Tamil Nadu Technology Hub, inaugurated by the Hon’ble Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu Thiru. M.K. Stalin, in May 2023, celebrated the first iTNT Day in Chennai on Thursday, July 11, 2024. iTNT Hub was jointly established by the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY), GoI; and the Information Technology and Digital Services (IT&DS) Department, Government of Tamil Nadu; along with industry support.
The event turned out to be a confluence of international partners, industry leaders, noted academicians, innovators, startup founders and heads of government departments, in joining forces with iTNT Hub in building the first-of-its-kind Deep Tech Innovation Network in the country to propel transformative global innovation. The event set the tone for the hallmark initiatives for the year 2024-25.
The Hon’ble Minister for IT&DS Dr. Palanivel Thiaga Rajan delivered the chief guest address, highlighting the Deep Tech and Emerging Tech might of the startup ecosystem in Tamil Nadu. Vice Chairman of the Tamil Nadu State Planning Commission Dr. J. Jeyaranjan emphasized the role of iTNT in positioning Tamil Nadu as an innovation driven economy.
MeitY Secretary Thiru. S. Krishnan, I.A.S., shared insights on the soon to be launched National Deep Tech Startup Policy to create a conducive ecosystem to foster innovation. Additional Chief Secretary to Government, IT&DS, Thiru. Dheeraj Kumar, I.A.S., dwelt in detail on the strides taken by the Department to strengthen the Emerging and Deep Tech landscape of Tamil Nadu by engaging a cross section of the stakeholders.
The Hub inked MoUs with Tamil Nadu Smart and Advance Manufacturing Centre, in association with Siemens (TANSAM); Tamil Nadu Centers of Excellence for Advanced Manufacturing, in association with Dassault Systèmes ; Tamil Nadu Infrastructure Fund Management Corporation Amazon Web Services (AWS) India; Microsoft India; and D Labs Incubator Association, India School of Business (ISB), T-Hub, and T-Works, Hyderabad.
A salient feature was the two “Technology Transfers” facilitated by iTNT Hub through its “Jigsaw” platform in the presence of the Hon’ble Minister for IT&DS. Jigsaw, a platform that fosters Industry-Academia collaboration was launched by Thiru. Udhayanidhi Stalin, the Hon’ble Minister for Youth Welfare and Sports Development earlier this year. iTNT has onboarded over 4,100 academic researchers from diverse Emerging and Deep Tech fields to this platform.
The two Technology Transfers involving researchers from Sathyabama Institute of Science and Technology included signing an Expression of Interest to evaluate TT between Dr. Manjula, Asst. Professor, Department of Physics, and Astromeda Space Private Limited. The second was an MoU for TT between Dr. Parthasarathy, Scientist E, Centre for Drug Discovery and Development, and Vivagen Dx Labs (OPC) Pvt. Ltd.
Tmt. Vanitha Venugopal, CEO of iTNT Hub, moderated an enlightening panel discussion on “Intellectual property & Tech Transfer for Deeptech Innovations – Role of Academia, Startups, Government and Industry”. Dr. R. Velraj, Vice Chancellor of Anna University; Mr. Thangapandian, Joint Controller, Office of the Controller General of Patents, Designs & Trademarks; Mr. Krishna Chaitanya, CEO of TNIFMC; and Mr. P. Padmakumar, Chairman of CII SR Skills Taskforce & ED; actively participated in it.
MoUs were also signed with 50 higher education institutions to nurture research, development and innovation on campus by supporting academic researchers, innovators and student entrepreneurs.
