More Unicorns will emerge from the campus, says IIT-Madras Director

Each year an Unicorn will emerge out of Indian Institute of Technology-Madras (IIT-M), said V. Kamakoti, Director of the institute.

While talking to media about the ongoing Entrepreneurship Summit at the campus, he said: “If India has to become a superpower, we need innovation and entrepreneurship. We are even nurturing school students on entrepreneurship.”

The IIT-M Entrepreneurship Cell is hosting the 9^th edition of its annual Entrepreneurship Summit from March 7-10, 2024 to promote innovation and entrepreneurship. According to IIT-Madras, this is the first-ever student-run entrepreneurial gathering in India to have received ISO, Startup India, and UNESCO certifications.

Soham Sawde and Sushanth Shenoy, the student heads of the IIT-M Entrepreneurship Cell, said the summit would feature over 1,000 founders, 50 investors and more than 15,000 students from over 400 colleges, across India. The duo said that there would be four conclaves -Youth Conclave, Innovators’ Conclave, Start-up Conclave anchored by Vi Business, and Start-up Essentials Conclave anchored by Trilegal.

“We also have a fund raising competition called “Elevate” where startups can potentially get funding from prominent Venture Capital firms,” Mr. Sawde said. E-Summit 2024 will also host a free-for-all Start-up expo, a platform to 100 innovative start-ups to present their cutting-edge products and services.

Richa Agarwal, Faculty Advisor, E-Cell, IIT-M, said: “The E-Summit is a perfect opportunity for budding entrepreneurs to showcase their innovative solutions for real-world challenges, and seek out joint ventures, mentorship platforms and funding opportunities. We have partnered with over 100 campuses across India to provide mentorship and entrepreneurial support. We are now looking at international partnerships,” she added.

Sathyanarayana N. Gummadi, Dean (Students), IIT-M, said: “The Entrepreneurship Cell is an initiative spearheaded by students with the aim of sharing insights on entrepreneurship and encouraging networking among emerging entrepreneurs.”