Reimagining GCT Coimbatore:  A Vision for the Future

Thank you for the opportunity to contribute to the Alumni Magazine once again. This is probably the third time I’m writing for the magazine. Last year, I shared my thoughts in a piece titled “The Opportunity Ahead for GCT”, where I discussed how we could transform GCT, Coimbatore into a premier institution. This year, I’m building on that idea by outlining my vision for cultivating innovation at GCT, Coimbatore.

In October last year, I visited Coimbatore and spent time on campus. I had the chance to interact with about 15–20 students to better understand their experiences. We also recorded our conversations. I thoroughly enjoyed chatting with them. One of the questions I asked was: How many students from Chennai are in each of your classes? The answer surprised me — there were only a handful in each department.

As a student, I personally enjoyed moving out of Chennai and studying in Coimbatore. It gave me the chance to explore a new city, join a good college, and enjoy the cooler weather. As I dug deeper, I learned that many of the brightest students today prefer other colleges — including private ones — over GCT. Even in Coimbatore, GCT is not the top choice. While this was concerning, I also see it as an opportunity for transformation.

Recently, I’ve had the chance to visit other campuses, including the Indian Institute of Technology, Madras (IIT-M). As many know, just entering the IIT-M campus involves a security check, and you’re not allowed to drive over 20 kmph. And with good reason: deer stroll freely around the campus! Beyond that, IIT-M is evolving into a startup accelerator. Its brand is strong and powerful. People associated with IIT-M are able to leverage that brand and thrive. Campuses create entrepreneurs, entrepreneurs create companies, and companies create wealth. Wealth that, in turn, transforms cities, states, and nations.

Take Stanford, for example. It helped build companies that changed Palo Alto — and ultimately, the world. IIT-M is heading in a similar direction. Aravind Srinivas, the founder of Perplexity, is a recent success story from IIT-M. I believe we have many such Aravind Srinivas-like minds at GCT — we just don’t know them yet. To inspire them, we need to transform the campus and build a brand around it.

In last year’s article, I mentioned that this transformation could take 10 years. But now, I believe we can make it happen sooner. If we execute well, we’ll start seeing change in the coming months and years. GCT, Coimbatore is a hidden gem. India needs hundreds of IIT-like institutions. Every college or university should have its own bold vision and we need to define ours. Instead of just talking about it, we need to act. Yes, we have challenges, but I do not think they are hard to fix.

As a first step, we at DCKAP decided to establish an Incubation Center on the GCT campus — a space to fund research, innovate, and launch startups. Initially, I thought this would be difficult, but we were determined. I reached out to Vijay Chandrasekharan (Batch 2002), who was upbeat and guided us in the right direction. Through our Alumni network, our team made a few visits to the campus. On June 11, 2025, we signed an MoU (Memorandum of Understanding) between GCT, Coimbatore and DCKAP. I want to highlight how smooth this process was, thanks to the leadership of our Principal, Dr.K.Manonmani. There was no red tape, and it has been a pleasure working with her.

Image: From Left – Srija Santhanam(DCKAP), Dr.P.llamathi (GCT), Dr.K.Manonmani(GCT), Dipthi Rajagopal(DCKAP) and Lavanya Madhusudanan(DCKAP)

Now that we’re in, we’re taking it one step at a time. Our Incubation Center will be ready soon and will open for students starting August 2025. Our goal is to make GCT the most exciting place in Coimbatore, for both research and fun. At the same time, we need to transform our students. Our big, lofty vision starts with a simple goal: make GCT the preferred college in the city.

The results will be measurable. When students completing 12th standard choose GCT over others, we’ll know we’re on the right path. That’s our benchmark.

We already have several advantages working for us. Coimbatore is a wonderful city to live in. Our campus is in a prime location. With the right positioning, it can become a preferred destination for professors, students, researchers, and thought leaders. Let’s change our mindset. It’s our campus. Let’s take pride in it and beautify it, one step at a time.

My Vision for GCT

As a first step, let’s make GCT the college of choice in the city of Coimbatore in the next five years. Let’s become the top pick for students completing 12th grade. This is not a far-fetched dream. It’s achievable, if we come together and focus our energy. We can track our progress easily year-over-year. We know where we are today, and results will be measurable.

I plan to write every year about the progress we’re making.

Because this is not just my vision, this is our vision for GCT, Coimbatore.

By:

Karthik Chidambaram 

Founder and CEO of DCKAP

Batch of 2001 (EEE)

To know more about DCKAP, please visit: http://www.dckap.com/

And Karthik’s blog: http://www.karthikchidambaram.com/ 

LinkedIN: https://www.linkedin.com/in/chatwithkc/ 

Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@chatwithKC 

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *