Ashoka University
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Innovate, Collaborate, and Lead
YSP Entrepreneurship, Business and Leadership Essentials (EBL Essentials) is a certified, immersive, and experiential 5-day residential programme tailored for ambitious students entering grades 9, 10, 11 & 12. A hands-on journey guided by seasoned practitioners, taking scholars from pitch to product, with workshops on business pitches, building a business plan, developing an entrepreneurial mindset, and understanding financial literacy, along with leadership workshops.Â
The programme covers key subjects such as:
At YSP EBL Essentials, we are dedicated to empowering high school students from diverse backgrounds to become the entrepreneurs and global business leaders of tomorrow. Whether you’re interested in starting your own business, leading corporate ventures, or exploring various industries, we provide the tools and knowledge to help you shape the future.
Our approach combines dynamic, hands-on learning with real-world applications:
The programme brings together Ashoka University’s acclaimed faculty along with trailblazing industry leaders, offering students a unique blend of academic depth and real-world entrepreneurial insight.
In YSP EBL Essentials, students will engage with accomplished educators such as Prof. Priyank Narayan , Prof. Mukesh Sud, Prof. Advaita Rajendra, Prof. Vani Dandia, Prof. Shantanu Bhanja and Prof. Sridhar Sethuram, whose teaching anchors the programme in strong conceptual and strategic foundations.
This is complemented by sessions led by leading practitioners across industries, including Neetu Sehgal Mahajan (Consultant, Ipsos India) on branding for Gen Z, Chinmaya Saxena (Partner, Community Strategy and Partnerships, BEENEXT) on the evolving entrepreneurial landscape, and Ankur Sardana (Head of Design & Research, Tata Neu) on design thinking and prototyping. Students will also learn from Dr. Om Manchanda, who brings insights on building trusted brands within India’s diagnostics industry, and Prakash Dharmarajan (Visiting Faculty of Entrepreneurship, Ashoka University), who will explore the fundamentals of marketing and consumer engagement.
Together, these voices expose students to diverse leadership styles, decision-making frameworks, and stories of resilience. Their collective insights inspire participants to think boldly, embrace calculated risks, and develop the mindset, confidence, and curiosity essential for future business leaders.
From Passion to Product
Have you ever wondered how a college dropout turned Facebook into a global giant, or how Zomato revolutionized food delivery in India? Maybe you’ve started a small business selling handmade products on Instagram, but you’re not sure how to scale it up or create a winning pitch deck.Â
At YSP EBL Essentials, we help you connect the dots, from an idea scribbled in your notebook to a pitch that wows investors. The programme is designed to guide you through every step of the journey:
Explore Key Questions
Hands-on projects at YSP EBL Essentials
Work on startup case studies, design sustainable business models, and create impactful pitch decks investors can’t resist! At YSP EBL Essentials, students will tackle real-world entrepreneurial challenges, with sessions ranging from customer research, sustainable business brainstorming, AI-driven decision-making, to fundraising strategies. You’ll also solve live entrepreneurial challenges, analyze market trends, and get a taste of what it’s like to make high-stakes decisions in the real business world.Â
By the end of the programme, students will have a comprehensive understanding of entrepreneurship and ever-growing business landscape in India and globally. Armed with a game-changing toolkit and a resilient mindset, they’ll be ready to turn their ideas into reality and take them to the next level.
A Holistic College Experience
Beyond academic enrichment, YSP EBL Essentials offers students a vibrant taste of university life. Scholars stay in on-campus residences, share meals in Ashoka’s dining spaces, and take part in activities ranging from sports and Talent Night to film screenings, quizzes, debates, and networking opportunities. Along the way, they build lasting friendships and meaningful connections with like-minded peers from across India and around the world.
A rigorous foundation in entrepreneurship, business, and leadership gives students a competitive edge in some of the most dynamic and demanding fields of the future. YSP EBL Essentials prepares them with the intensity, applied experience, and strategic mindset needed to excel.
By completing YSP EBL Essentials, students gain a distinct advantage: the ability to lead, innovate, and compete in the entrepreneurial and business landscape of tomorrow.
Applications for Ashoka Young Scholars Programme (YSP) – Campus 2027 will open on December 1, 2026.
Stay tuned for updates on the upcoming cycle, follow us on social media and check our website for announcements.
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Faculty sessions delve into subjects such as ethical entrepreneurship, venture development, associated risks, consumer and market research and the evolving landscape of entrepreneurship in the post-Covid era. Students will not only engage with case studies, historical contexts, and real-world challenges filled with ethical dilemmas but also participate in daily workshops. These workshops offer hands-on experience with live projects, ranging from analyzing current market trends, crafting sustainable business models, to developing strategies for successful ventures. Such immersive experiences, combined with foundational theories of entrepreneurship, aim to nurture their critical thinking, design thinking, and leadership skills. Through YSP EBL, students are equipped with the knowledge and practical tools to drive meaningful change in the dynamic world of entrepreneurship and leadership. The aim is to equip students with the knowledge and tools to take their idea and make it a real entity.
The five-day residential programme entails interdisciplinary faculty sessions that discuss the state of entrepreneurship, leadership, impact, their interconnectedness with each other, and other diverse fields. The sessions are enhanced by an addition of simulating workshops in the second half of the day. These workshops are designed to foster innovation and creative thinking, build leadership skills that include pitching, presentation, and organizational management skills.
A sample schedule for YSP EBL Essentials is given below. (tentative schedule, subject to change)
YSP EBL Essentials Programme ScheduleHave questions about YSP EBL Essentials?
Know More“In school, we’ll only study business, for example, once a day, maybe hardly twice. But over here, studying business for four to five hours straight really gives me exposure to how business is going to be. It also teaches us patience… We learned a lot about starting a Gen Z business, about startups, about investing in startups, and that’s a whole new topic for us because we’re just going into high school. So we’ve never really delved into business management and business studies type of things. Now we’re going to pursue that, and just as a starter, like a summer course, just to get us into the topic, it was really helpful. I’ve always thought that everyone gets their business from their parents, but over here, I really learned how entrepreneurial skills work and how people start their own businesses. I’ve always been thinking everyone just gets their businesses from their parents, but this really changed my perspective.”
– Anitej (Grade 9)
RP Goenka International School, Kolkata
“The first day was really fun. I experienced a lot. I became friends with a lot of new people, and I engaged with a lot of new professors as well… I think I liked Prof. Mukesh Sud a lot, and Prof. Priyank. I think they were really engaging, and they made the class fun, and they tried their best to explain it in the easiest way. They were talking about the mindset and what you have to believe, and that the process is more important than the final result. It was really fascinating to see how far you can get by just trusting the process… The campus is actually really good. I didn’t expect it to be this big, and I didn’t expect there to be so many restaurants and so many cafes. So I think Ashoka is really good now… I think it was better than I expected. I knew it’d be good, but I didn’t think it would be this good. I’ve had a lot of fun, and I’ve made new friends as well.”
– Arhaan (Grade 12)
Mallya Aditi International School, Bengaluru
