The CETAA Chennai chapter get-together took place on Saturday, 29th June 2019. The event had an innovative and motivational flare to it. CETAAC members and their family were invited to visit IIT Madras Research Park (IITMRP). It is one of the finest facilities in India when it comes to Research & Development and also serves as a launchpad to Start-Ups including 70+ ventures which are already in the market, whose summed valuation goes above $ 1Billion. Interestingly, is modeled along the lines of successful research parks like that of Stanford and MIT.
The session was structured in a way that it gave a better insight into the vision of the Research Park which focuses not just on incubation efforts but also on propelling successful innovation in established R&D focused companies. The major areas of functioning are Rural Technology, Biotech-Startup Incubation, Healthcare-Startup Incubation, and Mentorship support.
As per the terms agreed with CETAAC Executive Committee, IITMRP faculty presented start-ups from fields including
- Waste segregation ( to ensure they have cutting edge technologies to assist the on-going ‘CETAAC’s Clean Chennai’ initiative )
- AI & Robotics
- Smart City
- Electric Vehicles etc
Here is the flow of events as it happened on Saturday.
The event started sharply at 10:00 am with CETAAC General Secretary Arun Joy (2012 ME) welcoming the guests and introducing the host of the event and IITMRP Marketing Head, Mrs. Asha Chandran. It was co-hosted by CETAAC President Mr. Sunil Sam Varghese (1984 ME).
Asha took the crowd through an overview on IITMRP and it’s efforts, following which Mrs. Soumya, representing the Incubator Cell, explained it’s functions and operations.
Soon after this, various entrepreneurs representing respective start-ups took on the stage with presentations briefing their Start-Ups and interestingly few of them even brought their products to share hands-on experience with enthusiastic and inquisitive CETAAC audience. Following is the brief note on interactions with each startup.
- ANTARIKSH Waste Ventures Pvt. Ltd. delivered a valuable session on waste management and their innovative effort at waste management for smart cities, powered by their indigenously developed apps.
- Pi Beam, a startup by our very own CETAAC member Vishak Srikumar (2012 batch), presented their sustainable affordable transportation solutions. Visitors were overjoyed at the chance to try out these innovative electric scooters.
- Heracles Racing, a team of third-year students from CET who are members of S.A.E, gave an enthusiastic presentation on their proposed design for a Formula 1 racing car and sought help in furthering developing their design.
- Beebox Studios Pvt. Ltd. presented their Virtual Reality tool that is set to transform the construction design sector. Visitors received the first-hand experience of this visualizing tool.
- Solinas Integrity delivered a comprehensive session on robotic solutions for pipeline integrity management.
The session at IITM Research Park concluded with a fabulous group photo session and an exclusive opportunity to experience a ride in electric auto-rickshaws developed at the Research Park.
The get together drew to a close with a lunch gathering at the Cosmopolitan Gold Club, Chennai.
The flow of the whole event was ensured by CETAAC Vice President Mr. Biju Abraham Thomas (1988 ME) and Joint Secretary MR Gopinath NK (1989 ME).
This Alumni meet was an occasion for old relationships to be cherished, celebrated and refreshed and for new ones to be formed. The event was truly high on spirits and welcomed all the new members as CETAAC EC member V Balagopal (1988 ME) and Shaji Koshy (1984 ME) took on the reigns.
As soon as members settled, CETAAC Treasurer Mrs. Sonia Balagopal (1988 EEE), presented the Finance Settlements for 2018-19 to all the members. The event came to an end as Mr. Sunil Varghese announced the date for CETAAC’s Onam Celebration ( September 1st, 2019 ) and Mr. Arun Joy thanked the crowd for active participation and making it a grand success.
View the photos of the visit here
