Written by Tanisha Cardozo || Team Allycaral
The GDP School for Social Entrepreneurship, Skill Building and Applied Social Research marked its first convocation at Borda College, Margao, with a packed auditorium and a high-energy format that placed outcomes above optics and enterprises above certificates. The event brought together graduating cohorts from the Borda, Vasco, and Quepem campuses in a celebration that redefined the traditional idea of a convocation.
Departing from convention, the convocation featured a swag-filled ramp walk where senior citizens, Self Help Groups, and rural youth confidently showcased market-ready products, service offerings, flyers, and enterprise packages. Developed through intensive practitioner-led mentoring and applied social research, the ramp transformed into a live marketplace of social innovation and enterprise readiness.
Stage 1 of the GDP School journey focused on stabilising three core pillars of enterprise building—product, process, and people. Participants underwent repeated cycles of market fitment, customer feedback, redesign, and validation, with a deliberate application of Blue Ocean Strategy to identify uncontested value propositions. The cohorts now advance into Stage 2, the Go-To-Market phase, which will focus on customer acquisition, partnerships, revenue models, and scaling.
The ramp walk was led by GDP School practitioners Deepakshi Mishra from the Quepem Campus, Kaushal Prabhudesai from the Vasco Campus, and Prasad Deshpande from the Borda Campus, who guided their respective cohorts through the showcase. The convocation was led by Chief Guest Mr. Kanjanabha Bhattacharyya, Managing Director of Putzmeister Concrete Machines Pvt. Ltd., who reinforced the importance of industrial rigor and execution discipline in building sustainable social enterprises.
The event saw the presence of a wide range of dignitaries from banking, industry, media, administration, and social development sectors, reflecting strong cross-sector endorsement for the initiative. The convocation also coincided with the birth anniversary of Late Shri Manoharbhai Parrikar, former Union Defence Minister and Chief Minister of Goa, and was envisioned as a tribute to his enduring legacy of institution-building, integrity, and inclusive development.
The programme concluded with a vote of thanks by Mr. Kishore Shah, Managing Trustee of GDP Foundation, followed by live product displays and networking. The convocation marked not an end, but the formal market entry of community-rooted enterprises, reinforcing GDP School’s emergence as a pioneering platform where social purpose meets market discipline and learning translates into real, scalable impact.
