“WHAT IF WE CAN CREATE A MILLION INNOVATORS AND ENTREPRENEURS IN COMMUNITIES?”
They would create jobs, build wealth, and transform communities from the bottom up.
But can innovators and entrepreneurs be created?
My nine years of research at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and Asia School of Business have shown that we could nurture ordinary youth and children to take on innovation and entrepreneurship by building their skillset and mindset and creating ecosystems in their community.
The entrepreneurs I met, who grew up in under-resourced communities where opportunities were slim but found their inner potential and drive to break out to find their calling, inspired this research.
Over thirty years of my career, I have been an engineer, designer, entrepreneur, and educator. I was very fortunate to have gone through such broad experiences in technology, business, and education. My current mission is to use this experience to nurture future innovators and entrepreneurs from the youth in remote and underserved communities by transforming them and, in turn, their communities.
I served as a Professor of Practice in Innovation & Entrepreneurship at Asia School of Business, started by MIT-Sloan in Kuala Lumpur. I was one of the founding faculty of ASB. I also served at MIT as a Visiting Scholar and Tata Fellow.
Over the past nine years, my study on how entrepreneurship skillset and mindset can be developed in youth has helped me create programs to nurture future innovators and entrepreneurs in communities from the ground up and conduct over a hundred workshops worldwide
The companies I founded were in varied fields such as Thermal engineering of electronic products, Data Center energy optimization, sensing airflow for environmental management & instruments, Consumer products, and Training in creativity and problem-solving.
I received Master's degrees in Engineering & Management (Massachusethttps://github.com/encubelabs/rajeshnairme/blob/main/index.htmlts Institute of Technology), Manufacturing Engineering (UMass, Amherst), and Electronic Product Design (Indian Institute of Science, Bangalore). I hold Bachelor's degrees in Electronics & Communications Engineering (IISc) and Physics (Kerala).
Recent activites
2023:
Jul 21:Kazhakootam, Kerala, India: Setup Zero2Maker Lab (Lab-77) at Sainik School and ran the Z2M workshop for 30 students from 6-11th grades with 40% girls.
Jul 20:Saigon, Vietnam: Home for children run by the Christina Noble Children's Foundation - Spatial visualization and fabrication of mechanical objects
Jul 17:Hau Giang province Vietnam: Conducted Zero2Maker workshop for 50 students from local middle and high schools in cooperation with Bong Sen Center for Community Development.
May 23:Cape Town, South Africa: Zero2Maker program for children from townships around Cape Town organized by Workshop17, SA.
May 16:Isabela, Puerto Rico: Zero2Maker workshop for program for childrenfrom Boys & Girls Club of PR.
2022:
Dec 10:Hyderabad, India: Keynote at TiE Global Summit on ‘Creating Future Entrepreneurs from Underserved Communities’.
Oct 27:Isabela, Puerto Rico: Conducted Zero2Maker workshop for school students and continued with weekly design challenges at Boys&Girls Club of PR.
Jul 26:Richmond, CA, USA: Zero2Maker program for children from local communities at the RISE Center, Richmond supported by World Affairs Council, SF.
Jul 11:Ahmadnagar, Maharashtra, India: Innovation Intervention workshop for Schneider Electric engineers at Ahmadnagar facility.
Jul 11:Coimbatore, Tamil Nadu, India: Innovation Intervention workshop for Schneider Electric engineers at Coimbatore facility.
Timeline