CHENNAI: To take the technologies to the world and enable the faculty members to work on global challenges, IIT Madras is setting up new offices in 5 countries, including the United States, UK, Germany, Dubai and Malaysia.IIT-M Global Research Foundation will enable deep-tech innovators, researchers, startups and industry partners to access global markets, capital and research opportunities.”We aim to attract foreign investments into our startups,” said V Kamakoti, director of IIT Madras. The institute already established its campus in Zanzibar in Tanzania in East Africa two-years ago.This initiative also will advance cutting-edge research and consultancy in domains such as data science and AI, quantum computing, cybersecurity and blockchain, space technology and advanced mobility.”All these 5 centres came through invitation,” said T Madhav Narayan, CEO of IIT Madras Global Research Foundation.In the US, it was the Indian diaspora that made the first overtures. In Dubai, the push came from the UAE govt. In Malaysia, the invitation came from the Selangor state govt. In the UK and Germany, the presence is anchored in academic partnerships rather than commercial ones.Within the next three years, Narayan expects the number of overseas offices to grow to ten. “More invitations are already on the table.”So why is India’s highest-ranked technology institute planting flags in economies that are already technologically mature?Narayan lists four reasons.The first is to help Indian deep-tech startups that moved beyond the lab but are not yet global — companies at a growth stage that need access to larger customers, deeper capital pools and diverse markets. The second is to take on international research and consultancy projects that require proximity — work that cannot be done entirely from India, but benefits from being close to industry, regulators and collaborators.The third is education: skilling, upskilling and a small set of advanced joint programmes that operate across borders rather than within them.And the fourth, perhaps the most understated, is speed.For technologies that crossed Technology Readiness Level 5 and above, Narayan said, IP licensing and commercialisation will allow these patents to work at a “quantum speed” that is currently inadequate.
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