IIT-K Technopark Marks Five Years of Academia-Industry Collaboration
The IIT Kanpur Research and Technology Park has reached a significant milestone by successfully nurturing academia-industry partnerships for the advancement of innovative technologies and knowledge-based solutions over the past five years. Technopark@iitk has capitalized on IIT Kanpur's expertise and capabilities to establish itself as a prominent center for research and development spanning various industries.
"Technopark@iitk has completed five years, and it is a significant milestone for us. In a short span of time, we have achieved considerable success in getting research focussed companies to Kanpur including some big names like Laurus Labs and forge meaningful engagements with the academic community to accelerate the pace of innovation and drive tangible socio-economic impact", said Prof. S Ganesh, Director, IIT Kanpur, in an official release.
Established in March 2019 as a non-profit Section 8 company, Technopark@iitk stands as an innovative venture initiated by IIT Kanpur to promote collaborations between industries and the academic community. This pioneering initiative aims to facilitate research and development partnerships, inviting industries with a research focus to collaborate closely with academic experts to co-create state-of-the-art technologies aligned with national priorities. Situated within the IIT Kanpur campus, the facility spans an area of two and a half lakh square feet (2.5 lakh sq. ft.), offering modern amenities such as recreational spaces, a cafeteria, meeting and conference rooms, and training facilities.
With over 65,000 sq. ft. of space already taken, this new facility boasts of the presence of several leading companies like Laurus Labs Ltd., Meril Diagnostics, TVM Signalling and Transportation Systems, Geo Climate Risk Solutions, and Q-Line Biotech to name a few. Laurus Labs Ltd., a Hyderabad-based leading pharma and biotechnology company, has licensed the technology from IIT Kanpur in the gene therapy domain and is setting up its cGMP vector manufacturing facility within Technopark@iitk.
Professor Amarendra Kumar Singh, who serves as the Professor-in-charge of Technopark@iitk, emphasized that the primary goal of the initiative is to facilitate comprehensive interactions between industry stakeholders and IIT Kanpur, expediting the transformation of products and technologies from laboratory experimentation to industrial application.
"The companies can leverage the entire massive research ecosystem of IIT Kanpur for their R&D goals and growth. This includes hardcore R&D projects with faculty, internships with IITK students on real-world industry challenges, access to IITK R&D infrastructure, joint patents and publications, licensing and commercializing patented technologies," he said.
The upcoming Technopark@iitk facility is poised to become the hub for defense testing activities under the DTIS scheme of the Ministry of Defence, focusing on UAV and communications domains. For both IIT Kanpur and Technopark@iitk, the inauguration of Phase 1 building marks an exciting phase ahead in bridging the gap between industry and academia to foster technology and innovation. This underlines their dedication to the national agenda of establishing a self-reliant and developed India, aligning with the visions of 'Atmanirbhar Bharat' and 'Viksit Bharat' initiatives.
Source : IANS