“2016: The year of education, research and innovation” according to the British Council.
The very first center for Open Innovation in Andhra Pradesh, India, opened on January 10, 2016, it was established by N. Chandrababu Naidu, Chief Minister of Andhra Pradesh. Mr. Chandrababu Naidu has been a forerunner in the field of innovation, and has extended his undivided attention and support to the project’s initiation. The center will focus on Smart City development, and is a direct result of the multidisciplinary course taught by Professor Darwin (Berkeley Haas), in collaboration with Ken Singer and Ikhlaq Sidhu from the School of Engineering at UC Berkeley. The course objective was to apply Open Innovation in the development of Smart Cities. As a result, more than 30 students from UC Berkeley traveled to Andhra Pradesh to pitch their final Smart City frame works on: energy, education, food and water, safety and security, and housing and transportation.
USTDA Officials and their Indian counterparts took a short course on Open Innovation at Berkeley Haas to develop effective processes that will enable them to build better Smart Cities in India. Henry Steingass, USTDA Regional Director for Southeast Asia, brought the team to Berkeley Haas to learn about Open Innovation. Mehnaz Ansari, from USTDA, who directly works with Steingass, completed the India Overseas Executive Education Course in December. She was instrumental in introducing Open Innovation to the USTDA, and establishing a connection between the US and India. During their visit, officials solicited advice from Berkeley Haas faculty related to building Smart Villages and Smart City project challenges.
India is rapidly becoming the launch pad for the emerging global market. In December 2015, the Overseas Executive Management program in India hosted by AIMA (All India Management Association) and the Garwood Center, gave executives an opportunity to meet with multinational corporations, as well as leaders within business, education, and government sectors. The program concluded with a roundtable event. The Honorable President Pranab Mukherjee was presented the Garwood Award for his outstanding leadership in Open Innovation. The event hosted Berkeley Haas faculty, including Prof. Ganesh Iyer and Prof. Catherine Wolfram.