Cyient Foundation, the CSR arm of Cyient Ltd., and the All India Council for Technical Education (AICTE) have signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) on 11 June 2025 to establish an innovation cluster in Visakhapatnam, Andhra Pradesh.

• The partnership aims to strengthen the regional innovation ecosystem by empowering educational institutions to become epicenters of innovation, entrepreneurship, and intellectual property creation.
• The pilot program will focus on transforming higher education institutions in and around Visakhapatnam into vibrant hubs of innovation, fostering collaboration between academia, industry, startups, and investors.
• The initiative will deploy a structured ecosystem comprising 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.
• The collaboration will also include boot camps, innovation fairs, hackathons, and mentoring programs.
• Dr. BVR Mohan Reddy, Founder Chairman of Cyient and Chief Patron, Cyient Foundation, stated that this partnership is a significant step towards realizing India’s potential as a global innovation powerhouse by nurturing entrepreneurial mindsets, building institutional capacities, and promoting academia-industry collaboration.
• Dr. Abhay Jere, Vice Chairman, AICTE, highlighted that the partnership exemplifies industry-academia collaboration that can transform how educational institutions contribute to India’s innovation economy, with the Visakhapatnam cluster serving as a model for future clusters.
• The MoU envisions a three-year roadmap, with Cyient Foundation providing CSR grant support and infrastructure, aligning with the Government of India’s vision of Atma Nirbhar Bharat.