NIT Tiruchirappalli (NITT) is expanding its entrepreneurship development and incubation programme with a dedicated research and innovation hub at a cost of nearly ₹150 crore. It plans to spend ₹100 crore on the multi-storey building and ₹50 crore for equipment, said its director G Aghila.

The institute’s Board of Governors have given the consent for the project. The institute will seek funding from the Union Education Ministry, take loan and assistance from the 48,000 strong alumni, she told newspersons. She addressed the media at the NIT Tiruchirapalli’s Global Alumni Meet 2025 (GAM 2025) to be held in Chennai on January 4.

Aghila said the hub will be spread over 20 acres inside the institute’s campus and help in fostering an ecosystem to promote innovation, research and entrepreneurship.

K Mahalingam, President, RECAL (NIT Tiruchirapalli’s student alumni body) said GAM 2025 will bring together alumni from across the globe to celebrate the shared legacy of REC/NIT Trichy. With a network of 48,000 alumni, including 930 plus CEOs and 1,300 plus founders/co-founders who have shaped industries and driven transformative change across the globe.

Holistic ecosystem

RECAL, which was formed in 1987, addresses the holistic ecosystem of student, institution and alumni, and has raised over ₹10 crore for various initiatives, including scholarships for more than 1,000 students. “Our vision is to raise ₹100 crore by 2030,” he said.

Tata Sons’ Chairman N Chandrasekaran will be the chief guest at GAM 2025 and Tamil Nadu’s IT Minister Palanivel Thiaga Rajan will be the Guest of Honour.

Gopi Kalayil, Chief Business Evangelist, AI-Google, Veera Muthuvel, Project Director, Chandrayaan 3 TV Narendran, Chief Executive, Tata Steels, Shyam Srinivasan, Chief Executive, Fed Fina and Vishu Venugopalan, Chief Executive of Guidance Tamil Nadu are some of the major participants in the event, he said.