Indian Institute of Technology, Madras (IITM) is one of India’s leading technological institutions providing world-class educational and research programmes. IITM has been at the forefront of India’s technology revolution and has developed a strong and sustainable relationship with the industry and society at large. IITM is home to India’s first university driven Research Park (IITM Research Park (IITMRP), http://respark.iitm.ac.in), housing R&D and innovation wings of industry majors engaged in collaborative research, and technology transfer. This adds to career opportunities for IITM graduates
Total built up area of 1.2 million sq ft
Phase I (0.4M sq ft): operational since Mar 2010. Fully occupied with 60+ companies
Phase II , nearing completion: 0.82M sq ft built up area, with 5 blocks catering to IT, Mechanical, Bio-sciences and Utilities sectors and multi-level parking Additional facilities: Alumni Industry Interaction Center, conference rooms and auditorium, recreational center, childcare, food court and restaurants
IITM Research Park is a pioneering effort in India to catalyze collaborative research between industry and academia to enable technological innovation & nurture entrepreneurship
IITM also fosters an active entrepreneurial culture with the nodal overseeing body IITM Incubation Cell (www.incubation.iitm.ac.in) and several sector-specific incubators, including the Rural Technology and Business Incubator (www.rtbi.in), Bio-incubator, and MedTech incubator. All the incubators are located in IITMRP
Today, IITM is home to a thriving ecosystem comprising 100+ tech startups across domains, and founded by faculty, staff, students, alumni, and external partners. These ventures are pioneering solutions in advanced and emerging areas such as manufacturing, IoT, clean energy, water, biomedical devices/ healthcare, education, agri-tech and IT. Startups have graduated with infusion of capital from interested majors. There is also a strong social entrepreneurship base, with companies seeking to benefit rural communities through ICT innovations mediating microfinance, healthcare and access to information. (See Portfolio companies:
www.incubation.iitm.ac.in/portfolio/all-startups)
Presence of Research Centres, Incubators and Startups make IITMRP an active ecosystem. Going forward, IITM envisages incubating at least 30 new companies every year, with 10% of them becoming ‘blockbusters’. In order to attain organic growth and emerge effective in supporting the entrepreneurial ecosystem, IITM’s incubators are in need of strong financial and other support. While support from Government in sustaining this process is crucial, the role of the corporate sector cannot be overstated, and the Companies Act, 2013 provides an ideal route for the latter through the Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) channel. IITM aims to promote its Incubators as Entrepreneurial hubs with private and corporate sector engagement. Funds will be utilized for creating facilities for rapid growth and sustenance of start-up ventures.
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