In a major strategic move to internationalize its research and innovation ecosystem, the Indian Institute of Technology Madras (IIT Madras) is establishing physical offices in five key countries across the globe. This initiative, spearheaded by the IIT-M Global Research Foundation, aims to bridge the gap between home-grown Indian technologies and the international market.
Strategic Global Locations and Key Objectives
The institute has identified the United States, the United Kingdom, Germany, Dubai, and Malaysia as the first five locations for its overseas centres. According to IIT-M director V Kamakoti, a primary goal is to attract foreign investments for the institute's burgeoning startup community. This expansion builds on the institute's earlier international foray, which saw it establish a campus in Zanzibar, Tanzania, in East Africa two years ago.
The overseas centres are not being set up arbitrarily. IIT Madras Global Research Foundation CEO T Madhav Narayan revealed that each location was chosen based on a direct invitation. The Indian diaspora played a key role in the US, while the UAE government encouraged the setup in Dubai. The Selangor state government extended the invitation in Malaysia, and the UK and Germany offered opportunities for academic partnerships.
Four Pillars of the Global Outreach
Narayan outlined four core reasons driving this ambitious global outreach:
- Scaling Indian Deep-Tech Startups: To assist growth-stage startups that have moved beyond the lab but need access to larger global customers, deeper capital pools, and diverse markets to become truly international.
- Proximity-Based Research & Consultancy: To undertake international projects that require being close to industry hubs, regulators, and collaborators—work that cannot be done entirely from India.
- Cross-Border Education: To offer skilling, upskilling, and a select set of advanced joint academic programmes that operate across national boundaries.
- Quantum Speed in Commercialization: To accelerate the licensing and commercialisation of intellectual property (IP) for technologies that have crossed a high maturity level (Technology Readiness Level 5 and above), allowing patents to work at a dramatically faster pace.
Focus on Cutting-Edge Technology Domains
The new global offices will specifically advance research, consultancy, and commercialisation in several frontier technology areas. These include:
- Data Science and Artificial Intelligence (AI)
- Quantum Computing
- Cybersecurity and Blockchain
- Space Technology
- Advanced Mobility
This initiative marks a significant shift from a primarily India-centric model to a globally networked one. The foundation expects to open five more international offices within the next three years, significantly widening its global impact. By creating these channels, IIT Madras is not just exporting talent but is systematically creating a pipeline to take Indian innovation to the world and bring global challenges and opportunities back to its labs and startups in Chennai.
