BITS Pilani Opens Bangalore Center to Tap Alumni Network for Innovation

The Center will be led by the K K Birla Goa Campus and supported by the Alumni Office and Incubation Societies of the institute

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National, 8th August, 2024 – BITS Pilani, an institution known for its commitment to innovation today announced the establishment of a Bangalore Center for BITS Pilani. The development marks a major stepping stone for the institution in achieving its vision of fostering innovation and industry collaboration. The purpose of this key move is to open the door to numerous opportunities for BITS Pilani students, researchers, faculty, incubators, accelerator programs, and the institution itself.

Located in a city known for its lively technological ecosystem, the newly unveiled BITS Pilani office at Bangalore is primed to mark the presence of over 800 alumni creators and the largest concentration of alumni in any single city worldwide. It is located at the heart of the startup area of Bangalore in HSR Layout , home to nine unicorn offices. The space has been sponsored by Hustlehub, one of the largest providers of enterprise & coworking office spaces, in Bangalore.

The major objective of the BITS Pilani Bangalore Center is to establish collaboration with the corporate community including alumni and non-alumni-led organizations. The Center will contribute to the scope of institute initiatives, like adding Practice School and Placement stations, securing industry-sponsored research and consultancy projects, and developing the curriculum of the institution to be industry-aligned and make students job ready. A key focus will be to establish networks that can provide mentorship and investment to student and alumni start-ups. Engagement with corporate initiatives related to their Innovation programs and CSR requirements will support institute incubators and start-ups, infrastructure development, and scholarship schemes. These efforts are expected to create significant social impact.

Speaking at the inaugural event, Prof. V Ramgopal Rao, Vice Chancellor, BITS Pilani said “BITS, Pilani Bangalore Centre exemplifies our resolve to foster innovation and industry collaboration. Launching a new Centre in Bangalore will help us intensify our relation with the local community and create a dynamic ecosystem that nurtures innovation and the development of budding entrepreneurs and researchers.”

Prof. Goel, founding lead of the BITS Goa Innovation, Incubation & Entrepreneurship Society also expressed her gratitude, stating, “We are immensely thankful to the alumni who have always been the backbone of institute initiatives. The support of various founders and investors for the activities of this Center will be the key to scaling its operations. Early support has been already committed by alumni founders of Hustlehub, Quizizz, Questt, Innaccel, Bewgle, Flutura, Flam, Portkey, Bogmalo Foods, Petasense and VC founders from Blume, AllinCapital,etc. The initiative is being led by BITS Pilani K K Birla Goa Campus and Prof. Suman Kundu’s efforts have been key in bringing this project to fruition. We look forward to building more partnerships in the city to drive innovation and excellence in education.”

The BITS Pilani Bangalore Center will be led by Prof. Mridula Goel from the K K Birla Campus in Goa, supported by the Alumni Affairs Division and the institute’s Incubation Societies. Prof. Goel has a proven track record of helping BITSians and others transform their ideas into successful startups.