Director for Startups, Incubation & CoE

About Us:

CMR University (CMRU), Bengaluru, is a new-age university fostering creative learning, interdisciplinary research, and innovation-driven education. With a mission to nurture thinkers, innovators, and change-makers, CMRU blends academic excellence with real-world relevance.

At the heart of this mission lies the Centre for Innovation, Startups & Excellence, a dynamic hub designed to empower entrepreneurs, support industry-academia collaboration, and build sustainable ecosystems of innovation.

Scope of Work :

The Director for Startups, Incubation & Centre of Excellence (CoE)

Role & Responsibilities :

Innovation & Startups :

• Define clear goals and success metrics for institutional innovations.
• Develop strategic and business plans for institutional growth across CMRU, collaborating with internal stakeholders.
• Generate revenue through sponsorships, grants, and fee-based services.
• Enhance research funding, patent filings, and licensing agreements.
• Establish research funding and patent centers to support intellectual property initiatives.
• Improve CMRU rankings through impactful innovation and startup initiatives.

Launch and manage :

• Innovation & Product Development Centre
• Design Incubation Centre
• Academic & Industrial Collaboration Centers
• Government-focused and investor-driven student events

Centre of Excellence (CoE) :

• Establish domain-specific CoE in startup incubation, entrepreneurship, product design, sustainable development, systems development, and coding excellence.
• Develop a Centre for Capacity Building & Consulting.
• Set up a Skills Development Centre, Entrepreneurship Development Centre, Languages Centre, Social & Outreach Centre, Indian Knowledge System Centre, IPR Centre, Resourcing, and Event Management Centre

  in collaboration with the Directors / Deans, and Head, Placements & Industry Relations, CMRU.

Startup Support & Industry Collaboration :

(In collaboration with the Directors & Head, Placement & Industry Relations wherever necessary)

• Provide structured mentoring, funding, and networking for startups.
• Engage with investors, VCs, corporate partners, and government agencies.
• Promote patent filings, technology transfer, and IP commercialization.
• Organize startup boot camps, hackathons, investor summits, and pitch events.
• Develop corporate collaborations through joint ventures and CSR-backed initiatives.
• Represent the CMR University in national and global startup and innovation forums.

Operational & Financial Management :

(In consultation with the Vice Chancellor & Stakeholders)

• Manage budgets, grants, and revenue-generation strategies.
• Ensure compliance with university policies and funding regulations.
• Track and report key performance metrics of incubated startups and CoEs.

Candidate’s Profile :

• Master’s Degree in Business Administration, Engineering, Science, Entrepreneurship, or related fields.
• Ph.D in Entrepreneurship / Business Management – Preferred but not mandatory
• Ability to mentor and guide early-stage startups in business strategy, fundraising, and scaling.
• Deep understanding of industry trends, emerging technologies, and innovation-driven enterprises.
• Experience in handling government grants, CSR initiatives, and multi-stakeholder projects.
• Strong business acumen and entrepreneurial mindset.
• Excellent networking, relationship-building, and negotiation skills.
• 12-15 years of related experience.
• Strong exposure to startup funding mechanisms, venture capital, and angel investments.
• Prior experience in setting up and managing an incubation center, startup accelerator, or CoE at University level / Industry.
• Proven leadership skills with an ability to drive institutional partnerships and stakeholder engagement.
• Strong understanding of national and international startup ecosystems, innovation policies, and incubation frameworks.

Location : CMR University (Lakeside Campus - Incubation Centre)

To apply, please share your resume. We would love to hear from you!