Faculty Innovation and Research-driven Entrepreneurship (FIRE)

Process-flow

The FIRE program envisions commercialization of the technologies developed at IIT Delhi through creation of Faculty-led Enterprises. Technologies and concepts backed by strong scientific evidence that may lead to a commercially viable solution shall be supported under this program.

The program is divided into two major components-

1. Pre-Incubation prototype development stage.
2. Incubation and business mentoring to facilitate commercialization.

1. The Pre-Incubation prototype development stage.

The prototype development can be completed in the Faculty’s lab at IIT Delhi and shall be supported by grant funding of upto ₹ 50 Lakh by IRD.

The eligibility shall be based on the following non-limiting criteria:

1. A regular faculty member at the Institute.
2. The technology to be developed shall be commercially viable with a clear market need.
3. Preliminary investigation is completed to demonstrate the technical feasibility of the proposed product / process.
4. The technology IP is filed recently, or it leads to generation of new IP.
5. The faculty declares that a company will be registered after pre-incubation and before the incubation stage.
6. The faculty is willing to take sabbatical/ lien during the incubation stages.

The selection process for pre-incubation and funding:

1. The faculty is required to submit a Research & Development proposal and the corresponding business plan to Dean, IRD / MD, FITT in the given format.
2. IRD/FITT shall organize expert group meetings to separately discuss the R & D and business plans of the applicant.
3. Upon recommendation from the said committees, the application would be put up to the Director for approval of funding.
4. Faculty will take due approvals from HoD/ Dean (Faculty) for taking leave, etc.

During Pre-Incubation:

• The funds shall be provided based on milestones and shall be reviewed by an expert committee once every 6 months.
• The Faculty shall be required to attend the various workshops/events organized for start-ups at the Institute.
• The Institute IPR policy shall be applicable in the FIRE scheme.

After prototyping:

Once the initial prototype is developed, the faculty is required to register a company and apply for incubation as per the existing TBIU guidelines.

Selection for Incubation:

• The existing TBIU screening committee shall review the business plan around the innovation by the faculty and approve incubation. At this stage, the TBIU committee may recommend to the faculty innovator for taking sabbatical in case the faculty is willing to.
• A 2-year lien is also available for the faculty member after the sabbatical period.

Incubation and market outreach:

• FITT shall suggest the start-up about various funding opportunities and provide business mentoring.
• Linkages to industries, angel investors, business advisors and mentors.
• Quarterly reviews on the progress in terms of efforts for commercialization.

Format for Submission of Proposal Click Here!