As many as eight teams from the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Madras presented their learnings and narrated how the I-NCUBATE programme transformed their entrepreneurial journey. The 19th Cohort of the I-NCUBATE Program was organised by the Gopalakrishnan-Deshpande Centre for Innovation and Entrepreneurship (GDC).
I-NCUBATE is an eight-week boot camp for early-stage start-ups. It seeks to help these teams to achieve lab-to-market transformation of their research ideas into start-ups that create positive social and economic impact at scale.
The eight teams in Cohort 19 came from six different institutions including IIT Bombay, IISc, Bengaluru, and VIT, Vellore. The teams included research scholars, undergraduate students, and young entrepreneurs. During the finale, the applicants explained their research idea, innovation, and its potential social or business impact. The team members also explained how GDC's program helped them to gain insights into their potential customers' needs and pain points.
Addressing virtually the finale of the 19th Cohort of I-NCUBATE Program on Friday, March 4, Chief Guest Dr Anita Gupta, Head (National Science and Technology Entrepreneurship Development Board), Department of Science and Technology, Government of India, said: “The Gopalakrishnan-Deshpande Centre for Innovation and Entrepreneurship (GDC) is a unique concept as it helps the start-ups to identify if they should go ahead with their ideas. This helps in building confidence in young, aspiring entrepreneurs. During my visit to the Research Park of IIT Madras, it was evident that the investors were hunting for start-ups as the Park is a mark of the evolved ecosystem.”
