What is PGPSE?

Ans: It stands for POST GRADUATE PROGRAMME IN SOCIAL

ENTREPRENEURSHIP. Since this course is available for those who
are already graduates, we also conduct a programme called CSE
which means Certificate in Social Entrepreneurship. The basic
purpose of these programmes is to develop social entrepreneurs.
There are many programmes in the world, some develop MBAs,
some scientists and some doctors, we are willing to develop social
entrepreneurs. We are willing to start a course which can help in
developing social commitments, social awareness and a willingness
to start social ventures.

Why did you launch this programme?

Ans: this is a programme of self study, self appraisal and self
certification. We need some self-motivated persons, who are willing
to do something for the society at large. This programme is for such
persons. They have to exercise very high level of self motivation, self
direction and self control. PGPSE programme consists of some
modules which the person has to study at his / her own pace under
guidance of some mentors. The mentors are the past students who
have undertaken this programme in the past. The primary aim of this
programme is to develop social entrepreneurs. A person who is an
engineer may be able to develop a good design, but if we also
undertakes PGPSE along with his regular course, he may be able to
design for the benefit of society at large in the interest of the general
public. A person may be good as administrator, he may become MBA
and serve corporate world, but by doing a course like PGPSE, he
may be able to serve the entire society at large as a social
entrepreneur.

What is self certification?

Ans: Our programme is based on the concept of self appraisal and
self certification. We believe that in the field of entrepreneurship, we
need a person who has very high level of self control, self restraint,
self motivation and ethics and therefore we have launched this
programme on the concept of self certification. Degrees are given by
the university. We are not giving any degree. We are not large
enough to compare ourselves to the universities. We are very small
group, and the certificate is given by the student to himself on
completion of some standard work. We have set some standards,
which we believe are essential for a student to achieve.

What is the fees of this programme?

Ans: There is no fees. This is self-study, self direction, self motivation
and self certification, hence there is no question of any fees.

How will your institution survive?

Ans: There is no paid employee in my institution. It is all voluntary
work. We dont deal in money. We dont require money. Ours is an
open institution, any person interested in promoting social
development can join us and help us in promoting social welfare. Our
outcome is also social development.

Do you provide consultancy?

Ans: As an organisation - no. But as individuals we do provide
consultancy. Our past students (who are now mentors of social
entrepreneurship) also provide consultancy. But it is purely at
individual basis.

Are you satisfied with your accomplishments?

Ans: Partly yes, but there is a great scope, we havent yet done
anything. I wish I could undertake workshop on social
entrepreneurship and workshop on spiritual entrepreneurship and
workshop on teachers as transformers in every school and college -
but what I have done is a very small number. I wish to enroll a large
number of students in PGPSE programme, but we have a very small
number of students, and those who have completed this programme
are very few.

Q: How is PGPSE different from MBA?

Ans : There is no intention to differentiate or integrate with MBA
programme. Still, there are more similarities than differences. Still we
can say that there are many aspects on which PGPSE is different
from MBA programme. We have not actually modelled it on MBA. We
wanted to offer a course whereby we could develop change agents
for the society, the outcome is PGPSE, if it is similar or different from
MBA - it is by chance. In PGPSE we have the following :

a. there are no examinations, the candidate has to be his own judge.

However, we have periodic interviews / discussion on telephone /
face to face - whereby we come to know about the progress of the
candidate. There are certain goals that the candidate has to have and
the candidate is expected to move towards those goals and as soon
as he / she achieves those goals, he is entitled to achieve PGPSE.

b. we dont have a fixed syllabus as in the case of MBA, we expect

the student to absorb what is relevant to him for achievement of his
objectives / goals.

c. we dont have any fixed entry or exit date in PGPSE. The student
can join as his own choice and exit at his own pace (after completing
his work and submitted a self appraisal report). The course is
complete when the candidate is able to accomplish some tasks. We
expect more and more students to join this programme and spread
this programme.

d. we wish to make degrees separate from time bound durations.

