Purple Squirrel Eduventures has launched India’s first One-Day Industry (ODI) visit series, a unique initiative that directly connects students with the industry, commencing from May 21, 2015. Having partnered with companies such as Amul, Coca Cola, NSE, Just Dial, Volkswagen, Bisleri among others, and designed to empower students nationally, the initiative has been well received by students and corporate alike.

Reaching out to students from across Mumbai, Pune, Delhi, Bangalore, Hyderabad, Ahmedabad, Vadodara, Chennai, Bhubaneswar, Indore, Jaipur and Chandigarh, the series aims to make experiential learning individualised and accessible to all by curating visits and workshops for streams such as Arts & Media, Engineering & Technology, Sciences and Commerce & Management.

Talking about the series, Aditya Gandhi, Co-Founder, Purple Squirrel Eduventures, said, “With a population of ~1.3 billion and 47.9% of these under the age group of 18, India has the potential to be a superpower in the coming years. 5,000,000 students graduate every year, and with China and India expected to be global growth drivers, our efforts are to supplement this growth while bridging the gap that exists between employees and employers.” It is towards this that the series includes unique skill development workshops such as Ethical Hacking Training, Automotive Design, and Satellite Design.

In Mumbai, Endemol will take students for a live shoot, Coca Cola will host a tour of their state-of-the-art packaging technology and NSE will share trading tips through an in-depth interaction with students. Anil K. Nair, CEO and managing partner, Digital L&K, Saatchi & Saatchi said, “53% of employers today face a chronic shortage of skilled resources. The situation at present seems deplorable given the bench strength, India purportedly has. Initiatives such as these help prospective employers connect with academia.”

Funded by Matrix Partners India, Purple Squirrel Eduventures looks to organise the ODI series as a continuous academia-industry connect initiative as an outreach program to bridge the employer-employee gap pan-India.