Webinar on ‘The Innovation Bridge – Universities as India’s new R&D Powerhouses’
| Photo Credit: Special Arrangement
Panellists at a webinar on ‘The Innovation Bridge – Universities as India’s new R&D Powerhouses’ examined the roadblocks to slowdown of translational research and what industry seeks in order to have durable commercial advantage in research innovations.“There is an innovation gap. The industry funds mostly the outcomes while academia funds early stages of innovation and research not done by the industry. Both approaches are rational but sometimes misaligned,” said Mahesh Ramachandran, the founder of CIGS Tech Innovations and Partner Pontaq Cross Border Innovation Fund, Chennai.The webinar was organised as part of a new panel discussion series titled ‘Future Career Conversations’ by the SRM Institute of Science & Technology (SRMIST), Kattankulathur, in association with The Hindu.Echoing his thoughts, Krishnan Naganathan, innovation consultant and founder, Think Horizon Consulting LLP, Chennai, said the ability to convert concepts into commercial applications requires deep tech, and manufacturing and marketing expertise. “Not all IP, patents, and research papers become commercial solutions. The world’s focus has shifted from invention to innovation, and it is a game of patience, research, plus outcomes,” he said.The speakers agreed that the conversion of academic research into a useful solution was the bottleneck, even though India was scaling its talent pool with a visible energy behind start-ups.With the country sitting at the cusp of fuelling a $5 trillion economy, there was a need to speed up translational research and industry-driven research and development to turn intellectual property (IP) into real-world impact, the speakers stated.“India can think global for every sector today. There is no shortage of capable people or funds. But we need guidance and direction for everyone to move beyond the services sector,” Mr. Krishnan added.University-led IPs as a strategic asset is what institutions like SRMIST were stepping up by shifting focus from theoretical excellence to translational impact with the help of industry partners and government support.“The announcement of establishing 100 labs inside academic institutions across the country by the government in this year’s Union Budget is a step forward in that direction,” said Shantanu Patil, director of Entrepreneurship & Innovation at SRMIST, Kattankulathur, though he lamented that most students still did research just as part of the curriculum.Dr. N Venkata Sastry, director of Career Centre at SRMIST, Kattankulathur, outlined how the institution was moving up the value chain of joint-research with big companies. “The 100+ Professors of Practice hand-hold our research students, showing them the pathways that can actually lead to a product which can be protected with a patent or copyright and can be translated into a start-up,” he said.This webinar can be viewed at https://newsth.live/THSRMTY. Published - February 28, 2026 11:03 pm IST
