Are management graduates meant to be corporate servants or corporate masters? As a responsible member of the student community, what steps would you take to promote entrepreneurship among B-school students? Suggest implementable solutions.

The whole question of whether management graduates should act as corporate servants or corporate masters is misplaced and depends solely on how one perceive the job. At a cosmic level, each human being (corporate tycoon or government clerk) is a very small part of a big ecological system. He acts as master to some and servant to many others. In many ways, only way to be a master is by serving others stakeholders of the system. Being master or servant is of no consequence to any responsible human being as long as he is adding value to social capital and overall economy of the nation.

Can we make entrepreneur in Business School? Perhaps not!

Entrepreneurship is about having guts - something formal education cannot teach. Many acclaimed business builders say success depends as much on temperament as on teaching. "An entrepreneur is a kind of genius who is born, not made," says Ann Winblad, partner at Hummer Winblad Venture Partners. Besides, ultimately building a successful business is about passion. Consider three of today's great entrepreneurs: Michael Dell, Bill Gates, Steve Jobs. Not one credits the classroom for their success.

I cofounded, Jamboree, a high-tech venture in a 3G communication vertical. Based on my personal experience as an entrepreneur, I can vouch that the steps one have to take, the risks one have to take cant taught it in a classroom in a million years. Starting a business is not about some framework or management theories. Just to realize that “business is business and has no space for emotion” can be impossible to learn for majority of us without real life field experience. My own venture did not succeed because our team lacked the persistence and vision. These words look easy to talk and write about but difficult to practice.

That said, I do believe that MBA schools can provide a simulated learning environment which can be leveraged by aspiring entrepreneurs. In fact during my stay at IIT Bombay, I founded ‘The Entrepreneurship Cell’ which aims at promoting the spirit of entrepreneurship among young engineers. Since then, the cell has grown to become the India’s largest student run platform and has facilitated many start-ups during incubation. Clearly, school can help budding entrepreneurs if not teach students how to be entrepreneurs.

Taking an entrepreneurship class isn't likely to turn a student into an opportunity-spotting, moneymaking genius. But exposure to various aspects of entrepreneurship can definitely speed the learning curve for those with the right attitude. Some of the programs which Business school can incorporate to provide the richer experience to student are:

Firstly, Entrepreneurship is about attitude and passion. Unfortunately, many Indian student and schools lack the respect for entrepreneurship. Everyone admires Bill Gates and Steve Jobs but only few admire the failed ventures. It is critical to build an environment where students respect and admire entrepreneurship as a profession.

Secondly, all MBA students should be encouraged to take an entrepreneurship course in their first semester. To teach new-venture development, schools should use its classic case-study format with a twist: CEOs of the companies under discussion should be invited to participate.

Thirdly, school should support budding entrepreneurs by offering office space, technology and access to advisors at its business incubator. The school should also hosts business-plan competition offering both financial and advisory support to viable business plans.

Fourthly, all incoming students must participate in Entrepreneur's Boot Camp during orientation. The boot camp should focus on financial self-discipline and the history of both successful and failed business ventures.

Fifthly, collaboration and exchange programs should be established with other emerging market business schools. Just the exposure of what sells in China and Brazil can the single most important success factor for an entrepreneur.

Finally, the lack of financial safety net is perhaps the biggest challenge faced any budding entrepreneurs. School should set up processes to help failed entrepreneurs with corporate placements. In addition, school should create VC corpse which can provide seed funding and buy equity stake in the venture.

I guess the first step to implement any of these changes is the completely change in the mindset of administrative and governing body of the school.