Professor V Kamakoti, Director of Indian Institute of Technology Madras, is a man in a hurry though his calm disposition seems to suggest otherwise. Behind his unflappable demeanour and simplicity lies a man who knows exactly what he wants for the institution and what has to be done to achieve it. A rapid-action plan has been set in motion, and, unsurprisingly, innovation and entrepreneurship (I&E) is a core focus area. The institution’s targets for 2021-27 include nurturing 100 deeptech startups annually and leveraging the 10x programme of IITM Research Park (a grand vision for the current decade) to incubate, every year, at least 5 ‘blockbuster’ companies/technologies that create high-value IPR. IITM is also establishing an I&E fund of Rs 100 crore to support new initiatives. There are already results to show. 104 startups were incubated in FY25 by the IIM Incubation Cell. ‘A patent a day’ is a successful initiative driven by Kamakoti to boost innovation, which resulted in 417 patents filed in FY25. Most importantly, beyond these numbers and targets, Kamakoti—who took over the reins of the premier institute in 2022—wants IITM to take the lead in job creation and steer the nation forward. He puts it bluntly: “India… Read MoreYourStory RSS Feed
