IIT Madras launches School of Innovation and Entrepreneurship

chennai: the indian institute of technology madras (iit madras) has launched a school of innovation and entrepreneurship to create a world-class ecosystem for nurturing deep-tech start-ups and to establish itself among the leading entrepreneurial universities globally.the school was formally inaugurated on august 4 by iit madras director prof v kamakoti in the presence of faculty, alumni, industry stakeholders and students.prof prabhu rajagopal, a shanti swarup bhatnagar awardee and faculty member of the department of mechanical engineering, will head the school. he has played a key role in nurturing innovation on campus through initiatives like the centre for innovation (cfi) and nirmaan pre-incubator.iit madras currently hosts india's largest deep-tech start-up ecosystem with over 475 start-ups valued collectively at over ₹50,000 crore, having generated more than 11,000 jobs and filed over 700 patents. the institute's incubation ecosystem has attracted over ₹12,000 crore in investments.the newly launched school will offer academic programmes including a minor in entrepreneurship, ms (entrepreneurship), a phd programme, and an industry-defined 'innovation doctorate'. it will also support returning professionals through an 'entrepreneur-in-residence' initiative.the school aims to institutionalise support for start-up creation with ip clinics, seed funding, scholarships, and scale-up support. it will function under the school of interdisciplinary studies.highlighting the significance of the initiative, prof kamakoti said the school would unify iit madras' existing innovation stack and provide structured academic backing for entrepreneurship. he also noted that the iitm alumni fund has nearly met its ₹200 crore target to support institute-incubated start-ups.prof ashwin mahalingam, dean (alumni and corporate relations), said the school would streamline efforts from ideation to ipo, while prof anbarasu manivannan added that the school will also extend global academic leadership in innovation.