Best Place To BuildProf. Kamakoti, Director, IIT Madras |"No substitute for hard work to become a great engineer"|Ep.23
CHAPTERS
Meeting IIT Madras Director Prof. Kamakoti at the Sudan Chunker Innovation Hub
The host sets up the conversation at IIT Madras’ innovation hub and frames the episode around three lenses: Prof. Kamakoti as teacher/researcher, as former JEE leadership, and as institute director. The context of IITM’s long NIRF #1 streak and its builder/startup culture is introduced.
- •Location: Sudan Chunker Innovation Hub / CFI ecosystem backdrop
- •Episode structure: professor/teacher → JEE → director
- •IIT Madras positioned as “best place to build”
- •Hard work and building mindset introduced as a running theme
Teaching philosophy, early-morning classes, and what he teaches at IITM
Prof. Kamakoti describes his teaching focus (computer architecture/VLSI) and shares an unconventional experiment: early-morning “Suprabatham slot” classes. He emphasizes disciplined effort and sustained teaching as a core part of academic life.
- •Courses taught: Computer Architecture, VLSI-related subjects, testing
- •Research interests mentioned: architecture and information security (plus systems focus)
- •“Suprabatham slot” morning teaching experiment and student response
- •Longevity of teaching at IITM (50th semester)
Why RISE Lab was created: reconfigurable, intelligent, autonomous systems
He explains how RISE (Reconfigurable Intelligent Systems Engineering) formed in the mid-2000s with a vision that future systems must be autonomous, reconfigurable, and intelligent. Early alumni and government funding helped the lab scale toward major deliverables.
- •RISE founded around 2005–2006 by a small faculty cohort
- •Core thesis: systems becoming autonomous + reconfigurable + intelligent
- •Initial funding sources: alumni support, DST grants
- •RISE as a long-horizon systems engineering lab, not a single-project effort
The Shakti microprocessor: India’s indigenous RISC-V chip family
The conversation deep-dives into Shakti as a flagship RISE deliverable and its significance for India’s strategic capability in processors. Prof. Kamakoti highlights that embedded/low-end controllers dominate volume and explains Shakti’s processor classes for different market segments.
- •Shakti described as an indigenous RISC microprocessor effort
- •Multiple successful chip tape-outs to prove quality and viability
- •Importance of embedded processors (remotes, car keys, controllers) beyond servers
- •Shakti classes: E-class (embedded), C-class (controller), I-class (higher-performance)
From research to a full semiconductor startup value chain around Shakti
He maps the ecosystem needed to turn a processor into a usable product—core design, SoC integration, verification, physical design, PCB/system integration, and security. Several startups are positioned as covering different links of this chain, demonstrating a lab-to-industry pipeline.
- •InCore positioned as core/design optimization (like an “Arm” analogue)
- •Mindgrove positioned as SoC/chip-building around the core (productization)
- •Vyoma focused on verification and standards compliance
- •Shakra focused on physical design/PCB/system integration; SecureWeave on hardware security
India Semiconductor Mission: leveraging India’s design talent into national capability
Prof. Kamakoti connects IITM’s work to broader national goals: India already has strong human capital in chip design across multinationals, and now needs to translate that into domestic product ecosystems. He underscores the role of training pipelines and strong VLSI education in select institutions.
- •India’s strength today: semiconductor design talent working globally
- •Need to translate design competence into end-to-end domestic product capability
- •IIT-trained engineers contribute significantly in large global design teams
- •VLSI curriculum strength as a differentiator; “Professor Kamakoti corridor” anecdote
How IITM structures Computer Science: clear pathways and rigorous foundations
He outlines IITM’s deliberate CS curriculum design to create strong career paths and deep competence. The department emphasizes both elite theoretical CS culture and strong systems education, while still supporting application-oriented tracks.
- •Curriculum designed to make career paths within CS clearer
- •Theoretical CS strength: early undergrad publications and academic trajectories
- •Systems track emphasized as a defining strength
- •Application basket includes AI, databases, networking, language/speech processing
NAND-to-Tetris style systems education: building the full stack end-to-end
A detailed walkthrough of IITM’s systems pedagogy shows how students progress from logic gates to microarchitecture simulation, assembly, virtual machines, and compiler construction. The approach aims to make students understand the entire computing stack, not just high-level coding.
- •Start from NAND gate → build components → microarchitecture simulation
- •Teach machine instructions, assembly, VM translation, and compilation pipeline
- •Students implement compilers and understand OS/hardware interfaces early
- •Emphasis: ‘CS is coding at every layer’ until hardware boundary
B.Tech in AI & Data Analytics: cross-disciplinary AI as a new engineering language
He explains why AI can’t be treated as only computer science—each domain uses different data, goals, and models. The program is designed to produce engineers who can operate across disciplines, supported by significant compute/storage investment and external backing.
- •AI is pervasive across disciplines; each field has its own ‘AI language’
- •Program focus: cross-disciplinary understanding + decision-making + analytics
- •Infrastructure needs: compute (TPUs), storage, large-scale funding
- •Curriculum vetted by global experts; Wadhwani support highlighted
Medical Sciences & Technology at IITM: building indigenous medical tech capability
Prof. Kamakoti describes IITM’s investment in medical sciences and the BS program in Medical Sciences & Engineering (via IISER Aptitude Test). He lays out a four-layer ‘medical stack’—from anatomy to modeling, devices/pharmacology, and clinical trials—arguing India must reduce import dependence in medical devices.
