Wipro GE Healthcare join hands with IIT Madras to foster industry-academia collaboration

• The fellowship partnership aims to increase industry opportunities for MS Research Scholars and improve the innovation ecosystem
• The partnership will create a platform for seamless collaboration with students and industry partners from Wipro GE Healthcare
• This industry-academia collaboration aims to tap into the brainpower of the student community to solve healthcare challenges by promoting local innovation in affordable medical technology sector

Bengaluru, 10 December 2020 – WiproGE Healthcare Private Limited (WGE) today announced a fellowship partnership with Indian Institute of Technology Madras (IITM), Chennai to provide increased opportunities for Research Scholars to build and further improve the innovation ecosystem. Under this program, Wipro GE Healthcare will also provide financial aid and industrial expertise to chosen Masters (MS) in Research Scholars at IITM.

Speaking on the collaboration, Azim Premji, Chairman, Wipro GE Healthcare said, “The world of healthcare is getting transformed through use of digital technologies which can address some of the toughest healthcare challenges. This transformation can be accelerated by building a collaborative ecosystem of industry and academia partners. Through this partnership with IITM, we wish to mentor the students and their ideas, and help them develop affordable healthcare solutions for those in need across the country.”

Wipro GE Healthcare aims to develop an innovation mindset in students with engineering skills by providing industrial exposure in healthcare domain and other technology areas of the company through close collaboration with technical experts. Research Scholars of this MS program shall also be offered nine-month long internship opportunity at WGE. The partnership will further evangelize the concept of local innovation in affordable Medical Technology and other related areas through activities such as student hackathons, guest lectures, product teardowns and lecture demonstrations.

“We are delighted to partner with GE Healthcare in this exciting area of healthcare innovation to catalyze innovative research and solutions that can impact the society positively. This collaboration will provide a rich experience to research scholars of the program as they will get a chance to work on diverse healthcare projects and get mentored by industry experts from Wipro GE Healthcare. Such research degree programs driven by industry-academia partnership are an important element of IITM’s research and innovation ecosystem” said Prof. Bhaskar Ramamurthi, Director, Indian Institute of Technology Madras.

Nalinikanth Gollagunta, Global Chief Operating Officer, Digital, GE Healthcare said, “We are honored to collaborate with IITM and tap into their vibrant pool of student community willing to be challenged to come out with breakthrough ideas in the healthcare sector. We believe in investing in talent early for building capacity not just for Wipro GE, but also for the entire healthcare ecosystem. Through the program we hope to foster a spirit of innovation and growth mindset among the future technology leaders coming out of IITM.”

Prof. Mohanasankar Sivaprakasam, Head of IITM’s Healthcare Technology Innovation Centre and coordinator of this program said, “We have had a very engaging and productive R&D collaboration with GE Healthcare during the past six years through various projects. This MS degree program takes our partnership to the next level by an explicit focus on developing talent and skills in this area through our research scholars.”

About Indian Institute of Technology Madras

The Indian Institute of Technology Madras is known both nationally and internationally for excellence in technical education, basic and applied research, innovation, entrepreneurship and industrial consultancy. IIT Madras is a residential institute with nearly 650 faculty, 9000 students and 1250 administrative & supporting staff. It has established itself as a premier centre for teaching, research and industrial consultancy in the country. The Institute has sixteen academic departments and several advanced research centres in various disciplines of engineering and pure sciences, with nearly 100 laboratories organized in a unique pattern. A faculty of international repute, a brilliant student community, excellent technical & supporting staff and an effective administration have all contributed to the preeminent status of IIT Madras. IIT Madras has been consistently ranked #1 in India among Engineering institutions. More recently, IIT Madras has been given the title of Institute of Eminence by Government of India.

About GE Healthcare

GE Healthcare is the $16.7 billion healthcare business of GE (NYSE: GE). As a leading global medical technology and digital solutions innovator, GE Healthcare enables clinicians to make faster, more informed decisions through intelligent devices, data analytics, applications and services, supported by its Edison intelligence platform. With over 100 years of healthcare industry experience and around 50,000 employees globally, the company operates at the center of an ecosystem working toward precision health, digitizing healthcare, helping drive productivity and improve outcomes for patients, providers, health systems and researchers around the world. 

In India, GE Healthcare operates in a JV (Wipro GE Healthcare WGE)) with Wipro Limited. WGE is focused on some of the country’s toughest healthcare challenges– lowering maternal and infant deaths, enabling early detection of cancer and addressing heart diseases early. WGE pioneered innovation of healthcare imaging technologies ‘In India for India and the world’ to enhance access to quality healthcare at affordable costs to more people. Visit our website www.gehealthcare.in/ for more information.