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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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