Kerala CM to connect with over two million students on Google Hangout

Kerala celebrates the power and potential of its enterprising young population by marking Entrepreneurship Day on September 12 with one of the biggest online connects the state has ever seen.

Hon'ble Chief Minister Shri. Oommen Chandy will address more than two million school and college students via Google Plus Hangout at 1 pm on Thursday, September 12, encouraging them to become job creators and not job seekers as they prepare to enter the workforce of the future. Hon'ble Minister for IT and Industry Shri. P K Kunhalikutty is expected to join the CM at the Hangout.

The message will be streamed live on YouTube (www.youtube.com/oommenchandykerala) and via "Hangouts on Air". Colleges have been advised and all district educational offices have sent circulars to schools to make arrangements to telecast the Hangout in campuses.

People with computers and mobile devices with internet will be able to watch the CM speak on the state's inaugural Entrepreneurship Day. This will be the Shri. Chandy's second major online connect with young people in less than two months after his address to nearly 2,000 students over Skype at a weekend event at Startup Village in the last week of July.

He is expected to elaborate on the future direction of the state's policies on entrepreneurship and the initiatives the government is taking to support the youth in achieving their dreams.

This week also marks one year of the Kerala government announcing its landmark Student Entrepreneurship Policy (SEP) at the first edition of its flagship Emerging Kerala global meet.

The SEP has had a transformational effect on Kerala's student community by incentivising creativity and innovation by students who are still pursuing their education. It gives student entrepreneurs 20% grace on attendance and 4% on marks.

SEP's impact is best exemplified by Startup Village, India's first telecom technology business incubator, which has received more than 1,000 applications from aspiring entrepreneurs, many of them still students, since its inception in April 2012.

On Thursday, Startup Village and the Technopark Technology Business Incubator (TBI) will chart Kerala's entrepreneurial journey and milestones on a 150 metre long "Startup Wall" outside the Secretariat building in the state capital.

The Wall, which will be inaugurated by Shri P K Kunhalikutty at 9 am on September 12, is designed to encourage more young people to be part of the start-up movement and to highlight Kerala as a state that is building the ecosystem necessary for new enterprises to take wing.

Startup Village is also leading a massive online entrepreneurship drive through the social media to reach out to young people. This includes Entrepreneurship Day posters and videos on Facebook, promotional video campaign on YouTube and on Twitter.