Held at Bharat Mandapam, the summit titled, ‘From IITM. For Bharat. Building Together’, brought together government, industry and academia to frame a collaborative pathway for technology-led growth aligned with the vision of a developed India.

“Research cannot remain confined to academic theses; it must translate into real-world products and solutions,” Pradhan said, describing India’s innovation ecosystem as being at a critical juncture.

While highlighting the country’s global talent footprint, he pointed to a structural gap where technologies developed by Indian talent overseas are often bought back by domestic industry. “India must invest in building its own products, leveraging its strength as both producer and consumer,” he said, referring to a proposed Rs 1 lakh crore push towards research and development, particularly in the private sector.

The summit showcased IIT-M’s research ecosystem under the Institute of Eminence framework, with 15 Centres of Excellence, over Rs 950 crore in mobilised funding, more than 240 patents and upwards of 40 deep-tech startups over the past seven years. Director V Kamakoti said that the summit was intended to deepen industry-academia partnerships and align research outcomes with national priorities. “This is a call for coordinated action to translate research into societal impact and accelerate India's journey towards a developed nation by 2047,” he said.

In a move to strengthen applied research, IIT-M announced new partnerships with NTPC Limited, Bharat Petroleum Corporation Limited and HSBC to set up centres focused on cardiovascular research, robotic-assisted surgery and sustainable energy systems. The institute also launched ‘Bodhan AI’, a Centre of Excellence aimed at developing a national education AI stack and training over one million teachers in AI-enabled instruction by 2027.

Dean Ashwin Mahalingam said, “Sustained collaboration with industry is key to scaling research outcomes, with a growing focus on interdisciplinary problem-solving and measurable impact.”