I-STEM (Indian Science, Technology and Engineering facilities Map), a body set up by the Office of the Principal Scientific Adviser, Government of India, will soon launch an initiative to bring the industry and thousands of science and technology institutions closer. 

Under ‘Synergy’, expected to be launched in September, industry bodies like the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) and Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FICCI) will submit “real-time technology and research needs” to I-STEM. Then, I-STEM will connect these needs with academic institutions equipped to tackle the problem and find solutions. 

While large companies have their own R&D units, which collaborate with top notch institutions like the Indian Institutes of Technology, a huge chunk of the corporate world have no such facility. Their needs are often small solutions which may only require facilities and some basic knowledge—students could find solutions to the problems. 

Synergy is an initiative hammered out after conversations with the industry, says Dr Harilal Bhaskar, COO and National Coordinator, I-STEM. “This initiative aims to integrate real-time industry needs into engineering and science education, fostering collaboration between academia and industry to enhance product commercialization and Indigenous product development,” Bhaskar told businessline today.  

Asked who would determine which industry need would be taken up by which institution, Bhaskar said that Synergy would create a “community” that would mix and match the requirements of the industry with the solutions providers.

In a way, Synergy is an extension of the work of I-STEM, which was set up in 2020 to map out research equipment lying strewn all across the country so that they could be put to optimum use.

As of now, as many as 578 institutions have placed 26,967 pieces of equipment at the disposal of users, which have been used by 23,068 users. Some examples of these equipment are mass spectrometry, nuclear magnetic resonance spectrometry, confocal microscopes and scanning electron microscopes. The ten most expensive pieces of equipment collectively cost ₹700 crore. 

What is new

The answer lies embedded in another data point. Of the 23,068 users, 22,447 are academic users—the industry is yet to seize the potential of the gizmos. The other 621 uses comprised 246 by the industry, 170 by startups and 246 by international users. 

“Industries often rely on academia primarily for research up to TRL 7 (Technology Readiness Level) but face challenges in leveraging academia for developing actual products due to significant gaps in expectations, exposure, and practical experience,” Bhaskar said, noting that Synergy would “foster innovation and entrepreneurship among students through market linkage.” 

I-STEM will urge the industry to invest in top-performing I-STEM collaborator labs and equipment located in academic and research institutions, he said.  

Through this initiative, I-STEM will also encourage final year students to undertake industry-vetted projects with real-world application potential, leading to internships and jobs. It will also create a system for project continuity, enabling knowledge transfer and completion even after the students graduate. 

I-STEM aims to create a robust ecosystem that addresses real-time industry requirements and integrates them into engineering and science education. By fostering collaboration between industry and academia, the program connects final-year engineering students with real-world technology and research needs identified by leading industries in India.