Position: Head - Centre for Corporate Innovation

Centre: Centre for Innovation & Entrepreneurship (CIE)

Reporting To: Director - Centre for Innovation & Entrepreneurship

Location: Greater Noida, Uttar Pradesh

Employment Type: Full-Time

Role Type: Corporate Partnerships / Innovation / Business Development

1. Position Overview:

The Head - Centre for Corporate Innovation will lead the University's corporate innovation and industry engagement agenda, with a mandate to build strategic relationships with corporates, industry bodies, government institutions, foundations, investors, innovation networks, and other ecosystem stakeholders.

The role will be responsible for creating a strong and sustainable bridge between the University's academic and entrepreneurial ecosystem and the evolving innovation needs of industry.

The Head will identify corporate innovation requirements and convert them into structured opportunities for industry-sponsored projects, innovation challenges, corporate programmes, consulting assignments, CSR initiatives, startup pilots, technology commercialisation, research collaborations, internships, live projects, and corporate-startup engagement.

Working closely with the Director - CIE, School of Innovation & Entrepreneurship, Bennett Hatchery Foundation, and other CIE centres and University schools, the Head will develop and execute industry-led initiatives that create measurable value for both corporate partners and the University.

The role will also contribute to revenue generation, institutional visibility, student opportunities, faculty-industry engagement, startup market access, and the overall growth of the University's corporate innovation ecosystem.

2. Key Responsibilities:

A. Corporate Strategy & Ecosystem Development:

- Develop and execute the Centre for Corporate Innovation's annual strategic plan in alignment with the overall vision and priorities of CIE.

- Build a comprehensive corporate engagement strategy covering large corporates, MNCs, startups, family businesses, industry associations, PSUs, government organisations, foundations, and other institutional stakeholders.

- Identify priority industry sectors and emerging innovation areas aligned with the University's academic strengths and CIE capabilities.

- Map and develop a pipeline of strategic corporate relationships across relevant industries.

- Establish the University as a preferred partner for corporate innovation, talent, research, problem-solving, and entrepreneurship initiatives.

- Develop long-term institutional partnerships rather than transactional engagements.

- Continuously identify emerging corporate challenges and convert them into potential academic, innovation, consulting, research, or entrepreneurship opportunities.

B. Strategic Corporate Partnerships:

- Build, manage, and strengthen relationships with CXOs, business heads, innovation leaders, CSR heads, HR leaders, R&D teams, corporate strategy teams, technology leaders, and other senior stakeholders.

- Develop strategic partnerships, MoUs, collaboration agreements, sponsored programmes, and institutional alliances with corporate organisations.

- Identify corporate partners whose business priorities align with the University's academic, innovation, research, and entrepreneurship capabilities.

- Develop structured engagement models that deliver value to corporate partners while strengthening the University's institutional objectives.

- Maintain a robust corporate relationship database and engagement pipeline.

- Develop mechanisms for regular review and renewal of strategic partnerships.

- Ensure effective stakeholder management throughout the partnership lifecycle.

C. Industry-Sponsored Projects:

- Develop a strong pipeline of industry-sponsored projects across technology, business, innovation, design, sustainability, social impact, and other relevant domains.

- Identify real-world corporate challenges that can be addressed through student projects, faculty expertise, research capabilities, startups, or interdisciplinary teams.

- Translate corporate requirements into well-defined project briefs, scopes, deliverables, timelines, and commercial proposals.

- Coordinate with relevant academic schools and CIE centres to identify appropriate faculty, students, startups, and experts for project execution.

- Establish project governance mechanisms to ensure timely delivery, quality, stakeholder satisfaction, and commercial viability.

- Develop case studies and success stories from completed projects to strengthen future business development.

D. Corporate Innovation Challenges & Open Innovation:

- Design and execute corporate innovation challenges, hackathons, ideathons, design challenges, technology challenges, and problem-solving programmes.

- Work with corporates to identify business problems that can be addressed through student, faculty, startup, and external innovation communities.

- Develop challenge frameworks covering problem definition, participant mobilisation, evaluation, prototyping, piloting, and implementation.

- Facilitate connections between corporate innovation teams and promising student/faculty/startup solutions.

- Create pathways for successful ideas to progress from challenge to prototype, pilot, commercial deployment, or investment.

