Chennai: Tyre major MRF Limited has come up with a first-of-its-kind innovation park, to be set up in Madras Christian College at Tambaram in Chennai. MRF Limited has donated Rs 26.09 crore to set the park in which will be known as MCC-MRF Innovation Park. The 70,000 sq. ft. park will provide collaborative spaces for students from various disciplines to share innovative ideas, and to initiate startups. 

Such a facility to encourage and enhance student entrepreneurship and employability will be the first in any Indian arts and science college. 

The environment-friendly park will have a writers’ café, design studio, entrepreneurship cafe, open-air theatre, data analytic lab, science lab, psychometric lab, media science lab, instrumentation lab, etc.  

Inaugurating the project at a function in the college on Wednesday, K M Mammen, Chairman of MCC Association and Board of Directors, and Chairman of MRF Ltd, expressed happiness over the opportunity to be a part of a milestone project of the 183-year-old MCC. 

Arun Mammen, Vice-Chairman, MRF Ltd, termed the initiative an important step towards being in tune with global trends. 

Tamil Nadu Higher Education Secretary Apoorva, SRM Institute and Technology Vice-Chancellor Professor C Muthamizhchelvan, Tamil Nadu former Additional Chief Secretary PWC Davidar, Professor R D Koilpillai of the Department of Electrical Engineering, IIT-Madras, MCC Principal Dr Paul Wilson, and Cyrus Kallupurachal also spoke at the function.