“I am nothing without IIT Madras and everything with it,” these are the humble words of Prof.Kamakoti, an institution-builder who is also known for his outstanding contributions in science and technology, particularly for strengthening India’s digital backbone and advancing indigenous technology.
Prof.Kamakoti, who is alumnus of IIT Madras, has been a faculty of the premier institute for over 2 decades, and now serves as its Director. The Union Government announced recently that he will be honoured with the prestigious Padma Shri award for his exceptional contributions.
“Even the Padma Shri announcement happened at the IIT Campus. It is like a mother to me and I dedicate this award to her,” said Prof.Kamakoti at the honouring ceremony organized by the Coimbatore Chapter of IIT Madras Alumni Association on Friday.
The honouring of Prof.Kamakoti by IITMAA Coimbatore was hosted by PSG & Sons’ Charities at Jade Residency.
IITMAA Vice President Subramanian; IITMAA-Coimbatore Chapter Chair Manoj Kumar along with IIT Madras’ Alumni in Coimbatore took part in the honouring and celebration of Prof. Kamakoti’s outstanding contributions and achievements in science and technology sector.
P.V.Mohan Ram, Secretary, PSG iTech and G.Chandramohan, Director of Examinations, PSG Institutions joined IITMAA-Coimbatore and honoured Prof.Kamakoti with a memento.
Fond and vibrant memories involving Prof.Kamakoti were shared, respects were paid by peers and seniors. His first Ph.D candidate, Prof.Manimegalai (who currently works in PSG iTech) recalled some colorful memories at the event.
Prof.Kamakoti thanked the members of IITMAA Coimbatore for gathering to celebrate him.
Delivering his acceptance speech, he spoke about the vibe he gets from Coimbatore, particularly its entrepreneurial quest and his close relationship with Prof. G.R.Damodaran.
He also spoke about the revolutionary online BS program offered by IIT Madras, Anaivarukkum IITM initiative (IIT Madras for All), a few of the institution’s exceptional achievements in academics and sports, alongside its focus on improving rural education through Vidya Shakti program, creating a frontier fund for startups incubated at IIT Madras, setting up healthcare scheme for employees and retired staff’s welfare etc.
He commented that the initiatives taken to expand the reach of IIT Madras beyond its traditional admissions have given very good outcomes.
50,000 students are a part of the online BS program including 8,000 from below the poverty line. The program caters to diverse age groups, with an 82-year-old student excelling in Python programming.
He also shared that the results of the Vidya Shakti program too have been very promising.
The program provides STEM and Language education to school students from rural parts of Tamil Nadu and a few other States in regional languages via internet.While this is an augmentation and not an alternative to regular way of learning, the impact it has had on students is significant. A notable success involved three girls from a village achieving over 90% in biology after 45 days of teaching in Tamil.
The program has expanded to 7,126 centers across 7 states, and Prof.Kamakoti wished that it reaches 1,00,000 centers with community support.
He then spoke about the IIT Unicorn Venture Fund – 1, a Rs.600 crore initiative that aims to guide startups cross the Valley of Death phase (which Prof.Kamakoti wants to be seen as Valley of Hope).
Every year, 100+ startups get incubated at IIT M, and many of them require backing to overcome the Valley of Death – a high-risk period between receiving initial seed funding and generating enough revenue to become self-sustainable. The initiative will help startups not just from IIT Madras but from across India.
