Professor V.S. Rao is an eminent academician who has been the vanguard of leading excellence in higher technical education in India.

Professor Rao received a warm welcome from the President of SRM AP Dr. P. Satyanarayanan on assuming the charge.

‘I am optimistic that his strategic and operational skills combined with his deep knowledge in academic research, will help SRM AP scale greater heights in its pursuit to be a truly global research-intensive educational institution.’

Pro-vice chancellor of SRM AP welcoming the new vice chancellor said Professor V.S. Rao, an institution builder, has developed BITS, Hyderabad as a highly reputed institution in a short time.

With his rich and vast experience at BITS – Pilani and also as the Director, BITS Hyderabad, I am sure that he will take SRM AP to greater heights, said Professor D. Narayana Rao.

SRM AP registrar Dr. D. Gunasekaran said Professor V.R. Rao’s joining SRM AP is a delightful news for them. We are confident that his values and collaborative leadership approach will help SRM AP to make a visible difference to the world.

The faculty members, students and staff of SRM University AP welcomes the new Vice-Chancellor Professor V.S. Rao, said Dr. D. Gunasekaran.

Professor V.S. Rao said he was looking forward to contributing to the internationally acclaimed SRM Group, through his best efforts.

‘We at SRM AP would like to see that every student graduating from here would be industry-ready, and get numerous opportunities during their career.

I consider myself fortunate to have this opportunity to be part of such an excellent institution in the sphere of higher education, that has been delivering quality teaching and learning and research relevant to the society, he said.

During his career spanning over forty-two years, Professor V.S. Rao has made significant contributions in the arena of education.

As the President of NIIT University (NU), Neemrana, Rajasthan, he has led many initiatives at NU starting from curriculum innovations, faculty expansion and development to the introduction of new Programmes and digital learning.

He apprehended the importance of Industry linkage with academia and committed to upholding it. Prior to joining NU, Professor V.S. Rao had a vigorous association with BITS, Pilani for over 44 years including six years of his graduation.

He worked very closely with Dr. Y.S. Rajasekhar Reddy, the then Chief Minister in realising his vision of establishing BITS Pilani campus in Hyderabad, a state-of-the-art campus with innovative ideas.

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The research of interest of Professor V.R. Rao included synthetic organic chemistry, natural product research, green chemistry.

He has guided four PhD students and published several research papers in reputed journals. His passion for teaching has earned accolades from several batches of BITS students.

Professor V.S. Rao obtained M.Sc and PhD from BITS Pilani. In 1998, at the invitation of the German Foundation for International Development, he attended a four-month training programme on Educational Economics and Educational Research at the University of Bielefeld, Germany.

His philosophy and utilitarian standpoint as an educator have been moulded by his pragmatic ideology and productive wisdom as an administrator.

The senior educationist is also on the advisory board for various colleges, institutions and universities across the country.

He is also an avid explorer who has extensively travelled across the globe to visit international universities of repute.

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.