India is witnessing an unprecedented boom in the innovation start-up ecosystem of the country and in the current scenario, the motto of self-reliance and ‘Make in India’ & Start-up India holds more prominence than ever before. As a significant step towards providing further impetus to this vision, IIT Kanpur Research and Technology Park (Technopark@iitk) and IIM Lucknow Enterprise Incubation Centre (IIML-EIC) have joined hands and signed an MoU in this direction.

Prof. Abhay Karandikar, Director, IIT Kanpur and Chairman, Board of Technopark@iitk said, “This association between the two world-class premier institutes will not only foster close linkages between academia and industry but would also open new avenues for resource sharing. It will boost the entrepreneurial ecosystem in the country and empower future innovators.”

The MoU was signed on 15th January 2021 by Dr. G.M. Kamath, Professor-In-Charge, Technopark@iitk and Prof. Anadi S Pande, Faculty-In-Charge & Director, IIML-EIC. The two teams met over a zoom call for the signing. The meeting was attended by Mr. Arunodaya Bajpai, Incubator Head Operations; Dr. Rounaque Mustafa, CEO, IIML-EIC; Dr. Ashesha Sinha, R&D Operations and Ms. Reema Mittal, COO, Technopark. Speaking about the MoU,

Dr. Kamath said, “IIM Lucknow Incubator and Technopark@iitk are a part of academic powerhouses and bring unique values to the innovation ecosystem. We are delighted to partner with the IIM Lucknow Incubator to blend these strengths and leverage synergies. We believe that this partnership has the real potential to make a deep and tangible impact on not only Uttar Pradesh but the country at large.”

Further adding to the impact this association will bring about, Prof. Anadi Pande commented, “As an emerging economy, we need to fill in the institutional voids that have long existed to create something on the lines of the Silicon Valley, and incubation and innovation is the only way out. At IIML, we are deep into AI and have many technology start-ups incubated with us. This MoU will facilitate a collaborative exchange of ideas and knowledge between our start-ups and IITK and Technopark companies and our faculty.”

The association between IITK and IIML may serve as a benchmark for other IITs and IIMs to follow.