IIT Delhi alumni of 1969 Batch contribute over Rs 1 Cr to set up “Batch of 1969 Innovation Fellow (Award)”
New Delhi: The alumni of the Batch of 1969 have signed an MoU with their alma mater IIT Delhi to establish an annual award named the “Batch of 1969 Innovation Fellow (Award)”.
To set up a special fund for this Award, the Batch of 1969 has collectively contributed over Rs 1 Cr with an aim to promote a spirit of innovation and entrepreneurship among the graduating students at IIT Delhi.
The Golden Jubilee Reunion of the 1969 Batch was celebrated at the campus on Friday, 8th March.
On behalf of the Batch of 1969, IITD alumnus Mr Rajat M. Nag signed the MoU with IIT Delhi. The Award will be executed and managed by the Foundation for Innovation and Technology Transfer (FITT), IIT Delhi.
While funds are usually available for students to continue with their projects in the incubation mode, most venture/angel funders do not permit their funds to be used as stipends/salary for the students themselves.
Many, if not most, graduating students thus find it difficult to continue with their projects as the alternative of a high paying jobs are much more attractive than the risk of supporting themselves using personal resources to work on projects which ultimately may not find venture capital support.”
The Batch of 1969 has proposed to partially fund this gap by establishing the Corpus at IIT Delhi for providing an annual stipend to a graduating student at any level (UG/PG/Ph.D.) of any discipline or program in any Department/Centre/School at IITD.
Speaking about the Award, Mr Rajat M. Nag, IITD Alumnus said, “The ‘Batch of 1969 Innovation Fellow (Award)’ would enable the recipients to continue working on their near finished project to bring it to a level of preparation for serious consideration by venture/angel funders.”
The award will carry a monthly stipend of Rs 1 Lakh for a period of one year. In exceptional cases, the awardee may be considered for further support for a maximum of six months.
Such an extension will be in addition to the Award made every year. The Corpus will enable one Award to be given annually for a 10-year period (2019-2028).
Prof V Ramgopal Rao, Director, IIT Delhi, while praising the Batch of 1969 for their initiative, said, “IIT Delhi alumni have made their mark in the entrepreneurship space with over 300 successful companies created by them all over the world. This award is a great beginning to similar fellowships institute is planning to create for budding entrepreneurs. We welcome this initiative from our alumni.”
Prof Sanjeev Sanghi, Dean, Alumni Affairs and International Programme, said, “I am sure that the recipients of the Award will be successful in their venture and in due course they will contribute liberally to the Corpus to enable future generation of students at IITD to benefit from it”.
While the Batch of 1969 is setting up this Award program with an initial Corpus, in future additional contributions to the Corpus in the form of annual, lump sum commitments will also be welcomed.