The Indian Institute of Technology Madras (IIT-M) has launched a School of Innovation and Entrepreneurship to create a world-class ecosystem to establish deep tech startups. The objective is to put the Institute on the Global Map of entrepreneurial universities.
IIT Madras is already home to India’s largest ‘deep-tech’ startup ecosystem, with over 475 startups valued in excess of Rs 50,000 crore ($6 Billion) under the aegis of IIT-M Incubation Cell, together with several sector-specific incubators. These startups have cumulatively created more than 11,000 jobs, filed over 700 patents and have attracted Rs 12,000 crore in investments.
Through structured curricular and academic support, the Institute aims to catalyse the emergence of the next generation of Deep Tech startup founders, boosting the vision of ‘Make in India, Make for the World’.
The School of Innovation and Entrepreneurship will be headed by Prof. Prabhu Rajagopal, a Shanti Swarup Bhatnagar Awardee, serial faculty-entrepreneur and a distinguished faculty of the Department of Mechanical Engineering, IIT Madras.
The School will offer a Minor Stream in Entrepreneurship, an MS (Entrepreneurship) degree and also establish novel programmes contributing to translational research besides a PhD Programme and a unique ‘Entrepreneur-in-Residence’ (EIR) cohort to support returning professionals who want to pursue entrepreneurship as a career. These include practice-led degrees at the Undergraduate and Master's levels, as well as an industry-defined ‘Innovation Doctorate’.
The School also aims to create IIT Madras-specific funding mechanisms at the initiation and scale-up stages for startups. It will also run ‘IP clinics’ to help students understand the notion of IP filing and quickly convert their innovations into IP-backed products with support from IIT-M’s IPM Cell.
