KOCHI: The first and second-year undergraduate students of Maharaja’s College, Ernakulam, are turning entrepreneurs. Under the Earn While You Learn project, the college has been training 150 students from different departments in making products like home cleaning liquids and cloth bags and in ornamental aquaculture. The college is organising an exhibition-cum-sale of the products made by the students.
“The project was carried out with a funding of Rs 6 lakh received from the higher education department for the financial year 2024-25,” Shiji K, an assistant professor with the economics department and the Earn While You Learn (EWYL) coordinator, tells TNIE.
The three product categories, all of which have been branded ‘Majestic’, were arrived at after the higher education department approved the proposal the college submitted.
“The EWYL programme is built on the cyclical concept of learning while earning, saving, and contributing to economic self-sufficiency. Its ultimate goal is to transition a knowledge-based society into a thriving knowledge economy, thereby ensuring societal cohesion and sustainable growth.
The initiative also focuses on discovering hidden talents in students and guiding them towards fields that align with their abilities, paving the way for a secure future,” she says.
Why these three? The slogan of the project was to make sustainable eco-friendly products, explains Shiji.
“All these products, especially the cloth bag, have great relevance today. In an era where we are stressing the need to free the environment of plastic, the use of cloth bags has gained importance. Fifty students have been trained in bag making. The raw materials for the products were purchased and provided by the college using the funds received,” she says.
Each product line was entrusted to a faculty member, she points out. The toiletries team was led by Neena George from the chemistry department while the cloth bag team was led by Varun Soman from the mathematics department. Dhanya Balakrishnan, a faculty member with the zoology department, trained the students in taking care of the aquarium fish.
Under the EWYL programme, students have to spend an hour every day to manufacture the products.
“However, it has also been specified that the one hour can’t be carved out of the class time. So we have been engaging the students after class hours, from 3.30pm to 4.30pm. The result is there for you to see. Now, the students are capable of making these products all by themselves. We have also been giving them a stipend during the period,” Shiji says.
The programme is a lifeline for economically disadvantaged students, the EWYL coordinator says.
“Maharaja’s College primarily caters to students from economically disadvantaged backgrounds, many of whom take up part-time jobs to meet their daily needs. By equipping them with marketable skills and instilling saving habits, the initiative empowers students to achieve financial independence and break free from the cycle of poverty,” she stresses. The low budget was a hindrance in bringing in advanced technology.
“In the next academic year, we are planning to include innovative products that use technology. The revenue from the sale of the products will go towards funding the Earn While You Learn project next year,” Shiji adds.