IISc set for expansion, to give more space to startup incubators

BENGALURU: India's premier research institute, the Indian Institute of Science (IISc), will increase its research capacity by adding physical infrastructure of close to 100,000 square feet on its campus in Bengaluru.
The funds to be provided jointly by the ministry of human resource development (MHRD) and the department of science and technology (DST) will be used to expand its space for research.The funding is part of the Centre's initiative to promote more research in the country. Apart from five IITs (Gandhinagar, Hyderabad, Delhi, Kanpur and Guwahati), IISc was chosen to receive grants to the tune of Rs 50 to 70 crore to set up a research park.
Ironically, the funding has put the already prominent research institute in a fix rather quizzical position, considering that it was already undertaking several research projects. As a result, IISc convinced the MHRD and DST to provide funds for their expansion, instead of any fresh research projects.
Chief executive of the society for innovation and development Prof. B Gurumoorthy told TOI that the Centre has acceded to their expansion plans and offered complete financial assistance. "Adding 100,000 sqft of space, IISc will be looking at a three-pronged approach in satisfying the funding conditions of the Centre. We want more established companies to set up their R&D centres within our campus. We will give more space to startup incubators and look at small and medium-scale enterprises to bring their entrepreneurial skills to IISc," he added.
With six established companies having set up their R&D centres in the campus, IISc intends to pursue more firms to bring R&D centres so as to have an ideal platform for research scholars and Ph.D students to pitch their ideas for industry-specific requirements."We are looking for companies which have a time frame of three to five years for any of their products which can be given assistance from the institute," he said.
Push for Science startups
IISc will seek to set up more startup incubators, including labs for more pure Science companies. "We will seek to encourage more of bio-pharma and vet labs on the campus as part of the startup incubators," said the chief executive.
IISc intends to screen these startup companies, and once selected, they will be asked to find a mentor from the IISc faculty to assist them and have the institute contribution in the functioning of the startup.
On the SME sector, the institute is seeking to invite SMEs which have common research initiatives as those of the research scholars and schools within the IISc. This will be the first time that IISc is experimenting with the SME sector and open its doors for small-scale industries to associate with the institute in building better products.