IIT Madras rank has stood at No. 1 in both ‘Overall’ and ‘Engineering’ Categories. As far as IIT Madras rank is concerned, it must be recollected that this is the second consecutive year, the prestigious institution won the top rank in ‘Overall’ Category and No: 1 in ‘Engineering’ category for the fifth consecutive year.

Celebratory atmosphere ruled the roost on the premises of the institution soon after the information with regards to IIT Madras rank was made known.

Speaking about IIT Madras rank standing on the top Union Minister Ramesh Pokhriyal ‘Nishank’ said IIT Madras rank remains first followed by IISc, Bangalore.

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It is also interesting to note that IIT Delhi has been ranked No. 3 in the Overall Category. ‘I congratulate all the top three institutes and I also encourage all the other institutes who participated to continue their good work.’

Minister further said they will put in place an enabling situation where educational institutions from across the world can also take part in the Indian NIRF Rankings.

Union Minister further reminded that ‘Study in India’ initiative has been commenced. The objective behind this is to bring international students to India.

About 3,800 institutes have taken part in NIRF Rankings, it is worth being happy, said Union HRD Minister, reminding that this is 20 percent higher than last year.

It has secured 14th rank nationally in ‘Management’ category this year, the same during the previous year was 15th.

Speaking about IIT Madras rank, its director Bhaskar Ramamurthi said they are delighted to maintain their top position for the fifth time running and ever since NIRF rankings were launched.

‘IIT Madras rank remains at the top owing to the excellent work of our faculty, students and staff, and we look forward to continue on the path of excellence in the coming years and make a mark nationally and internationally.’

Sources further say IIT Madras has taken a lot of measures to ensure its rank remains high.

The well-known institution has drawn up a strategic plan and executed it to achieve rapid strides in various sub-parameters of NIRF Rankings such as qualified and experienced faculty, student-faculty ratio, industrial consultancy and sponsored research, placement and higher educational opportunities for its students, quality of research publications and so on.

The strategic plan comprised quantified targets for all key pillars of the Institute.

These include a flexible curriculum suited to the aspirations of today’s youth, significant increase in faculty strength, a thriving research programme reflected in rapidly increasing publication quality and count.

It has an effervescent start-up ecosystem with nearly a hundred companies being currently incubated, a rapidly expanding programme of collaborations and student exchanges with leading global universities, and an impressive placement record.

All these measures have bestowed this top position as far as IIT Madras rank is concerned. Another highlight with regards to IIT Madras is that it has created a strong entrepreneurial eco-system that encourages students to turn into job-generators.

The IIT Madras Incubation Cell (IITMIC) is India’s leading Deep Technology Startup hub with Innovation and Impact as key differentiators/drivers.

IITMIC houses IITM’s Rural Technology and Business Incubator, Bio- and MedTech incubators as well. Together they have incubated over 195 deep tech startups till date in sectors like Manufacturing, IoT, energy/renewables, healthcare/medical devices, water, edu-tech/skill development, agri-tech, robotics, AI, ML, data analytics, AR/VR, and Enterprise.

IIT Madras rank remaining at the highest position again in the country is going to have lot of relevance for the educational institution which has already carved a niche for itself in the field of education.

About – IIT Madras

Indian Institute of Technology Madras (IITM) was established in 1959 by the Government of India as an institute of national importance. The activities of the Institute in various fields of Technology and Science are carried out in 16 academic departments and several advanced interdisciplinary Research Academic Centres.

The Institute offers undergraduate and post – graduate programmes leading to the B.Tech., M.Sc., M.B.A., M.Tech., M.S., and Ph.D., degrees in a variety of specialisations.

IITM is a residential institute with more than 580 faculty and 9,500 students. Students from 18 countries are enrolled here. IITM fosters an active entrepreneurial culture with strong curricular support and through the IITM Incubation Cell.

IITM has been ranked No.1 in the ‘Overall’ category for the second consecutive year in  India Ranking 2020 released by National Institutional Ranking Framework, Ministry of Human Resources Development, Govt. of India.

The Institute has also been ranked No.1 in the Engineering Institutions category in the same Rankings for five consecutive years – 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019 and 2020.

It was also adjudged as the ‘Top innovative Institution’ in the country in the Atal Ranking of Institutions on Innovation Achievements (ARIIA) 2019 launched by Innovation Cell of MHRD.

Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Kharagpur has collaborated with z21 Ventures, an early-stage venture capital firm operated by its alumni. The z21 venture capital firm founded by IIT Kharagpur alumni will invest a total of Rs 2.5 crore in this partnership. The institute mentioned in a statement on Friday that the preliminary investment per team in this collaboration will be Rs 25 lakh.

As a result, IIT Kharagpur and z21 Ventures are joining hands to start an innovative program to provide final-year students with the necessary support and resources to create a successful startup.

The accelerator is created to leverage exceptional talent from IIT Kharagpur, turning ambitious ideas into market-ready startups. It will provide participants with unparalleled access to mentorship, funding, and premium resources. Centred on developing technological, scalable solutions to global challenges, the program will combine the latest research capabilities by IIT Kharagpur with the investment success cultivated by z21 Ventures to empower student entrepreneurs to make lasting, transformative changes.

• Mentorship: Direct guidance from successful entrepreneurs, industry experts, and venture capitalists.
• Seed Funding: Access to early-stage funding opportunities to ignite their ventures.
• Workshops and Training: Tailored sessions on business-building necessary features, including business development, product-market fit, fundraising, and scaling operations.
• Networking: Opportunities to connect with a wide network of investors, successful entrepreneurs, and corporate leaders, that promote partnership and business development.

The accelerator is designed to tap into the immense talent pool at KGP and translate bold ideas into marketable ventures. It offers a platform with unmatched access to mentorship, funding, and top-tier resources for participants. The focus of this program would be on building technical, scalable solutions to global challenges by leveraging IIT Kharagpur’s cutting-edge research along with proven investments in z21 Ventures. This is meant to empower student entrepreneurs to change the world.

First cohort and the structure of the program

The accelerator program will accept up to 10 teams in the first cohort. Throughout the program, these teams will continue to receive mentoring, strategic guidance, and seed funding in efforts to develop their ideas into products. Participants will also tap into the extensive network of z21 Ventures’ industry experts, successful entrepreneurs, and experienced advisors dedicated to guiding them toward market success. Critical infrastructure support would also be offered by IIT Kharagpur even after graduation to ease the transition from idea development to execution.

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“Start-up Accelerator Program with z21 Ventures, founded by our esteemed IIT alumni, to launch the ‘KGP Forge Entrepreneur’ is a structured accelerator program created to teach the students about company building, basic company finance and company law, fundraising etc. It is a significant step toward empowering our BTech, MTech, and PhD students. This collaboration aims to provide budding entrepreneurs with mentorship, resources, financial support and professional networks sufficient to convert their ideas into successful startups”, said V K Tewari, Director, of IIT Kharagpur. KGP alumni can also participate in this transformative program, in case they collaborate with current KGP students on their founding teams.

Conclusion

The IIT Kharagpur and z21 Ventures collaboration marks a transformative step in advancing student entrepreneurship. With its first cohort set to support up to 10 teams, this accelerator program gives aspiring entrepreneurs a solid platform from which they can turn innovative ideas into impactful startups. Combining cutting-edge research from IIT Kharagpur with investment expertise from z21 Ventures, this initiative will focus on scalable solutions to global challenges. This is done through mentorship, funding, and comprehensive resources to equip the participants to make meaningful contributions and lay the foundation for generations yet to come of trailblazing innovators.