- •Significant institute investment (~160 crore) to build medical sciences capacity
- •BS in Medical Sciences & Engineering; admissions via IISER Aptitude Test
- •Four-part stack: anatomy/physiology → engineering modeling → devices/pharmacology → clinical trials
- •COVID as catalyst for Atmanirbhar medical tech; India’s high medical device import dependence
IITM’s innovation-to-unicorn pipeline: CFI, NIRMAN, incubators, and GDC
Sitting inside the innovation hub, he describes IITM’s integrated entrepreneurship stack that supports students from idea to startup scale. The ‘builder’ ethos is reinforced with examples like Raftaar/Ather and emphasis on deep-tech, not superficial consumer plays.
- •Innovation stack: CFI → NIRMAN → domain incubators → Gopalakrishnan-Deshpande Centre
- •Promise: ‘If you come with an idea, we help you build—if you work hard’
- •Ather traced back to Raftaar; race-tech feeding production EV innovation
- •Preference for deep-core startups across sectors (agri, health, space, quantum, etc.)
Patents → startups: turning IP into national advantage
He frames patents as a foundational lever for technology leadership, citing IITM’s “patent a day” pace and the transformation of the IP cell. The goal is not filing alone, but converting IP into startups and standard-essential positions that create strategic royalties and leverage.
- •Patent momentum: ~400+ patents/year; ‘patent a day’ milestone
- •IP cell transformation since 2018; scaling processes and capacity
- •Importance of standard-essential patents for national tech power
- •Startup Shatam milestone: 100+ incubated startups; IITM open to external founders too
Career pathways beyond placements: jobs, startups, higher studies, exams, and breaks
Prof. Kamakoti explains IITM’s shift from a ‘placement cell’ mindset to a ‘career pathway center’ that acknowledges diverse outcomes. He shares survey-based insights that a shrinking minority prioritizes jobs alone, while entrepreneurship, higher studies, civil services, and exploration are growing preferences.
- •Renaming and reframing: ‘career pathway center’ instead of placements office
- •Convocation surveys show only ~40–50% primarily prefer jobs (declining trend)
- •Growing interest in entrepreneurship, higher studies, UPSC/competitive exams, and gap time
- •Emphasis: deep learning and thoroughness matter more than early pay packages
JEE Advanced: why it’s hard, what it actually tests, and why rank isn’t destiny
As former JEE chair/counselor, he argues JEE Advanced filters for readiness for IIT’s rigorous, cross-concept engineering education—not rote recall. He also highlights rank volatility due to bell-curve compression and stresses that there is ‘no bad course’; interest should drive choices, not perceived safety.
- •JEE Advanced tests multi-concept application and higher-order thinking within +2 syllabus
- •IIT education requires combining concepts across topics; JEE mirrors that rigor
- •Rank sensitivity: a few marks can shift ranks significantly (luck component)
- •Guidance: choose by interest; avoid ‘playing safe’ with herd choices like defaulting to CS
Advice to parents and students: reduce stress, protect health, and keep learning/teaching
He urges parents to talk directly with their children about interests instead of outsourcing decisions to social pressure. He also critiques unhealthy exam-prep lifestyles (lack of sunlight/vitamin D) and reiterates that success has multiple paths—JEE is not the only determinant.
- •Counseling anecdote: student wanted Engineering Physics, parents pushed CS
- •Parents should prioritize child’s interest to prevent stress and mismatch
- •Health warning: extreme indoor prep; importance of sports/sunlight and balanced life
- •Core message: work hard, accept competition, but don’t treat JEE as life’s endpoint
Why IIT Madras stays #1 and how rankings/perception work (NIRF, QS, sustainability)
Switching to the director’s lens, he attributes IITM’s sustained performance to alignment with national priorities, institutional cohesion, and a faculty-owned strategic plan. On QS and global rankings, he highlights learnings from sustainability metrics, research infrastructure upgrades, and the outsized role of perception.
- •NIRF consistency drivers: national-priority alignment + cohesion + quick issue resolution
- •Strategic plan authored by younger faculty to ensure ownership and long-term execution
- •QS progress via better sustainability reporting; building research network and citations
- •Perception is a large QS component and harder to ‘engineer’ directly; outreach helps
Siddhir Bhavati Karmaja: IITM’s motto as a lifelong obligation to learn and teach
Prof. Kamakoti closes with the philosophical anchor of IITM’s emblem, connecting success to ‘karma’ defined as learning and teaching. He extends this to faculty recruitment principles: deep mastery plus student-first commitment as the basis for institutional excellence.
- •Motto interpreted through Taittiriya Upanishad: never neglect learning and teaching
- •‘Success comes from karma’ where karma = learn + teach consistently
- •Faculty ideal: mastery of subject + commitment to student welfare
- •Closing linkage: these principles underpin IITM’s culture and outcomes
