The Hindu Business Line : IIT-M may complete research park project in Sept '07

Pre-conditions
Companies must do joint research with IIT-Madras and provide internship opportunities to the students.
They will be allowed to carry out only research in the park and not use the space for setting up sales or marketing offices.

Chennai , Dec. 12

Thanks to delay in permission from the Ministry of Human Resources Development, the Rs 100-crore research park of the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT)-Madras is unlikely to be completed by February 2007 as originally planned.

Highly placed sources at the institute told Business Line that the permission from the Ministry might come by the month end.

The expected date of completion of the project has therefore been put back to September. The research park is likely to have a built-up area of 4-lakh sq ft. About 35 companies across the industry have expressed interest to set up labs in the research park, said sources. Most of these are alumni of the institute who now have their own businesses.

The institute is also expecting the Ministry to part-fund the project, with a grant of at least Rs 60 crore.

The park is planned on the lines of research parks in Stanford and Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Some of the pre-conditions for companies to set up labs in the park are joint research with IIT-Madras and provide internship opportunities to the students.

Space only for research

Companies will be allowed to carry out only research in the park and not use the space for setting up sales or marketing offices. All proposals to set up labs will be scrutinised by a panel from IIT-Madras. Space will be rented out to companies at prices lower than the prevailing commercial rent, said the sources.

Credits appraisal

After setting up labs in the research park, companies will have to earn credits through their operation period. Some avenues to earn credit include teaching at IIT-Madras as adjunct faculty, pursuing a PhD at the institute and aiding ongoing research at the institute. Companies will be evaluated every six months for credits.

"Those who fail to earn sufficient credits would have to vacate premises from the research lab," they said.