- Develop recurring innovation programmes with strategic corporate partners.

E. Corporate-Startup Engagement:

- Build structured platforms connecting corporates with startups emerging from or associated with the University's entrepreneurship ecosystem.

- Identify corporate business challenges suitable for startup-led solutions.

- Facilitate startup discovery, corporate introductions, pilot opportunities, proof-of-concepts, procurement conversations, and commercial partnerships.

- Work with the Bennett Hatchery Foundation, School of Innovation & Entrepreneurship, and relevant CIE centres to identify startups with potential corporate applications.

- Develop corporate-startup demo days, innovation showcases, pitch sessions, reverse pitches, and curated matchmaking programmes.

- Track startup pilots and support successful pilots toward commercialisation wherever appropriate.

F. Technology Commercialisation & Industry Adoption:

- Identify opportunities for commercialisation of relevant University technologies, research outputs, intellectual property, innovations, and solutions.

- Build relationships with corporates interested in technology adoption, licensing, co-development, research collaboration, and commercial deployment.

- Work with relevant University stakeholders to identify commercially viable technologies and innovations.

- Facilitate technology demonstration, proof-of-concept development, pilot projects, and industry validation.

- Develop pathways for corporate adoption, licensing, technology transfer, or strategic collaboration.

- Support the creation of commercially relevant intellectual property and innovation outcomes.

G. Consulting & Corporate Advisory:

- Identify opportunities for corporate consulting, advisory, capability-building, and problem-solving engagements.

- Work with faculty, industry experts, entrepreneurs, and CIE teams to develop relevant consulting propositions.

- Develop customised corporate programmes around innovation, entrepreneurship, design thinking, leadership, digital transformation, business strategy, and related areas.

- Support commercial proposals, scope definition, pricing, negotiations, and partnership closure in coordination with relevant University stakeholders.

- Build a portfolio of repeat corporate clients and long-term advisory relationships.

- Track consulting revenue, project profitability, client satisfaction, and repeat business.

H. Student Opportunities & Industry Exposure:

- Create opportunities for students to engage with corporates through internships, live projects, consulting assignments, innovation challenges, corporate mentorship, industry visits, and experiential learning.

- Develop structured corporate mentorship programmes for students and entrepreneurs.

- Facilitate corporate-led masterclasses, workshops, CXO interactions, case competitions, and industry sessions.

- Develop industry immersion opportunities linked to academic programmes and entrepreneurship initiatives.

- Work with relevant University schools and career teams to create meaningful industry exposure beyond conventional placement activities.

- Track student participation, quality of opportunities, and outcomes.

I. Faculty-Industry Engagement:

- Facilitate meaningful engagement between corporate leaders and University faculty.

- Identify opportunities for faculty consulting, sponsored research, industry projects, executive education, joint publications, case development, and applied research.

- Develop mechanisms for corporate professionals to contribute as guest faculty, mentors, Professors of Practice, advisors, and industry experts.

- Identify industry problems that can be converted into faculty research or consulting opportunities.

- Promote interdisciplinary corporate projects involving multiple academic schools and CIE centres.

J. Corporate Programmes & Executive Education:

- Identify corporate capability-building requirements and develop customised executive education programmes.

- Work with academic schools and relevant CIE centres to design programmes aligned with corporate needs.

- Develop short-term programmes, leadership workshops, innovation bootcamps, entrepreneurship programmes, design-thinking workshops, and customised corporate learning interventions.

- Build a pipeline of corporate clients for executive education and professional development programmes.

- Develop repeat engagement models with strategic corporate accounts.

K. Government & Industry Body Engagement:

- Develop relationships with government departments, public-sector organisations, industry chambers, trade associations, economic development bodies, and innovation institutions.

- Identify government-funded programmes, innovation initiatives, grants, challenges, and collaborative opportunities.

- Represent CIE and the University in relevant industry and government forums.

- Develop institutional partnerships with industry bodies and professional associations.

- Facilitate participation of students, faculty, startups, and University representatives in relevant national initiatives.

L. Integration with CIE Centres & University Schools:

- Work closely with the Director - CIE to align corporate innovation activities with the broader CIE strategy.

- Collaborate with the School of Innovation & Entrepreneurship to integrate corporate challenges, live projects, industry mentorship, and experiential learning into academic programmes.

