Chennai's automotive belt, including Gummidipoondi, Maraimalai Nagar and Oragadam, is packed with global names like Hyundai, Renault-Nissan, BMW, Daimler, and a dense chain of suppliers. In Chennai also sits SRM Institute of Science and Technology (SRMIST), a private university that wants to be more than just a campus. It aims to act as an R&D partner, talent source, and startup base for India's fast-changing mobility industry.
For the automotive industry, SRM represents both opportunity and caution. On one hand, it offers a pipeline of automobile engineers who have worked with batteries, motors, and fuels before joining a company. It is also producing startups that could plug into the EV supply chain. On the other hand, batch sizes are small, faculty collaboration is still evolving, and certification hurdles can stall commercialization.
Professor C. Muthamizhchelvan, Vice Chancellor, SRMIST, frames it as a work in progress: "We want our researchers and students to be inventors, not just paper writers. Research must be interdisciplinary, industry-connected, and need-based, with an impact on society."
For an auto sector facing the dual challenge of electrification and global competition, that approach may be as important as any lab or patent. The real test will be whether SRM and universities like it can break India's long cycle of research without deployment, and produce not just knowledge, but usable technology at scale.
SRM isn't alone. IITs, NITs, and even international universities are also chasing opportunities in EVs and mobility. What makes SRM stand out is its size and cross-disciplinary focus other institutions are also pursuing similar approaches. Several tier-1 educational institutions like IITs and others are encouraging research on niche topics while adopting a multi-disciplinary approach. The government, in order to push for Make-in-India, is encouraging industry and academia to conduct high-quality research. It has one of the few dedicated automobile engineering departments in India and is also reshaping research across five broad areas: environment, energy, water, disruptive technologies, and healthcare. The goal is straightforward: break silos, get different departments to work together, and make research more relevant to industry.
Engineering Choices in Transition
Automobile engineering at SRM started in 2004, well before the advent of multiple technologies in India. Today the department has about 450 students spread across undergraduate, postgraduate, and working-professional programs. Though the number of students is far fewer than in computer science courses, with 4,000-5,000 students. This is a trend visible across educational institutions.
Earlier in August, Autocar Professional attended the SUPRA SAE India Formula race, where university teams build and showcase their own Formula One–style cars. Professors at the event voiced concerns that computer science is rapidly gaining ground while mechanical engineering is slipping into the background, a trend visible across India. Yet, academicians believe that passion will ultimately prevail over a salary-driven mindset.
Dr K. Kamalakkannan, Professor of Automobile Engineering, SRMIST said, "The numbers may be small, but those who choose automotive courses are deeply passionate and continue in the field after graduation."
From classrooms to labs
"Students can choose from general automobile engineering, automotive electronics, and automobile technology, with tie-ups with ARAI (Automotive Research Association of India) in Pune and GARC (Global Automotive Research Centre) for specialized training in vehicle testing," said Dr Kamalakkannan. "At the PG level, we run courses in electric vehicle technology, hybrid systems, and advanced automotive technologies."
But the pitch to students isn't just degrees - it's hands-on exposure. Dedicated labs for EV systems, alternative fuels, and friction materials mean undergraduates get their hands dirty with new technologies such as battery abuse testing, algae-based fuels, hydrogen induction, and drive cycle simulations.
"The principle is that no student should graduate without lab work. By the time they graduate, they've handled industry-grade equipment and even contributed to live projects," Dr Kamalakkannan said.
Placement rates back him up: about 70% land jobs directly from campus, 20% head for higher studies, and 5–10% start their own ventures. Salaries range from Rs 6 lakh to Rs 29 lakh per annum, not eye-popping compared to IT, but competitive for core engineering. The real challenge is perception: mechanical and automobile streams continue to lose student interest to computer science. However, it is a field driven by passion, not just money.
Interdisciplinary research with auto at core
At SRM, over 800 faculty have been trained in design thinking, and 20% of every course is taught by faculty from outside the home department. A mechanical engineering student might now learn AI from computer science faculty, or energy policy from law faculty.
"Research should not be conducted for the sake of publications. It must be need-based and useful to society," said Professor C. Muthamizhchelvan. Nearly 1,200 patents have been filed in the last five years, of which 475 have been granted - several in clean energy and automotive technologies.
For the auto industry, this means SRM is investing in rare-earth-free motors, algae fuels, EV battery life prediction, and universal motor controllers. A few projects have already caught industry interest. In one case, students helped design a friction material for EVs that was adopted by a two-wheeler OEM. Another project, a universal EV controller, is now backed by IIT Delhi funding.
Startups, money, roadblocks
If research is one side, startups are the other. SRM's Directorate of Entrepreneurship & Innovation (DEI) has supported over 300 startups across sectors, with automotive and mobility now among the fastest-growing.
Two such startups are Taurus Robotics, which builds unmanned ground vehicles and axial flux motors, and Abhinav Rizel, an EV motor maker backed by Rs 200 crore from MM Forgings a Chennai-based forgings company. Rizel has filed ten patents and claims 18% efficiency improvements in EV motors and battery systems.
"We're seeing a lot of student-led activity in e-mobility because that's where demand and curiosity converge," said Dr Shantanu Patil, Director of DEI. "Research-wise, developing new technology is not beyond our reach. The bigger issue is regulatory. ARAI approvals can take years. Even if you have a product ready, getting a test slot itself is difficult."
To work around this, SRM has tied up with agencies for pre-validation checks, hoping to save startups months of dead time. Funding too is healthier than before. SRM has raised Rs 31 crore in grants over the last five years. But Patil insists that government money alone can't sustain the pipeline.
For startups, scaling generally remains an issue. Faculty collaboration across departments is still patchy, and too many projects stop at the prototype stage. Industry collaboration, while growing, often comes too late, when research is already near completion rather than at the ideation stage.