TIRUCHI
The National Institute of Technology - Tiruchi (NITT) has replicated the concept of start-ups by faculty as in Indian Institutes of Technology.
The NITT was in the process of formulating a faculty-start up policy envisaging necessary support systems as part of our institutional transformation, its Director Mini Shaji Thomas said.
At a workshop organised for interested faculty members last week, the NITT Director expressed hope that the start-up and supportive eco system for entrepreneurship will pave way for further professional development, and generation of more number of patents. The NITT will also focus on commercialisation of patents, she said.
The participating faculty were oriented on the topic by their counterparts in IIT Mumbai and IIT Madras with exposure to managing start-ups in the campuses.
Shankar Narayan, Serial Entrepreneur from Silicon Valley, the Chief Guest for the event, explained the significance of start-ups in India, and that researchers with passion can move on to start-ups. A faculty with a start-up will be role model for his students also to pursue entrepreneurship, he said, and cited the success of Silicon Valley to its linkage to Stanford University and UC Berkeley.
Girish Kumar, Professor of Electrical Engineering, IIT Mumbai, and Founder of Wilcom Technologies, spoke on the importance of IPR, equity and the ways for faculty to monetise their innovations. A good business plan and initial funds are part of good starting point for a successful venture, he said.
Ragunathan, Professor of IIT Madras who floated the start-up Gyan Data, dwelt on the importance of eco systems and institutional support for faculty start-ups.
G. Kannabiran, Director of Centre for Entrepreneurship Development and Incubation, NITT, said the focus was on scaling up the quality and quantity of start-ups in the campus.
The Workshop was sponsored by TEQIP (Technical Education Quality Improvement Program) III and CEDI –Sonata Entrepreneurship Fund.
