The Institutions Innovation Council (IIC) organized “Aspire to Inspire”- Inspiring talks, celebrating Talent, on 20th January 2025 to commemorate National Startup Day. The session was held in the Smart Classroom from 11:00 AM onwards and featured inspiring talks by Ms. Siya Shaikh (Founder, GoWomania) and Mr. Varun Hegde (Founder, Soul travelling).
In the first session, Ms. Siya Shaikh engaged students with an interactive activity before sharing her journey from a civil engineering student to the founder of GoWomania. Established in 2018 on the social platform Facebook, GoWomania became a platform for showcasing talents and local products from villages across Goa.
Mr. Varun Hegde followed with a session on Goan tourism, encouraging students to challenge stereotypes and discover the real Goa. He shared his entrepreneurial journey of launching Soul Traveling in 2018, a venture providing visitors authentic local experiences through storytelling tours. He concluded by emphasizing on “loving what you do, giving it time, and being ready to fail,” which he considers as important trade secrets.
On this occasion, 06 students were felicitated as “Budding Entrepreneurs” for their outstanding initiatives. A total of 71 students (51 Male, 20 Female) attended the talks.
Expected Outcome of the Activity
The session aimed to promote the spirit of entrepreneurship, encouraging students to consider startups as a pathway to self-employment and job creation. The resource persons’ experiences offered valuable insights into embracing challenges and learning from setbacks, while the student felicitations served as an inspiration for their peers.
