Date: 14th July 2026
Mode: Offline
Time: 9 a.m. (2 Hours)
Audience: MBA Students
Topic: SparkTank: Ignite Ideas. Power Innovation
Location: Pillai University Respective Classrooms
Program Overview
The two-hour induction workshop was designed to introduce incoming MBA students to the foundational concepts of entrepreneurship and innovation. Themed around the “SparkTank” initiative, the session focused on “Market Gap Identification,” providing a strategic framework for discovering and validating untapped business opportunities. The primary objective was to train students to identify unmet or inadequately addressed customer needs before developing business solutions.
Key Concepts Covered
The workshop provided critical theoretical insights to strengthen the students’ analytical and entrepreneurial thinking.
- Market Gap vs. Business Idea: Students were introduced to the fundamental distinction between a market gap, which focuses on identifying a problem or unmet need, and a business idea, which focuses on developing a solution to address that need.
- Root Causes of Market Gaps: The session explored why organizations often overlook market opportunities, including an excessive focus on existing customers, internal biases, and the neglect of fringe or underserved users.
- Discovery Frameworks: Students were introduced to Customer Pain Mapping and the Jobs-to-Be-Done framework to better understand customer frustrations, trade-offs, and the underlying “jobs” customers seek to accomplish.
Student Activity & Output
Following the theoretical session, students participated in a practical application exercise.
- Brainstorming Phase: Working in pre-assigned groups, students were tasked with identifying and brainstorming four to five market gaps or problems they had personally observed within the previous 72 hours.
- Preparation: Each group was given 25–30 minutes to finalize its identified problems, obtain facilitator approval, create a unique group name, and prepare a creative presentation of its findings.
- Presentations: Each group delivered a five-minute presentation showcasing its identified market gaps and supporting observations.
Evaluation & Results
The practical application exercise produced highly creative and competitive outcomes.
- Participation: A total of six student groups from each division (A and C) successfully presented their identified market gaps.
- Group Shortlisting: Following a rigorous evaluation of the five-minute presentations, the top two groups from each division were shortlisted based on the quality of their problem identification, analytical approach, creativity, and presentation skills.
- Individual Recognition: The three best presenters were recognized and commended for their exceptional communication skills, confidence, and overall presentation effectiveness.
Next Steps
The workshop successfully laid the foundation for the students’ entrepreneurial learning journey. Building upon the outputs generated during this session, students—particularly the shortlisted groups—have been instructed to develop their identified market gaps into a Business Model Canvas as part of the next phase of the SparkTank initiative. These business models will be presented during the final presentations scheduled for the coming week.
