Does IIT Madras foster entrepreneurs?

IIT Madras is a hotbed for Startup culture!

Absolutely! If you have entrepreneurial goals, you are in the right place to pursue them. IIT Madras has numerous avenues and student bodies that offer enthusiastic support for budding entrepreneurs.

Here are some of the bodies that support entreprenuership:

E-Cell

E-Cell or the Entrepreneurship Cell is a student-run organization that provides opportunities for undergraduate students to develop basic skills related to entrepreneurship, like problem-solving and design thinking. E-Cell conducts several business competitions which give students the opportunity to solve real-life industry problems. Their annual event is the 3-day long “E-Summit” where entrepreneurs from around the country gather to pitch their startups, give lectures, network, and inspire budding entrepreneurs. This event is a solid foundation to jump into the entrepreneurial world.

You can learn more about them here.

Nirmaan

Nirmaan is another great resource for enterprising students. It is a pre-incubation cell that helps enterprising students develop products, and get industry mentorship, space for operations, and preliminary funding up to 2 lakh.

Research Park and Incubation Cell

The IITM Research Park serves as a collaborative ecosystem where faculty, students, and industry professionals come together to enhance technological innovations and foster entrepreneurship through dedicated research and development efforts. Sectors functioning here include Waste management, Financial tech, IoT, Water Treatment, Manufacturing, Robotics, Agritech, Biotech, ML/AI/VR/AR/Analytics, and others. Students can Approach startups for internships, get to know the culture, and incubate their ideas, stepping into the world of entrepreneurship.

The IITM Incubation Cell currently houses around 200 deep technology startups. They provide the incubated teams with workspaces, funding opportunities, Venture Capital opportunities and much more.

If you're a student with a vision at IITM, rest assured that you will get the resources and support that you need to succeed. Many did, such as the founders who have graduated from IITM and did big things, including the founders of 11 unicorn companies!