Qualcomm chair established at IIT Madras

CHENNAI: Qualcomm, developer and innovator of CDMA2000, WCDMA and other advanced wireless technologies, today announced the establishment of a Qualcomm chair at the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT), Madras. This is the first academic donation by Qualcomm in India and is endowed by a grant of USD$175,000.00 .

Announced at the IIT Madras annual technology festival "Shaastra 2006," the grant will fund a Qualcomm Chair in the electrical engineering department. The funding will bring reputed experts in wireless technology from all over the world to the Institute and provide engineering students at IIT Madras an opportunity to learn and contribute to wireless innovations.

"India is one of the fastest growing wireless markets worldwide and Qualcomm is focused on contributing to and fostering this growth," said Kanwalinder Singh, president Qualcomm India and SAARC. 

"Through our existing design centers in Hyderabad and Bangalore, and now with the Qualcomm Chair, we have continued to increase our R&D presence in India. The establishment of the Qualcomm Chair is another step toward our commitment to building high-quality talent in the country, which in turn, will encourage and sustain innovation in the Indian telecom industry" he added.

Speaking at Shaastra 2006, Mr. Singh added, "Since we are a fabless company and do not have an in-house manufacturing facility for our chips, our investments in India are in the form of R&D, education and training. We will continue to be involved in initiatives that lead to innovation in the wireless industry. We are glad to associate with IIT Madras, which is the epicenter for innovation in India."

"This initiative illustrates the strengthening academia-industry relationship. We are pleased to associate with Qualcomm, innovator and developer of wireless technologies, and work together to create the wireless experts of tomorrow who will be instrumental in crafting leading wireless technologies for developing markets," said Professor S Narayanan, dean, Academic Research, IIT Madras.