IIT Bombay to launch Rs 100-crore research park in July

Powai valley which makes news only when there is a leopard sighting is about to undergo a huge shift In the next decade or so the region may emerge as the countryrsquos hotspot for entrepreneurial activity generating an endless supply of new technologies new companies and new wealth Come July and the Indian Institute of Technology Bombay IITB will launch its ambitious Entrepreneurship Centre and a sprawling R 100crore Research Park that is expected to give a fillip to the startup energy coursing through its environsHotbed of ideas IITB is seen as an equivalent to Silicon ValleyA walk down Powai avenue and there is no mistaking that the stage is set for a churning Coffee shops have been invaded by the tech brigade whose conversations steer around startups and nanotechnology On the IIT campus too enterprises are sprouting and attitudes changing Twentytwo and 23yearolds who believe anything is possible are starting ventures in rooms rented from the institute Plus the recent success of companies like Housingcom and Ola Cabs which are startups launched by former IITians has thrust Powai into the limelight and given it the identity of a startup hotbedGenerous donationsTapping into this frenzy IITBrsquos Desai Sethi Centre for Entrepreneurship has received a generous fund of R 6 crore from Syntel cofounders Bharat Desai 1975 IIT B alumnus and Neerja Sethi under the aegis of the DS Foundation Desai Sethi Family Foundation Another R 100 crore grant is expected from the Human Resources Development Ministry for the establishment of the Research Park IIT itself will pump in R 5 crore for the facilityFostering talent Bharat Desai cofounder amp chairman SyntelldquoThe idea is to develop the next generation of business leadersrdquo says Prof Devang Khakhar Director IITB ldquoThe new facility will enable IITB to become the nucleus of entrepreneurship in the Powai Valley similar to the role played by Stanford University in the Silicon Valley and MIT in Route 128rdquo Route 128 is a High Technology industry highway that developed around Boston MassachusettsBridging the gap Prof Milind Atrey PicPrashant WayandeIt may be recalled that from HewlettPackard to Google from Apple to Intel mdash the many startups created in Silicon Valley came out of the special ecosystem that was prevalent Silicon Valley is a unique amalgam of academia private sector and the US governmentrsquos research investment coupled with a population of entrepreneurs But in all this Stanford Universityrsquos role as an incubator of technology is clear In the last 50 years the University faculty and students have launched more than 1200 companies Today more than 50 per cent of Silicon Valleyrsquos product comes from companies of Stanford alumniReplicating successAnd places around the world have tried to replicate the Valleyrsquos success by creating startup clusters of their own IITrsquos Entrepreneurship and Research Centre is one such effort ldquoThe trigger already exists on the campus mdash students are incubating their ideas at the Institutersquos Incubator Only we need to leverage it nowrsquorsquo says Prof Anand Kusre head of the IIT Entrepreneurship CellGreen Thinking Indian Institute of Technology Bombay at PowaiWhile the infrastructure for the Centre is in place the over 2 lakh sq ft area Research Park that will house 200 research and development units of private companies and corporates on the periphery of the IIT campus is in progressAccording to Bharat Desai founder of Syntel IIT has always been a hotbed for innovative thinkers and the centre offers a new channel to convert breakthrough ideas into viable business ventures ldquoItrsquos going to be different from what is happening at cutting edge business schools in the country in that it will have technology as its basersquorsquoEmerging technologies like Nanotech Biotech Materials and Green Economy will get a thrust says Prof KusreHear hear SensiBol being demonstrated PICPrashant WayandelsquorsquoPrototyping facilities and proofofconcept testing will enable students to convert their ideas on paper into tangible products and services Lab facilities will help to test and validate their conceptsrsquorsquoMoreover for the first time IIT will throw open its programmes to outsiders as well Two new programmes mdash a B Tech Minor in Entrepreneurship for undergraduates and a certificate programme for a PhD in Entrepreneurship mdash will be announced shortlyFresh ideasThe ambitious Research Park that will house R and D units of private companies incubating on fresh ideas will encourage a vibrant giveandtake between the institute the students and the industry ldquoCorporates and industry will be working in close tandem with the IIT in their respective areas of research Our lab facilities and intellectual capital will be available to them but at a cost Several MNCs and corporates are keen to pitch inrsquorsquo Kusre explainsA new beat The I Sense being tested in the Nanosniff Technologies lab PicPrashant WaydandeAt IITrsquos incubator where 17 companies started by IITians are running trials the air is thick with excitement Says Nehul Gullaiya whose startup Nanosniff Technologies Pvt Ltd is in incubation mode ldquoThe entrepreneurship centre and research park will make the ecosystem very attractive for companies to come in As it is we want to stay connected with the IIT for the stateoftheart research and lab facilities and the mentorship Plus there is a huge workforce of interns available in the form of studentsrsquorsquoAdds Sachin Kumar a fourthyear B