Grooming global talent: Oakland University enters into MOU with VNRVJIET

There is always demand for global managers. The first wave of global talent was led by MNC managers living in far away countries for expanding their market. They were often paid hardship allowance for working in countries like India, China. Immigrant entrepreneurs heralded second wave of global talent with born global becoming a mantra for sustainable success skyrocketing demand for young professionals with global exposure. Globalization moved to class rooms with universities providing students learning experience under study abroad, twinning arrangements and other forms of student exchange.
VNRVJIET, an autonomous institute promoted by professionals of A.P has entered into MOU with Oakland University for academic partnership in engineering and computer science.

The School of Engineering and Computer Science , Oakland University offers programs leading to the Doctor of Philosophy degree in computer science and informatics, electrical and computer engineering, mechanical engineering and systems engineering. It also offers the Master of Science degree in computer science, electrical and computer engineering, embedded systems, industrial and systems engineering, mechanical engineering, mechatronics, software engineering and information technology, and systems engineering. Additionally, a Master of Science degree program in engineering management is offered in cooperation with the School of Business Administration.
VIGNANA JYOTHI, sponsor of VNR VJIET was founded in the year 1991 as a not-for-profit organization by a group of Industrialists, Academicians, Professionals and Non-Resident Indians with an objective towards imparting value based education to youth.In the year 1995, Vignana Jyothi (VJ) started an Institute of Engineering & Technology at Bachupally, Hyderabad and accorded Autonomous status for SIX years by University Grants Comission ( UGC ) from the year 2012. The institute is accredited by National Board of Accreditation and National Assessment and Accreditation Council with “A” Grade. The Institute is offering 8 UG and 12 PG courses:
UG Courses: Civil, Electrical & Electronics, Mechanical, Electronics & Communications, Computer Science and Engineering, Electronics & Instrumentation, IT and Automobile Engineering with an overall intake of 960.
PG Courses: Advanced Manufacturing Systems, Power Electronics, VLSI System Design, Embedded Systems, Software Engineering, Electronics & Instrumentation, Highway Engineering, Automation Engineering, Structural Engineering and Geotechnical Engineering, CAD and Computer Networks and Information Security with 234 total intake.
The MOU was signed by Dr Subhananda Rao, Dean,VNRVJIET and Prof .Dr. Louay Chamra, Dean , Oakland University.
Dr DN Rao, General Secretary, Vignanajyothi welcomed the partnership as an important milestone in the evolution of VNRVJIET as an advanced learning center grooming global talent.

Case studies of innovative medical device companies by Gayatri Saberwal

The author did not stop at giving a romantic title - frugal innovation but went full length to analyse barriers.  Important to Heath Technology Innovation is TechnologyAssessment framework ”(http://htaglossary.net) which is not practiced in India. The absence of national evidence based guidelines and compulsory continuous education for medical practitioners were key obstacles in accessing the poorly regulated and fragmented private sector.

 Contact author: gayatri@ibab.ac.inm

Stanford India biodesign fellowships..applications open till 6th June

This program has resulted in development of medical devices by fellows such as:

Consure A device to manage fecal incontinence that improves clinical outcomes and reduces cost of hospitalization.

IntraOz Simple and cost effective device to access intraosseous cavity in long bones to administer fluids and drugs during emergencies.

Relligo A low cost device for pre-hospital care of trauma patients.

Sohum A low cost device to screen neonates for hearing defects in resource constrained settings.

NeoBreathe An easy to use resuscitation device which reduces the amount of skill required to perform neonatal resuscitation, with a view to enable frontline workers such as medical professionals, community health workers, midwives and other skilled birth attendants to perform neonatal resuscitation effectively – with minimal training.

IV Device Controlled intravenous infusion therapy for the other ninety percent.

Apply online:http://biodesign.stanford.edu/bdn/india/fellows.jsp

Suport H4 Cause

Lately immigration is among the top debates in America. Lost in the noise are “Invisible People” and they are the H4 Visa Holders (“The H4″). The H4 are the spouses of the H1B visa holders, majority are young women from India with a degree in STEM yet not allowed to contribute to US economy where they live.
Shah Peerally Law Group PC and many others have decided that to create awareness about the problem, started a petition at http://www.change.org/petitions/give-more-rights-to-h4-visa-holders.

