What is "XL Dream Run" (Nov 16, '08)?

XL Dream Run is a unique – and perhaps first of its kind in any B-School – event, when 300 students of XLRI Jamshedpur would run to raise funds for a cause – The XLRI Social Entrepreneurship Trust.

The event will be held on November 16th, '08 in Jamshedpur.

The 300 students registered for the event also include the exchange students from 5 b-schools in France, Germany, Manila, and Sweden who are spending one term at XLRI. Some faculty have also registered for the event.

The funds are donated by XLRI alumni through the website of the event (http://www.xldreamrun.com) or through bank-transfer/ cheques.

The donations have started coming in – and are increasing everyday – from alumni across batches & located across the globe - USA, UK, UAE, Egypt, Singapore, Switzerland, and of course, India.

SBI XLRI Branch Code: SBIN0004660
A/c No: 30274085172
[Pl send the transaction details to xldreamrun[at]xlri[dot]ac[dot]in, if making a bank transfer]
Pl visit the website to donate through Paypal

The XLRI Social Entrepreneurship Trust was established to promote and support “entrepreneurship with a social cause” among the students, alumni and community. At present it supports 3 social ventures which are launched by some of the present batch (07-09) students, who have decided to take this “road less traveled” as a career option (and skip the campus placements in '09):

1. Parichay

A large part of India’s traditional rural and tribal art is dying because (1) the artisans, being disconnected from the market, have not been able to contemporize their designs, and (2) since they have no direct access to the market, do not find their work remunerative enough to continue.

Parichay is a venture to connect the rural/tribal artisans & craftsmen to the market. Started 6months back, the venture:

has co-opted some well-known designers, who are developing product-prototypes for them, and

is negotiating with NIFT, Pearle Academy, etc. who have shown interest to send their students for internship

has built The Learning & Design Center, where the rural/tribal artisans will be trained to develop the product-prototypes, and the first workshop is likely to be held within a month or so.

is being considered by Jharkraft for recognition and support

is in the initial stage of negotiation with NABARD, which has shown interest in the venture

2. Swavalamban

A large number of Indian villages are geographically scattered, a for most the national power grid passes by kilometers away. Providing electricity can only be done through a more decentralized and self-sustaining model.

Swavalamban aims to use patented "ox-driven generator" technology to provide electricity to the villages in Jharkhand. So far the venture has made following progress:

Got their first order from JREDA (Jharkhand Renewable Agency Development Agency)

Got sanction from the Jharkhand Tribal Minster to electrify one village as a working “proof of concept”

After seeing the working model, Tata Motor's CSR dept and SEEDS (an NGO) have accepted to order 5 units each for testing in the villages they serve.

NTPC has agreed to acquire 200 units at a research level

L&T has seen the prototype, and in principle agreed to acquire some for their CSR activities... etc.

3.Dream4Others

This is the youngest venture of all – got registered as a firm less than a month back. It is a venture which aims to use online market-surveys to generate funds for registered NGOs.

It is being mentored by an XLRI alumnus, with more than 20years of experience in market research.

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