Tech student who won the Eureka Asiarsquos largest business plan competition this year ldquoI am very excited because now we will be able to move our ideas from paper to prototypes and tangible productsrsquorsquo His B Plan for a small compact highly efficient solar energy lamp lsquoIdiyarsquo won the best price at the competition Sachin and his partner Chandresh Kumar have already received a supply order for 70000 units of lsquoIdiyarsquo from South Africa Namibia Lesotho and SwazilandFuture growthThe importance of the entrepreneurship centre for the future growth of industry cannot be stressed enough In 1999 a team from the University of Texas had comeavisiting to the Indian Institute of Management Ahmedabad IIMA when they popped a question to the Institutersquos Director Jahar Saha Why canrsquot India come up with an Apple or a Bill Gates How could Gates create Microsoft out of nothing What is it that India lacks Is it ideas Despite the presence of venture capitalists why are things not moving the way they should Addressing itself to these queries IIMA in the course of its discussions with innovators across the board discovered that the problem did not lie on the ideas front Instead it was the absence of an intermediary or an incubatorlikefacility that could enable innovators to bring their ideas to fruition that was the hitch An idea needs to be nurtured through various stages before it gets fully executed This requires infrastructure guides and mentors research and data facilities technology labs to test feasibility networking marketing and organisational support among other thingsInnovation trigger Prof Anand KusrePicPrashant WaydandeMoreover even though students on the campus are bustling with ideas they lack the necessary knowhow on finance and cash flows marketing business plans team work communication skills etc The centre hopes to bridge the gap says Prof Milind Atrey who heads the institutersquos Society for Innovation and Entrepreneurship which houses the incubator facilityThe sound of musicSensiBol Audio TechnologiesImagine a software device that tells you just how well you sing in a detailed analytical sort of way Well thatrsquos exactly what Sensibol specialises inStarted by a bunch of IIT students the company is currently running trials for an audio technology and software that analyses your singing talentLead Kindly light Chandresh Kumar and Sachin Kumar with their invention the solarpowered lamp lsquoIdiyarsquoPicPrashant WaydandeAccording to founderdirector Dr Vishweshwara Rao lsquorsquo we extract information from the audio with a system that tells us how well you sing by analysing it on various counts It has tremendous application in the music entertainment industry Like for instance the auditions of the Indian Idol are flooded with entries The software can be used to shortlist the better entries and eliminate the really bad ones thereby saving on time and effortrsquorsquoThe start up is currently in the process of signing deals with two big music company labels and a TV music channel worth Rs 50 lakh eachSensiBol was started with a one crore investment from Indian Angels in return for an equity And now itrsquos scaleableHealth at heartNanosniff Technologies Pvt LtdCan we detect a heart attack just before it happens lsquoI Sensersquo an infarction detection device will soon hit the markets if the field trials of this startup are anything to go by Says Nehul Gullaiya chief operating officer Nanosniff Technologies ldquoWe are almost on the verge of launching it There are several markers and machines in the market today that can help indicate that you are a perfect candidate for a heart attack but none really that will tell you that you are just about to have onersquorsquoThe company started by a group of IITians specialises in devices like sensors and Integrated Circuits or ICs lsquorsquoThanks to the 200 crore Nano technology Research facility available at IITB wersquove been able to innovate and come up with this new devicersquorsquoHe explains that Nanotechnology will be the next big thing the world over They will shortly also be launching a new device to detect bombs and explosives which will be available for the Indian Army the National Security Guard and the policeBoosting innovationThe Desai Sethi Entrepreneurship Centre and The IIT Research Park featuresgtgt R 6 crore from Syntel cofounders Bharat Desai and Neerja Sethigtgt Rs 100 crore grant from HRD Ministry for the Research Parkgtgt The centre will launch new undergraduate postgraduate and PHd diploma programmes in entrepreneurship These will include courses in innovation and creativity growing start up entrepreneurial marketing new venture creation valuation of new ventures lean startups etcgtgt Research labs in various disciplines to enable students to innovategtgt The centre will provide mentorship microgrants and networking opportunities gtgt The courses will leverage renowned faculty from international institutesgtgt New programmes in emerging technology areas like Biotech Nanotech Materials and Green Economygtgt Proof of Concept Testing will enable students to quickly convert their ideas into tangible products and servicesgtgt Networking and alliances with academic institutions and agencies across the worldgtgt The Research Park will be spread across a sprawling 2 lakh sq ft area space on the periphery of the IIT campus and will house over 200 R and D unitsgtgt Private companies and corporates will collaborate with IIT for research facilities mentorship intellectual capital and interns from the student pool but at an expense