A movie, work of fiction (The H4 Curse) depicting the suffering of the H4 and H1B visa holders would have more impact and actually explain the problems of this group of immigrants. You can suppot the movie with small contribution. More details:
http://www.shahpeerallyproductions.com/sponsors/the-h4-curse/.
email: info@shahfilms.com or call (510) 7425887.

Trillion dollars investment needed to add substance to India Innovation decade declaration

Innovation is on the agenda of the nation. Government declared innovation Decade, set up National Innovation Council, increased plan outlay of scientific departments, working on Rs 5000 crore Inclusive Innovation fund and private sector scene is more exciting with over 50 incubators/ accelerators and stream of announcement of startups getting seed capital, risk capital .
Amidst all the noise, the data on IP generation, acquisition, leveraging is lost.
As per BCG  developing economies and their leading companies move through five common phases of IP development: driving growth through exports, climbing the value ladder, paying the price, getting serious about intellectual property, and profiting from intellectual property. China with large exports and spurt in patenting is in Phase 2  and would need invest 50 times more to move to  next phase.
India needs to invest heavily in both IP generation and IP acquisition. Any estimate?
Read : http://www.bcg.com/documents/file14932.pdf

Understanding the Creative Economy in India: Richard Florida

Creative Capital theory and the 3Ts of economic development, which include Tolerance, Technology and Talent, provide an in- novative framework for measuring a region’s Creative Economy potential. In this paper, the core characteristics of the 3Ts are reworked to apply to the Indian context. 
 The report presents both the component sub-indices of the Creativity Index and other, related measures for regional technology, talent, and tolerance.Tolerance, the first “T” of economic development is a quality recognized as essential to objective thinking since the 19th century. In the Indian context, the Mosaic index has been used to measure the level of tolerance in a region. The Mosaic Index is calculated by the concentration of Scheduled Tribes or Castes, percent of population that is foreign born, rural and urban literacy divide, and finally, a Reli- gious Herfindahl Index which measures religious diversity within a specific State or Union Territory. 
Talent is the second “T” of economic development. Talented individuals are responsible for generating the innovative ideas that result in newly developed technologies that can stimulate economic growth and prosperity. While incubating talent through investments in employee training and education is important, the regions that can successfully attract and retain Talent will ultimately be the most competitive. The Talent Index is used to measure the amount of Talent within a region. Talent is measured as the percentage of a region’s workforce that is employed in Creative Class occupations.

Technology is a critical component for any region that seeks to achieve economic growth and pros- perity and is the final “T” in the 3T analysis. The greater the extent to which technology is part of a region raises the competitiveness of that region by improving the ability of businesses to provide new goods and services and acquire cost-saving advantages, often through productivity gains.
Three composite indexes — Tech Connectivity, Tech Education, and Computer Access are used to calculate a region’s level of technological capability and together, these measures are used to produce  what is called the Technology Index. Tech Connectivity is composed of three sub-categories: the shares of households per 100,000 with broadband internet access, hard line telephone access, and mobile phone access. Tech Education is measured by combining the numbers of universities, colleges, technical colleges, and technical research institutions in a region. Finally, internet connectivity is measured by the share of households with a computer or laptop and access to the internet .
Download paper: 

  http://martinprosperity.org/media/Creative%20India%20Insight_v01.pdf

 

Restriction of Hazardous Substances (RoHS) laboratory for the testing of Hazardous Substances established at C-MET, Hyderabad

RoHS Regulation (Directive 2002/95/EC) enforced w.e.f. July 1, 2006, restricts the manufactures or importers of electrical and electronic equipment to use six banned substances: lead (Pb), mercury (Hg), cadmium (Cd), hexavalent chromium (Cr6+) Polybrominated Biphenyls (PBB) and Polybrominated Diphenyl Ethers (PBDE), exceeding certain permissible concentrations. 
An "ISO 17025 accredited Restriction of Hazardous Substances (RoHS) laboratory for the testing of Hazardous Substances", has been established at C-MET, Hyderabad with the financial support of  Department of Information Technology (DIT), Government of India. The facility is now open to offer the services to the industry for RoHS analyses and certification. This is the only RoHS analysis facility established as Government of India laboratory in the country.

