The journey of Dr. Visu from academia to innovation

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The journey of Dr. Visu from academia to
celebrating promoting innovation
Dr. Viswanadham Duppatla AVP and Head - Life
Science Incubation IKP Knowledge Park
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Could you let us know about your background and
transition from pure academics to Innovation and
Incubation Management?

• DBT sponsored M.Sc. program at the University of
  Calicut enabled me to do a summer project at
  CDFD, Hyderabad and also equipped me for my Ph.D.
  at the Dept. of Biochemistry, Indian Institute of
  Science, Bangalore. Thanks to my PhD supervisors
  support, I could explore opportunities like the
  DAAD short-term visiting fellow and European
  Union Scientist exchange programs during my PhD.
  Learning from my peers and the European exposure
  played a major role for my selection in the Marie
  Curie Industrial Network Program (Foldamer
  Applications in Protein-Protein Interactions) at
  the Biozentrum, University of Würzburg, Germany.
  Thanks to the rigorous training during my PhD, I
  enjoyed handling an independent lab during my
  first postdoctoral stint in a foreign country.
  Indebted to my learnings at Jawahar Navodaya
  Vidyalaya, that have guided my career path
  direction and influenced my return to India in
  2016. I established MNR Foundation for Research
  and Innovations as COO, I could enable connecting
  researchers with clinicians of the Medical and
  Dental colleges. The Executive Certificate
  Program in Strategic Management course at IIM
  Kashipur helped me closely watch the
  entrepreneurial journey of my batchmates from
  diverse industry backgrounds and this exposure
  has immensely helped me in training and mentoring
  innovators and entrepreneurs at IKP Knowledge
  Park.

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Could you explain your role at IKP Knowledge Park
in providing the support for innovators?

• IKP Knowledge Park is a premier science park and
  Incubator headquartered in Hyderabad and having
  offices in Bangalore and 5 other cities, with a
  cumulative incubation space of 400,000 sq. ft.
  IKP was instrumental in supporting 700
  innovators, entrepreneurs, startups, small and
  large companies with infrastructure, grant
  funding, incubation and mentoring.
• My job is to handhold researchers who are
  transitioning into entrepreneurship. I lead the
  IKP Life Science Incubator in the genome valley
  campus which is supported by several initiatives
  of IKP like A-LABS, IKP Growth Labs and DEEP.
  A-LABS an Initiative to run NABL accredited
  national analytical and Instrumentation facility
  with state-of-the-art equipment. IKP Growth Labs
  to provide entrepreneurs funding support and
  access the distributed pilot manufacturing
  facilities. Growth Labs provides immersion at the
  manufacturing site for innovative products and
  makes Design for Manufacturing integrate with the
  project execution. IKP financially supported
  startups through several SEED Fund programs and
  equity investments.

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How can the government and industry partner with
startups and support them to accelerate their
research?

• Startups, being lean and agile, have the ability
  to execute complex projects with minimal costs in
  a timely manner, hence they could be extremely
  valuable partners for government and industry
  players to deploy solutions during times like
  this. Policy changes for liberal and flexible
  financing solutions are required. Due to lack of
  experience and resources, several startups fail
  to integrate themselves in the larger scheme of
  things in providing their competitive solutions.
  Industry and bureaucrats should come together to
  hand hold startups for inclusive growth.

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Any message that you would like to share with
aspiring entrepreneurs in the startup space?

• Firstly, huge congratulations for believing in
  yourself and your skills.
• Fail fast, learn faster and be ready to face
  success with humility. Discipline and
  perseverance will help you in this long journey.
  Always keep your health and family in sight and
  if things dont go as planned within a defined
  period with the things you can control Do not
  hesitate to explore avenues where you can deploy
  your skills.
• As a science student, my advice is to spend a
  good amount of time on defining the problem
  statement and collect feedback from the real
  market. Always record the data, analyze it to
  plan future courses of action/correction. Accept
  reality, adapt to the changing circumstances,
  choose your partners wisely and always pay
  attention to finances.
• To read complete interview click here

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Thank You