Need to promote research-driven entrepreneurship: KSUM CEO
Palakkad / May 27, 2024
Palakkad, May 27: Teachers in Kerala’s higher-education institutions must promote research-driven entrepreneurship, Kerala Startup Mission (KSUM) Chief Executive Officer Anoop Ambika said today.
Highlighting the “immense possibilities” of faculty entrepreneurship that aims to transform individual academic expertise into marketable commodities, he revealed how KSUM’s Research Innovation Network (RINK) has been exploring the marketing potential of scientific explorations.
The CEO was delivering a special address at a one-day workshop by KSUM for faculty founders and aspiring faculty entrepreneurs. The day-long ‘Faculty Entrepreneurship’ workshop was organised in partnership with IPTIF and IIT-Palakkad.
Inaugurating the event, IIT-Palakkad Director Prof A. Seshadri Sekhar stressed the need for transitional research that directly benefits humans through applicable results. He also explained how IITs in the country are frontline leaders in research to commercialisation.
The event featured three sessions and a panel discussion. The first, titled ‘Instilling Entrepreneurial Mindset in Academia’ was led by IKP Knowledge Park Senior Vice President Dr Sridhar Ramanathan, who is also CEO of IKP EDEN. The second, on ‘Challenges and Opportunities of Technology Commercialisation for Faculty Members’ was conducted by Dr Sujatha Srinivasan of IIT Madras. She is also Co-founder of NeoMotion Assistive Solutions and Thryv Mobility. The third session portrayed the Journey from Clinician Scientist and Academician to Entrepreneur by Dr. Ramesh S Ve who was a former professor at Manipal Academy of Higher Education and Founding Director, NeuraSim (P) Ltd.
KSUM Assistant Manager Dr Deepu Krishnan P.R. TECHIN COO Midhu Unnithan, IPTIF CEO Dr Saishyam Narayanan and KSUM Senior Fellow Rony K. Roy gave insights about the support systems for the aspiring faculty entrepreneurs. The event provided opportunity for the participants to network with fellow faculty entrepreneurs, learn about government initiatives to support faculty startups and gain insights from faculty who have transitioned into entrepreneurs, besides discover resources and explore funding avenues for faculty startup.
The workshop served as a platform to share the challenges and opportunities for faculties taking up an entrepreneurial journey.
KSUM is Kerala government’s nodal agency established in 2006 for entrepreneurship development and incubation activities in the state.
ENDS
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