Renewed Plaksha University partnership expands BMoE through revamped curriculum

SCET has renewed their partnership with Plaksha University, a technology university in the Chandigarh area of India. The newest agreement strengthens a partnership of over three years between SCET and Plaksha which developed an academic minor in technology entrepreneurship and design and delivery of the entrepreneurship curriculum for the Technology Leaders Fellowship Program (TLF).

Since Plaksha began in 2019, they have been inspired in their curriculum development by SCET’s Berkeley Method of Entrepreneurship, which engages students in an immersive, hands-on experience with innovation. SCET faculty have taught and advised students in the innovation program co-created with Plaksha.

The new one-year postgraduate program will nurture exceptional innovators to develop entrepreneurial thinking and gain real-world tech leadership experience. Berkeley mentors, such as Alexander Fred-Ojala and Ken Singer, coach students through challenges similar to SCET’s Collider Cup. Following the partnership renewal, TLF will undergo a hiatus this academic year and will relaunch as a one-year Master’s program in 2025.

Berkeley’s groundbreaking entrepreneurship methods are a major pull factor for students considering Plaksha. Mark Searle, the Head of Mentoring Excellence at SCET and a course coordinator at Plaksha, stated that many students choose to enroll at Plaksha because of the opportunity to connect with eminent universities in India and overseas.

In line with the mission of reimagining technology education, Plaksha is making the undergraduate curriculum interdisciplinary. This August, they launched a new minor in technology and innovation for the BTech program with guidance and inputs from Berkeley. Susan Giesecke, SCET’s Director of Global Engagement, explained that the universities are aiming to co-create a learning opportunity that can function similarly to the TLF program and inform the next generation of Indian technology leaders.