Authors : Hemachandran C.; Kathiravan P.; Lakshminarayanan A.; Sankar Narayanan C.; Sathiyan A.

Volume/Issue : Volume 11 - 2026, Issue 6 - June

Google Scholar : https://tinyurl.com/yc3mczda

Scribd : https://tinyurl.com/3prs2f3n

DOI : https://doi.org/10.38124/ijisrt/26jun2020

Note : A published paper may take 4-5 working days from the publication date to appear in PlumX Metrics, Semantic Scholar, and ResearchGate.

Abstract : College incubation centres have emerged as strategic platforms for fostering innovation, entrepreneurship, and startup development within higher education institutions. As universities increasingly focus on producing job creators rather than job seekers, incubation centres play a pivotal role in transforming innovative ideas into sustainable business ventures. However, many college incubation centres face challenges such as limited industry collaboration, inadequate mentoring, insufficient funding, fragmented entrepreneurial support, and weak commercialization mechanisms. This conceptual paper proposes an integrated framework for developing effective college incubation centres by combining entrepreneurship education, innovation infrastructure, mentoring, industry partnerships, financial support, digital incubation, and performance evaluation into a unified ecosystem. The framework emphasizes collaboration among students, faculty, industry experts, investors, alumni, and government agencies to create a sustainable entrepreneurial environment. The proposed model highlights the sequential process from idea generation to incubation, commercialization, and venture growth. The paper concludes that a holistic incubation ecosystem can significantly enhance entrepreneurial competencies, improve start-up success rates, strengthen university– industry collaboration, and contribute to regional economic development. The framework offers practical guidance for higher education institutions seeking to establish or strengthen incubation centres that align with national innovation and entrepreneurship policies.

Keywords : College Incubation Centre, Entrepreneurship, Innovation, Start-Up Development, Higher Education, Entrepreneurial Ecosystem.

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