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L-RAMP brings together the technological expertise
of IIT, Madras and the business incubation
expertise of Rural Innovations Network, with
the support of The Lemelson Foundation, an
American philanthropy that works with a vision
to improve lives through invention.
The Indian Institute of Technology, Madras
(IIT-M)
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Established in 1959, IIT, Madras is one of
India’s foremost institutes in higher
education for technology and basic and
applied research. In addition to playing a
pivotal role in higher learning, IIT, Madras
also takes up initiatives which focus on
creating solutions that meet the needs of a
developing society.
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Rural Innovations Network (RIN)
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Established in
2001, RIN is a development organization that
seeks to improve the quality of rural lives and
livelihoods by enabling appropriate and
environmentally friendly innovations to reach
their potential users. Registered as a section
25 company under the Indian Companies Act, RIN
brings a strong business focus to the incubation
of grassroots innovations.
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The Lemelson Foundation
Established in the
1990s, the Lemelson Foundation is a private
philanthropy started by one of the USA’s most
prolific inventors, Jerome Lemelson, and his
family. The Lemelson Foundation uses its
resources to inspire, encourage and support
inventors, innovators and entrepreneurs.
In order to realise its vision, L-RAMP will
first establish a model for incubating
innovations and then scale it up through a Hub
and Spoke model. In both phases, L-RAMP
envisages a key role for Nodal Partners – a
network of academic, industrial and grassroots
institutions in Tamil Nadu.
The Nodal Partners in turn network with other
local institutions, NGOs and sections of rural
society. They play a key role in the planning,
implementation and review of L-RAMP’s
initiatives at the ground level.
L-RAMP provides Nodal Partners financial and
capacity building support so that they can
develop capabilities to facilitate incubation in the long run. Presently, L-RAMP has
five
Nodal Partners, each having a Project
Coordinator in charge of activities. The five
Nodal Partners are:
Vellore Institute of
Technology (VIT)
Vellore (www.vit.ac.in)
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Established in 1984, VIT is today a University
and a leading name in engineering education. VIT
was the first educational institution in India
to be awarded the ISO 9002 certification, for
three years, by DNV, Netherlands. Starting with
3 Under Graduate courses, VIT today has 7
schools offering 17 undergraduate programmes, 28
post graduate programmes and M. Phil as
well as
PhD programmes. All programmes run by VIT are accredited with ‘A’
grade by National Board of Accreditation, Government of India. |
L-RAMP Nodal Cell Coordinator
A. Balachandran, Manager, Technology Business Incubator (VIT-TBI), VIT-University, Vellore
PSG College of Technology
Coimbatore
(www.psgtech.edu)
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Established in 1951, PSG College of Technology
is one of the many educational institutions
run by the PSG & Sons Charities Trust in the
well-known industrial centre of Coimbatore.
Affiliated to Anna University in Chennai, the
College is a leader in engineering education
and offers a total of 48 full time and part
time programmes in Science, Engineering and
Management at the Under Graduate and Post
Graduate levels. PSG College of Technology is ISO 9001 certified and has a long
standing tradition of close interaction with industry. |
L-RAMP Nodal Cell Coordinator
K. Suresh Kumar, Manager, PSG Science
and Technology Entrepreneurial Park (PSG-STEP),
PSG College of Technology, Coimbatore
Tamil Nadu Agriculture
University (TNAU)
Coimbatore (www.tnau.ac.in )
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TNAU is a leading agro technology provider of
India. Though it came into formal being on June
1, 1971, TNAU traces its genesis to the
Agricultural School that was established in
Saidapet locality of Chennai, Tamil Nadu as
early as 1868 and then relocated to Coimbatore
in 1906. TNAU offers 10 Undergraduate Degree
Programmes and 29
Postgraduate Degree Programmes in 10 Colleges
distributed in seven campuses across Tamil Nadu.
The University also runs 32 Research Stations
for agro technology development. |
L-RAMP Nodal Cell Coordinator
Dr. G. Selvaraj,
Prof. and Head, Dept. of Agri Extension and
Rural Sociology, TNAU, Coimbatore.
Gandhigram Rural Institute
and Deemed University
Dindigul (www.ruraluniv.ac.in)
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Established in 1956, Gandhigram
Rural Institute is an autonomous institution
dedicated to rural development. In 1976, the
Institute was conferred Deemed University
status. In 2002, the Institute was awarded
FIVE STAR status by the National Assessment
and Accreditation Council of its excellence
in ‘education through extension.’ Today, the
Institute comprises 7
full-fledge faculties, 20 departments, 20 centres/extension
outfits. The Gandhigram Rural Institute offers
59 different campus programmes and 40 distance
learning people’s education programmes, giving
qualifications that range from a Certificate to
a Doctorate. |
L-RAMP Nodal Cell Coordinator
Dr. G Sethuraman,
Reader, Dept. of Chemistry, Gandhigram Rural
Institute, Gandhigram, Dindigul District.
TANSTIA-FNF SERVICE CENTRE (TFSC)
http://www.tanstia-fnf.com
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TANSTIA-FNF SERVICE CENTRE (TFSC) is a
collaborative venture between Tamil Nadu
Small & Tiny Industries Association
(TANSTIA), Chennai and Friedrich Naumann
Foundation (FNF), Germany, established to
promote entrepreneurship and to provide
supporting services to small scale
industries.
TANSTIA being the Apex State Level
Association for small industries has a cross
section of members from different districts
and different regions. It has more than 1500
individual members and all District
Associations in its fold. TFSC works very
closely with the District Associations.
Apart from these associations, individuals
from different places seek the services of
TFSC regularly. Hence the reach for TFSC is
far and wide. In addition TFSC works very
closely with the other small enterprises
promotional bodies both Government (like
SIDCO, District Industries Centres etc) and
non Govt. and banks and others . This will
enable TFSC to reach many small
entrepreneurs throughout the state of
Tamilnadu. |
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