IIT Delhi To Allow Doctoral Students Convert Their Thesis Into Start-ups

IIT Delhi plans to help doctoral students become entrepreneurs. The institution plans to give PhD students an option to start their own start-ups at a separate incubation centre set up by IIT.

Prof Ramgopal Rao, Director of IIT Delhi told the media that the PhD incubator would be set up in Sonepat campus in Haryana in four months to incubate 50 companies every year. “We will give an opportunity to PhD students to launch start-ups by converting whatever they have learnt and discovered. They will get a fellowship for three years to pursue their vision,” he said.

At present, 500 students are pursuing PhD in centrally funded technical institutions but hardly get opportunities to start companies.

IIT Delhi will select 20 PhD candidates based on their research to help them pursue their start-up. M Balakrishnan, Deputy Director of IIT Delhi informed that those students who have submitted their theses or have already completed their PhD degree would be eligible for the project. “If we can incubate 20 companies and two of them succeed, that will be a big achievement,” Rao said.

The persons who will be shortlisted will be provided with a monthly package. The candidates will be given free mentoring, accommodation and access to IIT-Delhi labs. “The next focus of IITs will be on creating entrepreneurs so that successful research works can be converted into usable products. The present initiatives are part of that,” Balakrishnan added.

According to Panigrahi, a professor at Delhi IIT, doctoral students would get a chance to develop ideas in areas like cybersecurity, artificial intelligence, sustainable energy, blockchain technology and infra security. “IIT-Delhi will handhold them with all kind of facilities and compensation for three years. Since deep technology subjects need expertise, it was natural to think about doctorate students,” he said.