The announcement was made at IIT Madras Sports Tech Start-Up Conclave in collaboration with Outlook Business
Indian Institute of Technology Madras (IIT Madras) organized a 2 day ‘Sports Tech Start-Up Conclave’ in New Delhi in a collaboration with Outlook Group’s Outlook Business on 12-13th July. The conclave focused on promoting indigenization and providing technological support for ‘Atmanirbhar’ Bharat in the sports sector.
In a major highlight of the sports gala, IITM announced a Rs 5 crore funding announcement for sports start-ups to bolster innovation within the sports industry. 10 innovative sports tech start-ups would also receieve mentorship and support from IIT Madras Pravartak Technologies.
The start-ups will also receive modern sports infrastructure, technical assistance, and will be mentored by experts in the sector.
Director of IIT Madras, professor V Kamakoti stated that for India’s vision of Olympics, 2036, the college is committed to support the start-ups which blennd sports and tech. He added that the aim is to incubate around 200 sports start-ups over the next 5 years and make a significant market for the industry.
It was followed with an announcement of a new 4-year bachelor's programme for sports science. The program will will focus deeply on integrating sports with artificial intelligence and machine learning and fall under the institute’s Centre of Excellence in Sports Science and Analytics (CESSA).