CHENNAI: The staff and faculty of IIT-Madras, in association with industry stalwarts, on Monday bade farewell to their outgoing director M S Ananth, who is scheduled to step down by the end of the month. Speaking at an industry-faculty collaborative meeting organised by IIT-M, senior business leaders listed the achievements of the institution under Ananth. Currently, the Industry Collaboration and Sponsored Research Centre at IIT-M generates activities worth `350 crore, according to its dean Job Kurian.Speaking at the event, M M Murugappan, vice-chairman of the Murugappa Group of Companies, appreciated IIT-M for its involvement in several research projects that have benefited the corporate world and society at large. “What needs to be encouraged more in the Indian context is a consortium type of research where all competing industry bodies can come together and subscribe to an academic department to aid research, which can then be used for common or individual business,” he said. He added that the research park at IIT-M was a step in the right direction to foster research skills and bring industry and academia closer to collaborative research.R Seshasayee, executive vice-chairman of Ashok Leyland, in his address, said so far, India was dependent on conversion charge, which has now become redundant. “The cheap labour provided by India attracted many offers. But, this has been shaken now by the availability of cheaper labour in China and south-east Asian nations.”Prof David Koilpillai of the Department of Electrical Engineering said a research council has been formed to oversee the collaborative research at the park. Speaking towards the end, Ananth thanked the staff and faculty. “We have so far recruited 350 young faculty. The council has also allowed for 10 per cent of the faculty and 25 per cent of the students to be allowed from abroad into the institution to allow exchange of ideas. But this has to be drafted as a Bill and passed in Parliament to be implemented,” he said.
Comments
0 comment