10thJuly, 2023: Ankit Poddar, founder of building management tech startup ZedBee, needed money to expand business and as working capital. Venture capital investment was tough given the market, and large banks were often out of touch with the realities of the startup world.

Exciting things are happening at IIT Madras Research Park (IIT-M RP) this summer. A group of 50 starry-eyed engineering students from colleges across Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh, Telangana and Kerala are spending two-and-a-half months at the innovation ecosystem working with senior engineers, faculty and mentors on technology solutions for social impact.

The Indian Institute of Technology, Madras (IIT-M)’s incubation centre created over 300 deep-tech startups in the past 12 years, 82% of which survive beyond the first five years, said Ashok Jhunjhunwala, president of IIT-M Research Park and Incubation Cell, and a professor at the institute.

He set up the Telecommunications and Computer Networking Group (TENET) at IIT-Madras that helped chart India’s telecom journey in many ways including the transition to 5G. He also launched the IIT-M research park that is being emulated everywhere.

“While growing up in a conservative Marwadi joint family in Kolkata, I often experienced frequent tussles between my family members over financial matters. Therefore, my first ambition as a child was to open a factory when I grew up so that I could provide for my family and live together with them happily.

Young technologists brainstorm voice-driven banking services through hackathon at IITM Research Park

In a heartfelt eulogy, Professor Ashok Jhunjhunwala commemorates the passing of his exceptional student, Mr. Rene Abraham, who recently passed away. Throughout his tribute, Professor Jhunjhunwala reflected on his first encounter with Mr. Rene and the impressive intellect, curiosity, and natural talent he displayed. He also highlighted Mr. Rene's journey towards becoming one of India's most accomplished system designers and the profound impact he had on those around him.

The renowned academic advised them to be ready to fail multiple times, be realistic that they would not be able to draw any salaries at first and develop skills in multiple domains in order to make it big as entrepreneurs.

Across the last few decades, technology has played a key enabler....