NIT Trichy earmarks Rs 150 cr for research, innovation ecosystem; GAM 2025 on Jan 4

CHENNAI: The National Institute of Technology, Tiruchirappalli (NIT Trichy), is expanding its entrepreneurship development and incubation program with a dedicated research and innovation hub. Spread over 20 acres on NIT Trichy campus, this hub will foster an eco-system to promote innovation, research and entrepreneurship.

The institute has proposed an estimated investment of Rs 100 crore for the building and Rs 50 crore for equipment to realise this vision. The research and innovation hub on the NITT campus will be accessible from the Trichy-Thanjavur highway making this one of the early initiatives in Tier II cities. Some of the focus areas of research are around but not limited to agritech, fintech, spacetech, greentech, quantum computing, semiconductors, IOT, metallurgy besides generative AI and ML technologies.

G Aghila, director, NIT Trichy, said “the dedicated hub will help encourage research and entrepreneurship, provide a formal platform for alumni-student mentorship, promote a startup ecosystem, grow industry led projects besides offering lab and office space for companies. We are already executing research projects for DRDO, Department of Science & Technology, ISRO, L&T and Tata Steel, to name a few. The NITT research and innovation hub platform and governance is aimed to do research and innovation at scale besides nurturing entrepreneurship talent and startup ideas.”

Meanwhile, the Global Alumni Meet (GAM) 2025, a landmark event organised by RECAL, the institute's official alumni association is scheduled for January 4, 2025, in Chennai, as per a release. GAM 2025 is expected to bring together alumni from across the globe to celebrate the shared legacy of REC/NIT Trichy. NIT Trichy stands as a powerhouse of talent and innovation, with a dynamic network of over 48,000 alumni, including 930+ CEOs and 1,300+ founders/co-founders, who have shaped industries and driven transformative change across the globe.

The event will feature an illustrious lineup of distinguished alumni, including N Chandrasekaran, chairperson of the Tata Group, as the chief guest; Palanivel Thiagarajan, Minister for IT & digital services, TN, as the guest of honour; and Gopi Kallayil, chief business strategist for AI, Google, delivering the keynote address. Together with many distinguished alumni, they will make this momentous occasion a vibrant platform to reconnect, celebrate achievements, and foster impactful collaborations.

The initiative will leverage its illustrious alumni across all facets of the project – educate, ideate, innovate, incubate & accelerate. Some programs are already underway, like the Business & Entrepreneurship for Engineers elective, SCIENT Labs to encourage innovation and student projects, CEDI to support entrepreneurship and a host of other alumni initiatives. Recently, the alumni started Rockfort ventures, to offer financial support to viable startup ideas.

K Mahalingam, president, RECAL (NIT Trichy student alumni body) said, “Our alumni network is vast, global and accomplished. It is imperative we tap into this eco system for mentorship, business, funding and ideas. With the help of our global RECAL chapters, we will support our alma mater in this initiative.”