Jugaad Innovation: A reference point or Indigenous solution.

For many decades a pipeline bursting with research projects represented innovation potential of an commercial organisation. All research did not result in commercial gains, technology push model was replaced by Stage Gate model  , evaluating technology potency & market attractiveness at every stage and killing lurking disasters  at early stage gained acceptance. Now, with Open Innovation, enterprises look beyond universities and competitors for  supply of ideas/ talent.

In catching up economy like India , innovations initially flowed from Joint ventures , technology acquisition contracts and creative imitation. India is at cross roads ( for long since liberalization & globalization of 90's) ; there are experts who suggest we should learn best practices from Indian MNC R&D centers operating in India. An opposite view also prevails, there are experts who feel that we have something unique to offer to other nations, in the area of Innovation & entrepreneurship. 

Prof Rishikesha

Prof Rishikesha addressed several policy issues in this earlier book `From Jugaad to Systematic Innovation' and now addresses innovation at firm level in his book 8 Steps to Innovation.Co-Author. consultant Vinay codifies his decades of learning from consultancy and training. The book is all about managing idea funnel effectively. Managing idea funnel involves pursuing three goals: one, building and sustaining the idea pipeline, two Improving idea velocity, and three improving the batting average.

Step 1: lay the foundation.A well designed idea management process pays attention to the source of ideas, their scope, the number of stages an idea will go through, the back end technology to be used, the idea selection process and how ideas will be supported and sponsored.

Step2: create a challenge book, where the organization identifies and lists problems, desires, needs .banks on collective wisdom of its people to address them.

Step3: build participation. Motivating individuals to participate in an innovation Programme is an important challenge.

Step 4: experiment with low cost at high speed. And experiment is a planned activity to validate one or more assumptions of an idea. The outcome of experiment is learning.

Step5: go fast from prototyping to incubation. Organizations can help ideas move faster by holding effective innovation reviews an by supporting the incubation of new ideas.

Step 6: iterate on the business model. Use scenarios.

Step7:build an innovation sand box. Identify the boundaries and constraints within which the experimentation takes place.

Step 8: create a margin of safety so that failures do not cripple permanently.
The result is a practical work book and innumerable Indian examples create a can-do feel.
Navi Radjou
The authors of popular book `Jugaad Innovation', Navi Radjou, Jaideep Prabhu & Simone Ahuja project Jugaad as an unique Indian Innovation solution. Some excerpts:
Principles of Jugaad innovation- frugality, flexibility and following yr instincts.
Jugaad mindset- one that is frugal,flexible and sharply focused on outcomes.
Jugaad reflects a rich Indian tradition of ingenuity in the face of challenge.
Jugaad represents a bottom up innovation model that India excels in.
The six principles of Jugaad:
1.Seek opportunity in adversity
2.Do more with less
3.Thank an act flexibly
4.Keep it simple
5.Include the margin
6.Follow your heart.


The supportive illustrations include grass root innovators, Airtel of Mittal, Nano car of Tata , open source software company Ushahidi , Newsoft from China and Steve jobs.

In my opinion,the distinguished authors presented a compilation of best innovations from across the globe and label them wrongly under Jugaad.  

what is your view?

I'm a Blogger | A Kauffman Foundation Video

I'm a Blogger | A Kauffman Foundation Video

Technologies from NaMET

Several technologies are on offer from NaMPET ( National Mission on Power Electronics Technology), an initiative of TK Sarkar ,implemented at CDAC Trivendrum.

