Student READY (Rural Entrepreneurship Awareness Development Yojana)

The Student READY (Rural Entrepreneurship Awareness Development Yojana) programme is an initiative of Indian Council of Agricultural Research. Student READY was launched by Hon'ble Prime Minister on 25 July 2015. It aims to provide rural entrepreneurship awareness, practical experience in real life situations in rural agriculture and creating awareness to undergraduate students about practical agriculture and allied sciences including food technology. It ensures employment to graduates of Agriculture and allied subjects and to develop entrepreneurs for emerging knowledge-intensive agriculture. The programme will help in building confidence, skill and acquire indigenous technical knowledge and thereby preparing the pass-outs for self-employment. It also aims to provide opportunities to acquire hands-on-experience and entrepreneurial skills. It is an essential prerequisite for the award of B.Tech. food technology degree course.

 

Student READY programme is introduced in fourth year of undergraduate education in the following subjects:

• Agriculture

• Agriculture Engineering

• Bio Technology

• Dairy Technology

• Fisheries

• Food Technology

• Forestry

• Horticulture

• Home Science (now Community Science)

• Sericulture

 Five components of student READY are:

• Experiential Learning with business mode

• Hands-on training (HOT)/ Skill development training i.e. Experiential Learning without business mode

• Rural Awareness Work Experience (RAWE)

• Internship/ In Plant Training/ Industrial attachment

• Students Projects

Student READY for Food Technology:

Food technology is one of the rising streams of agriculture where more emphasis is required to cater the need of entrepreneurs and industries around the nation and abroad. Considering the dynamism of Food Technology, following student READY programme are adopted.

•           Experiential learning programme

•            Research projects

•            Inplant training

1) Experiential Learning Programme (ELP)

Experiential Learning (EL) The word ‘experiential’ essentially means that learning and development. Experiential Learning is an opportunity for the students to develop high quality professional competence, skill development and confidence to start their own enterprise. This is a step towards “Earn while learn”. Experiential Learning aims towards Practical Work Experience in Real Life Situation among the undergraduate students and therefore it helps student become “Job Providers rather than Job Seekers”. Experiential learning is achieved typically in group, by observation, study of theory or hypothesis; bring in innovation or transfer of skills or knowledge. ELP provides the students an excellent opportunity to develop analytical and entrepreneurial skills and knowledge through meaningful hands on experience, confidence in their ability to design and execute project work.

Semester VII

• Experiential Learning programme is implemented at VII semester for B. Tech. (Food Tech.) course to get acquainted with purchasing raw materials, process, producing a quality product with minimizing waste generation.

• The experiential learning programme (ELP) undertaken to build up students entrepreneurship and implanting working skills to become a job provider rather than job seeker.

• To promote employment opportunities and entrepreneurships development skills in the field of agricultural science.

• To earn through value addition technologies available locally through integration of integrated farming, food safety, agriculture market and good agriculture practices.

• To emphasize the need of innovation and mechanisms to ensure the quality & excellence in the mandatory activity i.e. teaching, research and extension

• The products like amala candy, mango squash, mango jam, guava jelly, spice and spice products, potato chips, banana chips, RTS pickles and bakery products are standardized with marketing strategy.

ELP Modules of Food Technology:

2) Research projects

Semester VII

3) Inplant training

Semester VIII

Student READY - Experiential Learning with a credit load of 0+14 credit hours through relevant pilot plants for processing of various commodities, preferably on campus. This shall include development of detailed project report on setting up of enterprise in the selected areas of product manufacture and evaluation of the module. The experiential learning is intended to build practical skills and entrepreneurship attributes among the students with an aim to deal with work situations and for better employability and self-employment.

Objectives of ELP

Under Experiential Learning Programme different modules are as follows:

Module 1: Fruits and Vegetables Products

In this module, different fruit products like Jam, squashes, fruit preserves, and candies are prepared. Different vegetables pickles like mango pickle, green chillies, Lemon pickle, mixed vegetables and tomato etc., are prepared.

Module 2: Spices and condiments products

Spices play an important role in enhancing the flavor and taste of the processed foods. Hence as a part of ELP programme different products like Straight Spice Blends, Masala Blends like Tea Masala, and Instant Culinary Mixes Ex. Instant soup mixes etc., are prepared from quality graded ingredients and sold at nearby places of campus as well as local markets.

