmSp6fzTOFsyarhBFyxZ3Qex6EXXgfV2/view
Activites 2020-21
Brainstorming between LaGuardia Community College and St Mira’s College: In search of future collaborations, 25 th June and 4 th July 2020
Webinar: “An Introduction to COIL: Collaborative Online International Learning” For St. Mira’s College Faculty interested in participating in COIL, 6 th July 2020:
https://drive.google.com/file/d/1ljmquk-XIvL5pkggps2a0176zRmv3YdU/view
End July: Workshop on match-making teachers across the world
September and October: Workshops by Dr Olga Aksakalova
Hands-on training by MILE (St Mira’s college) and COIL (LaGuardia Community College) faculty respectively
December: MILE Webinar- Participating Teachers and Students to present their various Virtual collaborations, the hurdles and achievements
CWE Activities