Meenakshi Academy of Higher Education and Research

Check that your idea fits the focus

The centre names health technology, medical technology, the internet of things in healthcare, energy conservation in healthcare and biosciences as its focus areas. If your startup sits outside these, check with the centre before you apply.

Time your application to the June call

• The call for ideas for incubation is announced on the centre's website each June.

Know who can apply

• Students, faculty members and alumni of MAHER.
• Individual innovators and early-stage startups, including innovators from other institutes.

Understand how applications are screened

• A panel of experts screens each application for novelty of the idea.
• The panel also assesses the potential for commercialisation.

Plan for what follows selection

• A letter of intent and an MoU are signed between the centre and the innovator.
• The project must be completed within 2 years of the MoU.
• A project report is submitted every year.

Use the centre's other routes

• Office space and lab space are listed among the facilities.
• Training, workshops and seminars run through the centre.
• The Innovation Voucher Programme of EDII-TN is listed among the centre's funding connections. Check the eligibility terms with the centre.

MAHER Innovation & Incubation Centre (MAHER IIC) is the startup incubator of Meenakshi Academy of Higher Education and Research (MAHER), based in Chennai, Tamil Nadu. The centre was set up in 2021 to build an innovation and entrepreneurship ecosystem around the institute, and it describes itself as a one-stop startup incubator for students, faculty, industry, investors and the wider public.

How the incubator works

The centre announces a call for ideas for incubation every June on its website. A panel of experts screens each application for novelty of the idea and its potential to be commercialised. Selected projects get mentoring, space and infrastructure where they need it, and funding on an individual needs basis. Once a project is selected, the centre and the innovator sign a letter of intent and a memorandum of understanding. The project must be completed within 2 years of that MoU, and a project report is due every year.

The centre's vision is to inspire and accelerate the creation of innovative ideas into sustainable startups. Its mission is to build an ecosystem for new ideas, going to market and entrepreneurial success, through guidance, shared learning and funding. Its listed goals cover creating awareness, organising events to promote entrepreneurship, providing mentorship and infrastructure, protecting intellectual property, networking and commercialisation. It offers training, workshops and seminars, legal and intellectual property services, and marketing support.

Who can apply

Students, faculty members and alumni of MAHER can apply. Individual innovators and early-stage startups are also eligible, and the centre accepts innovators from other institutes as well. Applications are made through the online form linked from the centre's incubation page.

Sectors the centre focuses on

The centre names its focus as health technology, medical technology, the internet of things in healthcare, energy conservation in healthcare, and the biosciences. Its listed thrust areas go further into medical biotechnology, medical education, tissue engineering and 3D printing, digital health, and point-of-care devices for diagnosis and monitoring. The centre's incubatees page lists its startups by name, several of them in healthcare and dental care.

Facilities and services

The centre lists office space and lab space among its facilities. Its services include marketing support, training and workshops, legal and IPR services, introductions to investors, access to seed funding and industry connections.

The wider funding route is the Innovation Voucher Programme run by the Entrepreneurship Development and Innovation Institute, a Government of Tamil Nadu body (EDII-TN). The centre lists it among its funding connections. Voucher A supports idea validation, meaning the techno-commercial feasibility of a new idea and a road-map for its development. Voucher B supports taking an existing or early-stage company's innovative product or business model to market. Each voucher covers a share of the approved budget, subject to a ceiling.

Entrepreneurship support on campus

The institute's Entrepreneurship Development Cell was established on 3rd August 2021. It runs entrepreneurship awareness and development programmes, guest lectures, site visits for prospective entrepreneurs, and skill training for students. Its objectives include guiding students on project reports, approvals and loans from support agencies.

Scale

The centre's own annual report for 2022-23 lists 21 programmes organised in 2022-23, after 16 in 2021-22. It records 4175 participants, 25 ideas received and 18 selected, and 5 technology transfers. These are self-reported figures for that year and do not show the centre's total output to date.

Who runs it

The centre works under MAHER and is supported by an advisory panel. The panel includes faculty members, an IPR consultant, a legal expert and a startup analyst.

Location

MAHER Innovation & Incubation Centre, Meenakshi Academy of Higher Education & Research, 12, Vembuliamman Koil Street, KK Nagar West, Chennai – 600078.