IIT Madras to organise sports tech startup conclave in Delhi

Chennai: The Indian Institute of Technology (IIT Madras) on Tuesday announced it is set to organise a first-of-its-kind sports tech startup conclave to strengthen the sports ecosystem in the country.

The two-day event, to be held from July 12-13 in the national capital, aims to promote technology for various sports goods manufacturing players in India for specific products and services indigenisation.

"The Conclave will witness the launch of far-reaching programmes that are in line with the Union Government's vision for sports development in the nation and also just ahead of the Olympic Games Paris 2024, scheduled to commence on July 26," the institute said.

"Sports tech is a nascent industry in India," said Mahesh Panchagnula, Dean (Alumni and Corporate Relations), at IIT Madras. He invited start-ups from across India to take part in this Conclave.

He said that growing sports tech start-ups can help "our sportspeople to gain recognition on the global stage".

Ten novel sports tech start-ups will be supported by the IIT Madras' Center of Excellence in Sports Science and Analytics (CESSA), with an investment of Rs 5 crore via IIT Madras Pravartak Technologies with incubation support as well.

In the next five years, the varsity aims to lead the drive to incubate at least 200 sports technology start-ups from India with novel ideas.

The conclave will showcase "some products and applications, enabling networking opportunities for various players, and bringing both public and private players under one roof to enable collaboration opportunities", said Ramesh Kumar, CEO, of the Center of Excellence in Sports Science and Analytics (CESSA), IIT Madras.

IIT Madras CESSA will also enable the use of technology to provide access to quality sports education for various players in the sports ecosystem ranging from PE teachers, coaches, referees, analysts, managers, and players.

The institute also plans to build further on the success of the digital learning initiatives to operationalise a digital university for sports industry-focused courses to provide upskilling opportunities for various players in the sports value chain.