Ismail Akbani

About Ismail Akbani

Empowerment = f(Empathy, Engagement, Education) Born in the erstwhile state of Andhra Pradesh, to a family having roots in Gujarat, and brought up in Maharashtra, I’m a Mechanical Engineer by qualification, an Unorthodox Educator by impression, entrepreneurial mindset evangelist by passion, a no-one by profession, and an infinitesimal symbol of National Integration :)First crush was a Stage (dais, if you may), first date was with a Mic (at the age of 5), and all the candle light dinners have been with those gorgeous books in my personal library!At 14, Sold ice-candies made from Rasna using mom\'s favourite refrigerator ice-trays & match-sticks.Setup and managed my own small printing business at the age of 17 (we didn\'t know the word #startup back then).The name itself means “Meaningful Smile” and hence the mission - Spreading SmileFlu Everywhere :)Childhood was spent in a small Indian town in the pre-internet, pre-social media, & pre-smartphone era. Thus, I practically grew up on the same work premises where my father started and wrapped-up more than half a dozen business during the decade!As kids in a house without the idiot box (TV), my sister & I would rarely have dinner unless dad told us a story. Now you know where my passion for storytelling comes from? My father doesn\'t know this till date, but he was the first to introduce me to the core pillar of Design Thinking i.e. Empathy when I was merely eight years old! Well, he didn\'t know that such a fancy term existed for what he was already practicing. After a bachelor\'s degree in Mechanical Engineering, and a Master\'s in Computer Aided Design, the obvious career choice was Academia! Where else would I get the opportunity to practice what I love every single day: Public Speaking. oops I mean Conversations! The bloodline of a business family had to manifest someday in some form or the other and thus, I gradually turned into an advocate for promoting the spirit of entrepreneurship & innovation among the youth. For the past few years, I\'ve been encouraging youth to venture on entrepreneurial quests and supporting early stage startups.Thanks to the blessings of the #StageGods, I\'ve had some the opportunities to be a Panelist/Speaker/Mentor at prestigious organisations including the likes of IIT Bombay, IIT Kharagpur, Ministry of Education\'s Innovation Cell, CIPET, Hyderabad, UP Startup Fest, Maharashtra State Innovation Society, IIT Goa, IIT Delhi, HongKong Startup Fest, Gwalior Startup Network, Conference,#LinkedinLocalPune, and others

Experience

1. Facilitator

   Techstars Startup Weekend

   May 2023 — Present

Education

• Visvesvaraya National Institute of Technology

  Master of Technology - M.Tech., Design

• Entrepreneurship Development Institute of India

  Diploma, Entrepreneurship/Entrepreneurial Studies

  2014 — 2015

• Indian Institute of Technology, Delhi

  Doctor of Philosophy - PhD, The Story of Cotton. Design Thinking. Artisan Entrepreneurship. Khadi. Business Model Innovation

• Indian Institute of Technology, Delhi

  Research Fellowship, Strategy & Innovation

  2019 — 2019

• Institute of Management Technology, Ghaziabad

  Master of Business Administration - MBA, Business Analytics

  2018 — 2020

• World University Consortium (IUC), Croatia

  Post Graduate Certificate, Mind, Thinking & Creativity

  2016

• Central Institute of Tool Design

  Master Certificate , Computer Aided Engineering (CAD/CAM/CAE)

• North Maharashtra University

  Bachelor of Engineering - BE, Mechanical Engineering