Dr. Shyama Prasad Mukherjee International Institute of Information Technology, Naya Raipur

Choosing what to approach

• If you are a startup in Chhattisgarh looking for incubation space and mentoring, the IIIT-NR Foundation for Technology Business Incubation & Entrepreneurship is the arm that offers it.
• If you are a student at the institute who needs a place to build a prototype, the AICTE IDEA Lab is the campus facility for that.
• If you are a student looking for entrepreneurship events and competitions, E-Cell is the student body that runs them.

How applications work

• The incubation foundation does not publish an application form, an intake calendar or eligibility rules, so there is no published route for how to apply.
• Its pages describe what incubatees receive rather than how to join them.
• The institute's information inbox is the contact listed with the incubation page.
• No selection process is published either.

What to check before you approach them

• The only size figure published is the space set aside for the incubation centre.
• No startup counts, alumni names or funding figures are published.
• The foundation describes itself as an Atal Incubation Centre, while Atal Innovation Mission's published list of Atal Incubation Centres does not name the institute. Ask about the current status if that matters to you.

Dr. Shyama Prasad Mukherjee International Institute of Information Technology, Naya Raipur, is a state university at Atal Nagar in Chhattisgarh. It was established by the International Institute of Information Technology University Act, 2013, enacted by the Government of Chhattisgarh, and it is a joint venture of the Chhattisgarh State Government and NTPC. Startup incubation at the institute runs through a separate Section 8 company, the IIIT-NR Foundation for Technology Business Incubation & Entrepreneurship, which is promoted by IIIT Naya Raipur.

How programmes work

The foundation's stated aim is to promote innovation and entrepreneurship in and around the state of Chhattisgarh. Incubatees are supported through mentoring, access to knowledge and networking platforms, pitch sessions, and exclusive access to the IIIT Naya Raipur library and the institute's other facilities. Its own page describes the foundation as an Atal Incubation Centre incorporated under Section 8 of the Companies Act, 2013. Atal Innovation Mission's published list of Atal Incubation Centres does not name IIIT Naya Raipur, and the only Raipur entry on that list is 36INC Society.

Alongside the foundation, the campus runs an AICTE IDEA Lab and a student entrepreneurship cell. The IDEA Lab is a common facility embedded in the institution, and it provides a 24x7 collaborative space for converting ideas into prototypes. Its stated aim is to make engineering graduates more imaginative and creative. E-Cell IIIT Naya Raipur is a non-profit student-run organisation that hosts webinars, lectures, podcasts and book summaries, ideation games and competitions.

Who can apply

The foundation's pages describe what incubatees receive rather than how to become one. They refer to incubatees in and around the state of Chhattisgarh, and they do not state eligibility rules, an intake calendar or a route for how to apply. They also do not say whether applications are open to founders outside the institute or limited to IIIT-NR students and alumni. The institute's information inbox is the contact listed with the incubation page. The IDEA Lab is aimed at the institute's own engineering graduates, and E-Cell is run by and for IIIT-NR students.

Facilities

The institute has identified an exclusive space of 12,000 sq ft for operating the incubation centre, with incubate workspaces, conference rooms and equipment. Incubatees also get exclusive access to the IIIT Naya Raipur library and the institute's other facilities. The AICTE IDEA Lab sits inside the institution as a shared prototyping space and runs around the clock.

Who runs it

The university is recognised by the University Grants Commission, and it lists a letter of approval from AICTE for 2020-21. NTPC, the other partner in the joint venture, is a central public sector undertaking under the Ministry of Power, Government of India. The incubation foundation is a separate Section 8 company promoted by IIIT Naya Raipur rather than a department of the university.

The Ministry of Micro, Small & Medium Enterprises lists the institute by name as a Host Institute on its published list of host institutes for the incubation scheme. The list carries no approval date, no period and no status column, so whether that recognition is current cannot be read from it.

Locations

The campus is at Plot No. 7, Sector 24, near Purkhoti Muktangan, Atal Nagar, Chhattisgarh 493661. The Ministry of Micro, Small & Medium Enterprises' host institute list gives the same plot as Sector 24, Tuta, Naya Raipur. Both describe the same plot, with the locality given as either Atal Nagar or Naya Raipur.