Cyient Foundation, the CSR arm of Cyient Ltd., has entered into a strategic partnership with the All India Council for Technical Education (AICTE) to establish a city-level innovation cluster in Visakhapatnam, Andhra Pradesh. The Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) was signed in the presence of Shri Nara Lokesh, Honourable Minister for Human Resources Development, IT, Electronics and Communication.

The initiative seeks to transform higher education institutions into dynamic centres of innovation, entrepreneurship, and intellectual property creation. This pilot programme will serve as a model for similar clusters nationwide and is part of a broader effort to empower regional ecosystems.

The partnership will implement a structured innovation model, introducing iCARE (Innovation Creation and Research for Entrepreneurship) centres, iCAFE (Idea Creation and Auxiliary Facilities for Entrepreneurship) centres, and IPR-TT (Intellectual Property Rights and Technology Transfer) cells across select mentor and mentee institutions in and around Visakhapatnam.

Dr B.V.R. Mohan Reddy, Founder Chairman of Cyient and Chief Patron of Cyient Foundation, commented, “This collaboration with AICTE is a key step in making India a global innovation leader. By promoting entrepreneurship and supporting institutional development, we are fostering a self-sustaining ecosystem of innovation, IP creation, and industry-academia engagement.”

In addition to the innovation infrastructure, the programme will feature boot camps, innovation fairs, hackathons, and mentoring initiatives. These will aim to equip students and faculty with practical skills and resources to support real-world innovation and start-up growth.

Dr Abhay Jere, Vice Chairman of AICTE, said, “This partnership exemplifies the type of industry-academia collaboration that can transform India’s innovation economy. The cluster in Visakhapatnam will serve as a blueprint for future regional innovation hubs.”

The initiative aligns with the Government of India’s vision of Atma Nirbhar Bharat, focusing on innovation-driven regional empowerment. Andhra Pradesh currently has over 1,137 Institution’s Innovation Councils (IICs) established across technical and non-technical institutions, with major hubs in Visakhapatnam, Vijayawada, Guntur, Tirupati, Kakinada, Nellore, and Anantapur.

The three-year roadmap for the cluster will be supported through CSR grants and infrastructure development provided by Cyient Foundation. The effort is closely integrated with national initiatives such as the Smart India Hackathon and the Innovation Cell of the Ministry of Education, which have been pivotal in shaping a culture of innovation across more than 15,700 higher education institutions in India.