IITs and IIMs join hands to boost Indian entrepreneurship

NEW DELHI: Indian Institutes of Technology (IITs) and the Indian Institutes of Management (IIMs) across the country have come together to launch a consortium that will boost Indian entrepreneurship. The consortium will set up an ‘Innovation, Venturing & Entrepreneurship in India Network’ (iVEIN) to promote research.

The founding members of the consortium are the faculty members of IIT Madras, IIT Bombay, IIM Bangalore, IIM Calcutta and IIM Kozhikode.

This network of institutions will work with other stakeholders such as incubators, government and investors to generate and disseminate knowledge.

Interdisciplinary research

A. Thillai Rajan, professor, Department of Management Studies, IIT Madras, who is coordinating the initiative, said: “The iVEIN network will facilitate high-quality research in this field among the academic fraternity in India and create avenues for dissemination of the relevant knowledge through conferences and journal publications.”

Venkatesh Panchapagesan, chairperson of the innovation and entrepreneurship cell of IIM Bangalore, added: “Academic incubators play a critical role and... iVEIN will help create a stronger platform for them to share best practices and take lead in promoting activities like research that are often neglected by the private ecosystem.”

Objectives of iVEIN network include creating an "interdisciplinary body of knowledge synthesising multiple perspectives, which would meet the requirements of policymakers, academic researchers, students, innovators, entrepreneurs, investors and all those interested in innovation and ventures", said a statement issued by the IITs. It will also "track the contours of the vibrant innovation, venturing and entrepreneurship segment in the country and develop a holistic and analytical narrative on the dynamics that drive the development in these areas". The consortium will also help with framing policies and establish a society that will organise annual conferences, publish a journal, and design a data repository in the areas of innovation and entrepreneurship.

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