Module 3: Meat, poultry and fish products

Meat, poultry and fish products occupy quite an exceptional position in the preferences of the consumers and the interest of food industry, since they provide human organism with high quality proteins, vitamins and minerals. In this module different meat products like chicken, mutton, fish pickles and egg based products are prepared are being prepared and marketed.

Module 4: Cereals and pulses products

Instant foods like instant upma mix and Ragi upma mix, instant idli mix, instant dosa mix are prepared to consume less time to cook and there are available in low cost. Cereals module have prepared some health based foods like Ragi malt, multigrain atta, Ragirava to improve the health as the Ragi is rich in calcium, iron which improves our bone health and blood percentage. As the multigrain atta is made of bajra, ragi, jowar, barley, soya, oats, wheat improves our muscle strength.

5. Drying and Dehydration of fruits and vegetables

6. Beverages and other innovative products

7. Postharvest management and Marketing of fresh fruits and vegetables

8. Bakery Products

9. Chocolate, Confectionary and Snack products

10. Traditional heritage Food products

11. Milk and Milk products

12. Functional Foods and Nutraceuticals

Food Technology is a dynamic field which require continuous research and innovation in product. With this intention Research Project as a part of READY to promote the students towards research and innovation in the field. Research Project should be allotted to students based on their/Guide’s interest towards the ELP project. The Research Project is not supposed to be a formal dissertation, rather it should be objective based to make minor changes in existing products or product innovation based on consumer demand and market needs. Formal Training should be given to students to make them acquaint with basic research skills and writing skills. During Research Project, student shall learn to collect the necessary research data and facts related to product and process and plan the product trials accordingly.

Characteristics of a good Research Project

i) Originality, Innovation and creativity and should commensurate with understanding the problem and finding solution.

ii) Relevance of the project to the community and impact of the project on society.

iii) Proper understanding of the subject, quality and quantity of the work and efforts to validate the data collected. 

Student READY - Research Project with a credit load of 0+3 credit hours: to undertake investigation of selected problems of special interest in Food Processing Technology. The work includes library work, field or laboratory research, recording data, analysing data and writing of report, etc. Students can correlated their Research Project with the ELP products which students are supposed to make during the student READY – Experiential learning Programme (I & II).

To familiarize the students with the process of doing research, food technology research project was implemented step‐by‐step throughout the entire semester.

The structure of the research project report shall be in the format is as follows:

Title of the project

Abstract

Introduction- Description on background of the study

Aims and Objectives

Methodology

Observations: This shall include the observations during the experiment. Observation can be both qualitative as well as quantitative.

Data analysis and interpretation: The data generated/ obtained from the experiments/observations should be processed for better understanding in a more structured manner.

Results: Results are the output of compilation of the data into meaningful outcomes/ interpretations and sometimes, there is a need to redo the experiments to get consistent results.

Conclusions: This is the logical end of the project to arrive at specific conclusions from the observed phenomena. In a way, the whole objective of the project is to arrive at some conclusion, either positive or negative which would lead to a better understanding of the problem.

Acknowledgement

References

Student READY - Seminar on Technical Topic of Food Technology shall be delivered by individual student. The Seminar topic shall be decided by respective Guide/Advisor. Students will be responsible for collection of necessary information, preparation of synopsis and Power Point Presentation and discussion by each student on current topics / interests in Food Processing technology with a weightage of 0+1credit hours.

In-Plant training is meant to correlate theory and actual practices in the industries. Such in-plant trainings will provide an industrial exposure to the students as well as to develop their career in the high tech industrial requirements. To enrich the practical knowledge of the students, In-plant Training shall be mandatory in the last semester for a period of up to 14 weeks. In-plant trainings will provide an industrial exposure to the students as well as to develop their career in the high tech industrial requirements.

In-plant training is meant to correlate theory and actual practices in the industries with the following objectives:

· To expose the students to Industrial environment, which cannot be simulated in the university

· To familiarize the students with various Materials, Machines, Processes, Products and their applications along with relevant aspects of shop management .

· To make the students understand the psychology of the workers, and approach to problems along with the practices following at factory.

· To make the students understand the scope, functions and job responsibility-ties in various department of an organization.

 · Exposure to various aspects of entrepreneurship during the programme period.

Student READY - In-plant training of one semester duration with a credit load of 0+20 credit hours at relevant food processing industry, machinery manufacturer, marketing or other agencies. The in-plant training is intended to expose the students to an environment in which they are expected to be associated in their future career. The students will be required to have hands-on-experience in one or more commercial establishment.