- Work closely with the Bennett Hatchery Foundation to identify startup solutions suitable for corporate pilots, partnerships, and commercial opportunities.

- Collaborate with other CIE centres, academic schools, research centres, and University functions to leverage institutional capabilities.

- Build cross-functional teams for large corporate projects and strategic partnerships.

- Ensure that corporate relationships are leveraged across the University wherever relevant rather than remaining limited to individual departments.

M. Business Development & Revenue Generation:

- Own the corporate business development pipeline for the Centre.

- Identify, qualify, nurture, and convert corporate opportunities.

- Develop annual revenue targets and business development plans in consultation with the Director - CIE.

- Build a diversified revenue pipeline across:

1. Industry-sponsored projects

2. Corporate innovation programmes

3. CSR partnerships

4. Consulting and advisory

5. Executive education

6. Sponsored research

7. Corporate memberships

8. Innovation challenges

9. Technology commercialisation

10. Startup pilots and corporate partnerships

- Prepare commercial proposals, partnership models, budgets, and business cases.

- Support negotiations and closure of strategic corporate agreements.

- Monitor pipeline value, conversion rates, revenue, margins, and repeat business.

N. Institutional Visibility & Brand Building:

- Represent CIE and the University at corporate forums, conferences, industry events, innovation summits, networking platforms, and business forums.

- Build the University's visibility within the corporate innovation ecosystem.

- Develop strategic relationships with influential industry leaders and institutional stakeholders.

- Identify opportunities for the University to host or participate in major corporate innovation events.

- Showcase successful corporate collaborations, student projects, startup pilots, research outcomes, and innovation partnerships.

- Develop case studies and impact stories demonstrating the University's value to industry.

O. Partnership Governance & Performance Management:

- Establish structured processes for managing corporate partnerships from lead generation through execution and renewal.

- Maintain a central partnership pipeline and dashboard.

- Track partnership status, engagement activity, commercial value, deliverables, outcomes, and renewal opportunities.

- Establish KPIs and review mechanisms for each major partnership.

- Ensure timely fulfilment of contractual and institutional commitments.

- Conduct periodic partner satisfaction reviews.

- Develop mechanisms to measure the strategic, academic, financial, and ecosystem impact of corporate partnerships.

3. Qualification & Experience:

Essential Qualifications:

- Bachelor's degree in Engineering, Management, Business, Economics, Technology, or a relevant discipline.

- MBA / PGDM / Master's degree from a reputed institution preferred.

- Strong professional experience in corporate partnerships, business development, innovation, consulting, industry engagement, strategic alliances, or a related function.

- Demonstrated experience in managing senior corporate stakeholders and closing strategic partnerships.

- Strong understanding of corporate innovation, startup ecosystems, industry collaboration, and emerging business models.

Preferred Experience:

- Candidates with experience in one or more of the following will be preferred:

1. Corporate innovation / open innovation.

2. Strategic partnerships or alliances.

3. University-industry collaboration.

4. Startup ecosystem / incubators / accelerators.

5. Consulting or corporate advisory.

6. CSR and institutional fundraising.

7. Technology commercialisation.

8. Corporate venture building or startup pilots.

9. Executive education / B2B learning solutions.

10. Industry associations or government innovation programmes.

11. Experience working with CXOs and senior business leaders.

4. Overall Role Mandate:

The Head - Centre for Corporate Innovation will be responsible for building a high-value, scalable, and sustainable corporate innovation ecosystem for the University.

The role will move beyond conventional corporate engagement and create a structured platform where corporates bring real business problems, the University brings academic and research capabilities, students gain experiential opportunities, startups gain market access, and CIE facilitates the pathway from problem identification to innovation, pilot, and commercialisation.

The ultimate objective is to establish the Centre as a preferred corporate innovation partner, generating measurable outcomes in terms of strategic partnerships, industry-sponsored projects, CSR and corporate funding, consulting, student opportunities, startup pilots, technology commercialisation, executive education, and sustainable revenue growth for the University.

The Head will therefore play a critical role in positioning CIE as a bridge between the University and the corporate innovation ecosystem, creating a continuous pipeline of opportunities that benefits the institution, its students, faculty, startups, researchers, and corporate partners.