Degrees are not a certificate of your having spent some time. These
are certificates of certain capabilities and therefore PGPSE doesnt
require any fixed duration, we expect the student to acquire some
capabilities and PGPSE is supposed to be reflection of some
capabilities.

e. the student has to undertake the following :

1. the student has to prepare at least four business plan which outline
the objectives of the students in terms of contribution to the society.
Each business plan must reflect the capability of the student in terms
of benefit to the society.
2. the student has to try to get at least 4 publications (at least one
must be a book). These publications must prove that the student is
able to organise his thoughts and present his ideas logically and
meaningfully.
3. The student must undertake event management of at least 4
events. He must organise at least two workshops / assist in
organising of at least two workshops through afterschoool. These
occasions will enable the students to sharpen his organising
capabilities.
4. The student must participate and practice meditation. He must
learn meditation and regularly undertake meditation. He may join
meditation under any system and be a part of any school for that
matter. There are many schools of meditation like Sahaj Yog, Raj
Yog, Shri Shri Ravi Shankar's, Preksha Dhyan, Vipashyana etc. We
are open to all.
5. The student must make four presentations of his works in any
school / college / university - this presentation may be done by
preparing the matter on power point slides.
6. The student must make at least 5 new students of PGPSE and try
to become mentors of at least five PGPSE participants.
7. The student must organise at least four seminars / group
discussions / conferences on current issues relevant to social
development. The student must also participate in at least four
international seminars / conferences / business meets / conclaves /
workshops so that the student can have the required vision for
starting a business.
8. The student must visit to at least four institutions engaged in
research related to social issues and social development / engaged in
technology development, which can help in social development.
9. The student must prepare at least four case studies on impact
making social organisations / institutions. The student must also
analyse / submit comments on case studies prepared by the
Afterschoool centre for social entrepreneurship. All the case studies
are available on websites like www.esnips.com and www.scribd.com
or on www.afterschool.tk
10. The student must also participate in contests / events /
workshops organised by the afterschoool centre for social
entrepreneurship.

What are the objectives of the students?

Ans: The PGPSE is for those who want to ultimately set up some
business / organisation / venture for social development. Therefore
those who are interested in doing PGPSE must set clear goals in
terms of social mission / objectives. These objectives will enable
them to achieve some social progress. The PGPSE participants are
expected to have a burning desire to bring about transformation in the
society. There are a few examples to explain these objectives:

1. An objective to bring about cleanliness in the society : for this

purpose to think about introduction of products and services which
can bring cleanliness in the society - like eco-friendly packaging
2. An objective to spread education to the poor persons so that they
can raise their living standard : for this objective, the student can think
about introduction of products and services for the spread of
education among the masses.
3. An objective to preserve rich cultural heritage : here the student
can think about introduction of services which can preserve rich
cultural heritage - like folk art training academy etc.

What are the specialisations that you wish to offer ?

Ans: We wish to offer many specialisations like the following :
1. introduction of financial services / development of self help groups
etc.
2. business journalism
3. business consultancy
4. health care and related services
5. Management of franchising business
6. Management of education and information technology related
services
7. Rural development related services
8. Social marketing and social transformation services

What innovations have you done in your programme?

Ans: Ours is a flexible programme - focussed on achieving the
dreams of an invidual. We have introduced the following in our centre
:
a. earn while you learn scheme : the students earn while they are
studying
b. multiple programmes : the students are given an opportunity to
undertake multiple programmes simultaneously.

How do you wish to spread the PGPSE programme across the

globe ?
Ans: We wish that our students should spread PGPSE programme.
We are dependent on our old students for this. We are awaiting for
Mr. N.Raju (who is PGPSE from the first batch) to start Kota branch
of our centre. Similarly, we expect our other students to start this
course in their respective cities. As more and more students will join
this course, this course will spread to other cities / towns / villages.
We are not giving any advertisement about this programme. We
expect this programme to spread on its own through its student.
Although it is not a profit making activity, but we expect that our
students will find it a rewarding experience to start and spread the
branches of AFTERSCHOOOL in their cities. The reward is not just in
terms of money, but it is in terms of your capability to form a network
of like minded persons and in terms of your ability to form a group for
continuous improvement and growth.

What are the contents of the PGPSE programme?

Ans : There is no fixed programme of PGPSE. Yet, we have a
syllabus of PGPSE, which is an indicative syllabus. I try to prepare
lectures (these are audio files) and upload these lectures on internet,
which can be listened by the students. In the years to come, probaby
I shall be able to upload some video lectures also. The students are
able to get an outline of the contents through our lectures, power
point presentations, case studies, documents, and other files
uploaded on intenet. The main contents are :
a. self improvement in English, basic mathematics, business aptitude
b. basic concepts of Marketing, finance, Human resource
management, quality management, production management,
business economics, business research, business law etc.
c. how to prepare business plan, and how to write a business report /
article / paper etc.
d. case studies on social entrepreneurs, social ideas, social ventures
etc.

Is it necessary to undertake business?

Ans: - Business here doesnt mean business for profit. Business in its
wider meaning means engaging oneself in self sustaining activity. It is
our mistake that we look at government for all our problems. We have
to develop products and services which can solve our problems.
Introduction of such products and services is the main focus of
PGPSE.

Do you wish to develop scientists and innovators?

Ans: Innovators but not scientists. PGPSE doesnt develop scientific
capabilities or technological capabilities. We only wish to develop
sensitivity to social issues and we want to develop capability to
transform social problem into an opportunity. It doesnt require a
scientist to solve social problems, but it requires a person to be an
innovator, a creative person and a person who is able to understand
social issues and problems. I think by doing PGPSE a person will be
able to look at issues from broader perspective and will be able to
introduct solutions for those issues. Scientists have given us many
technologies, but we need to understand the implications of using
that technology. It is our inablity to understand the implications of the
use of technology that today we have adopted technology which is
based on large scale operations. This technology hinders the
creativity and innovations which were possible at technology which
would have operated at small scale.

Have you tried to make this programme based on Indian ideas?

Ans: The PGPSE programme has been launched as a global
programme. Although at present we have students only from India,
but in the years to come, we expect that we will have a large number
of students from across the globe. Most of my lectures (audio files)
are in English for this reason only. However, we have included some
Indian ideas, because they should be there in any international
programme :

1. We have included the concept of relative economics as given by

Acharya Mahapragya
2. We have included the concept of Karmavada
3. We have included the concept of Meditation
4. We have included the concept of Indian philosophy so far as it
relates to life and goals of life (ultimate goal of life as Moksha)

Do you want to detach degree from job requirement?

Ans: for the PGPSE - yes, but not for other degrees. Degree is only a
reflection of certain capabilities. We require special capabilities in
every field. If there is any degree, it means the person has certain
capabilities in a certain field. We welcome degrees for job purpose.
The PGPSE is not for those who want to do a job but want to act as
social entrepreneur / change agents. Thus there is no requirement of
this degree to be linked to any job.

Are there any placement offers to your students?

Ans: Yes, but in entrepreneurial sectors. Mr. N. Raju and Mr. Mahavir
Yuvraj Jain from our first batch got placement with Motilal Oswal
Financial Services Ltd in thier entrepreneurship development
programme and both of them have now set up franchisee
businesses. They took entrepreneurial training with Motilal Oswal and
are now experts in their sectors. We are extremely thankful to Motilal
Oswal Services Ltd. for their assistance in this. Mr. N. Raju and Mr.
Mahavir Yuvraj Jain got extensive training and due to this training
they are today well established in their businesses. In the years to
come, we shall continue to offer entrepreneurial placement
opportunities. We believe that there is a great future for franchising
business and thus our students can easilty undertake franchising
business.

Why do you insist on doing business?

Ans: We believe that there is a great potential in business. There is
lot of room for creativity and innovation. You can offer products and
services that will ultimately transform society. It is not necessary that
you have a large money to start business. You can start business
with small capital also. Small but beautiful - is the main theme that we
wish to promote. Small businesses are most creative and innovative
businesses. These business are vibrant, full of energy and everyone
working in these business is working with positive sprit and positive
thinking. Ultimately we become what we think. If we are able to
promote positive thinking and positive spirit we are able to help in the
development of this world. What is the point in working in a large
company just for the sake of money and the employee is always
having exchange of negative ideas though his boss / subordinate /
colleagues. Our life is the most precious gift that we have got and we
have to live every moment of it smilingly and in happy mood. We
have to create opportunity for growth and development in every
sector.

Are you satisfied with the existing educational set up?

Ans : partly yes. The present educational set up is far better than
what it was a few years ago. There is always a possibility for
improvement. I am not working in competition with the present
educational system. In fact, we wish that PGPSE may be offered in
different college / institutions. I had requested many institutions to
start PGPSE in their institution also and requested them to offer this
course in addition to the course that they are already offering.
However, most of the institutions declined because they didnt see
any monetary benefit in it. I think in the educational sector, we should
look beyond money terms. We have to understand that we are in a
sector where we can transform the society and bring out the new
generation of Gandhis and Tagores. I go and conduct workshop on
social entrepreneurship and spritual entrepreneurship in different
schools and colleges for this purpose only. Our centre in Bikaner is
not running like any college or school but running like an NGO where
students who are already doing some course elsewhere come and
attend classes. We are only supplement to the other institutions and
not competitiors to them. We have great scope to work together.
What the schools and colleges are offering, we cant give. What we
are giving is only an additional supplement to enable students to be
socialy committed.