After intense competition, two teams from SVKM’s NMIMS’ Mukesh Patel School of Technology Management and Engineering (MPSTME), one of India’s leading educational institutions with a 40-year legacy of academic excellence, were granted Resolution Fellowships by the Social Venture Challenge (SVC), at the Harvard World Model United Nations 2021, held in Tokyo. Their performance continues MPSTME’s successful run at the Harvard World MUN, with seven teams securing the fellowship in the past four years. Under the fellowship program, the teams received a total funding of USD 8,150 (approx. INR 5,90,000), which will be increased further when the teams achieve their targets. In addition, the students will be mentored by well-known personalities, including Harvard alumni, in their ventures.

With an emphasis on learning disabilities, Project Alphabet was founded by Ishita Gupta and Aneesh Kulkarni, to increase awareness about special education, through a platform that would bring together special educators and children in need of their services. The platform has received seed funding of USD 3,650. AnalytIQ, which was founded by Naman Doshi and Dhvani Agrawal, focused on financial education for youth, through an innovative visual and practical approach devised by experts that makes the process easy to understand and remember. AnalytIQ, the other fellowship awardee at the Social Venture Challenge, has received USD 4,500 in seed funding.

Working under the guidance of Dr. Nikhil Gala, Chairman, Corporate Relations & Placements, MPSTME, the students showcased their exemplary skills and innovative ideas through well-designed projects that were aimed to spread awareness about socially-relevant fields. To secure the grant, the teams had to meet three challenges as set under the SVC – identifying a problem, conceiving a solution, and implementing it. They had to design and present detailed proposals on how their enterprises would address the specific problems.

Commenting on the teams’ performance, Dr. Nikhil Gala said, “Securing the Resolution Fellowship is an impressive achievement by our students, and a testament to their hard work and innovative spirit. This fellowship will give them an invaluable opportunity to work with some of the brightest minds in the field of social entrepreneurship. There can be no better learning ground than the experience of designing, implementing, and running their own enterprises. At MPSTME, we have always encouraged our students to think independently and adopt a creative approach when confronted with any problem. I am confident that our illustrious students will go on to demonstrate exemplary results in this field.”

Devarshi Rupani, President MUN Society said, “While preparing for the SVC, we knew that we would be competing against some of the sharpest students from around the world. Under Dr. Gala’s guidance, we discussed the issues which were closest to us and how we could best approach the solutions. We had to think out of the box as the Resolution Fellowship is only awarded to those who show outstanding initiative and enterprise. Securing the grant was a proud moment for us. We cannot wait to begin!”

SVC is a multi-step competition for the Resolution Fellowship, a mentoring program for aspiring young social entrepreneurs, at Harvard World MUN. The fellowship includes seed funding, mentorship, and access to resources. Students selected for the fellowship also have the opportunity to network with a global community of like-minded peers.

MPSTME has a proud tradition of winning under different categories at Harvard World MUN competitions, starting with a Diplomacy Award at the 2012 Vancouver MUN, followed by other Diplomacy Awards at 2015 Seoul MUN and 2017 Montreal MUN. The school’s performance at the SVC has been even more impressive, with similar wins at 2013 Melbourne MUN, 2016 Rome MUN, 2019 Madrid MUN, and 2020 Tokyo MUN.

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