Stressing on the importance of establishing more incubator facilities that help researchers to align with start-ups to scale up their innovative ideas, Prof. G Padmanabhan, former director of Indian Institute of Science (IISc), Bengaluru said that it is time the government institutions take a lead in establishing more and more incubation centres to enable the researchers to scale up their ideas to align with the start ups to bring in new innovations that help to solve various problems in the society.
While taking part in the inauguration of BioNEST facility at the School of Life Sciences at the University of Hyderabad, Prof Padmanabhan said, “Incubators are required in all government institutions for start-ups to commence their work. I have gone through 5000 research proposals and out of that 700 are operational in 500 industries. They have developed 100 products out of which 50 have been commercialised.”
Highlighting that there is immense scope for research, the former director called upon the government institutions which are having more than 1,000 laboratories across the country to establish more incubator facilities that can have start-ups capable of aligning with the research happening within their own institutions.
Stressing on encouraging more women entrepreneurs, the director said women researchers need to take up start-ups and work towards entrepreneurship.
The newly established bio incubator named as BioNEST is spread over an area of 20,000 square feet in the built-up area. In fact the bio incubator is perhaps the biggest of its kind in India. This facility is supported by Biotechnology Industry Research Assistance Council (BIRAC), a unit of Department of Biotechnology, Ministry of Sciences and Technology.
Impressed by the new facility, Prof E Premkumar Reddy, Director of Experimental Cancer Therapeutics, Mount Sinai School of Medicine, New York expressed happiness for associating with it as a mentor for this facility and he also expressed confidence that it will be one of the best in the country.
Professor Appa Rao Podile, Vice Chancellor, University of Hyderabad said that establishing this kind of a facility is like a dream come true for the School of Life Sciences in the university.
Prof P. Reddanna, faculty in the Department of Plant Sciences who is the principal investigator of BioNest said that this new facility will accommodate nearly 30 start-ups and provide 16 benches for research. At present, University of Hyderabad is having 350 Ph.D scholars, faculties in the School of Life Sciences, who can help in collaborations and consultations with the start-ups and enable the innovate ideas take up their commercial shape.