• Medical Electrical Safety Analyser
• Grid interactive Solar Photo Voltaic System
• Power Assisted Bicycle
• Grid Connected PV Inverter
• ON Line Double conversion UPS System for Medium / High Capacity range
• Three phase STATCOM
• Single Phase STATCOM
• Unified Power Quality Controller.

Technologies and Products developed under BIRAC

Several technologies in Healthcare and Agriculture are developed under BIRAC.

• A rapid cost-effective point-of-care diagnostic device with microPCR to diagnose multiple diseases presently Malaria, Dengue & Typhoid developed -Bigtec Pvt. Ltd. Bangalore is ready for market.
• Device for execution procedure for tumor ablation using Maxico (The Integrated planning navigation and Training Platform for Tumor Ablation) launched in the market - Perfint Healthcare Pvt. Ltd.
• Immunodiagnostic kit for detection of autoimmune diseases developed - Amar Immunodiagnostics Pvt.Ltd.
• Affordable fluorescence reader for point-of-care diagnostics being developed - Design Innova, International Centre for Genetic Engineering and Biotechnology, New Delhi.
• DX Phone - Software platform for using mobile phone to analyse blood glucose test strips - Janacare Solutions Pvt. Ltd., All India Institute of Medical Sciences, Narayana Hrudayalaya Hospital.
• Insect pest and virus resistance tomato -Advanta India Ltd., Indian Agriculture Research Institute, New Delhi (IARI).
• Insect pest resistant Brinjal - Sri Biotech Laboratories India Ltd., University of Delhi South Campus.
• Virus resistant Okra - Nirmal Seeds Pvt. Ltd., University of Delhi South Campus.

Development and Transfer of Technology from Queensland University of Technology, Australia to India for Bio-fortification and Disease Resistance in Banana

Queensland University of Technology, Australia has developed bio-fortified banana under the Grand Challenges in Global Health Program to alleviate vitamin A and iron deficiency in Uganda. They have also developed technologies related to Banana Bunchy Top Virus (BBTV) and Fusarium Wilt resistance in banana. QUT is willing to share these technologies with India.  An agreement was signed between BIRAC on the behalf of Government of India and QUT, Australia for “Development and Transfer of Technology from Queensland University of Technology, Australia to India for Bio fortification and Disease Resistance in Banana” on 24th August, 2012.
For details:BIRAC

Microsoft shares data on 40,786 patents it owns or controls: How many of them are from India?

Microsoft’s initiative showcases a new openness, stripping away the cloak of corporate secrecy, while embracing the existing patent system. The company has gone so far as to provide a downloadable data file of all Microsoft patents: all 40,786 of them as of March 25.
(Read more at http://venturebeat.com/2013/03/28/microsofts-new-patent-tracker-shows-us-every-one-of-the-40786-patents-it-owns-or-controls/#JVg5zFytxx4rW8kY.99 )
How may of them are from India?
Wedge Blluetooth Touch Mouse

Computer Mouse Table-Based Low-Level Image Classification System Ergonomic and Functionally-Efficient Race-Track Button Arrangement Circumferentially Coupled to a Display Device Veda - keyboard,  Veda - computer housing Icon For A Portion Of A Display Screen (69) User Interface For A Portion Of A Display Screen(131 patents) Task Bar (6) Alt-Tab Window (transparent window) List View Slider (updated) Start Menu - Updated Comprehensive Smoked Glass Set of Portions of a Display Screen(4) Portion of a Display Screen(33) Friend With Controller Icon Xenon Skin File Icon Xenon Signed Out Icon Xenon Console/Signed In Icon Xenon Console Icon Aux Display UI Static with Taskbar Aux Display UI Static without Taskbar Inverted Start Menu white and black swapped Start Menu- Inverted layout opaque Start Menu - comprehensive opaque smoke glass Core UI  (9) Login Progress Bar Login Screen Entry - tile, 2 boxes, arrow Start Menu - Left Column Appearance

Control Panel - Personalization icon

Connection Manager icon

Network Fax Icon

Network Map Icon

Network Icon

Network and Sharing Center icon

Network Folder Icon

desktop USB base (small phone) - overall design

tanjay base (large phone)

Icon for a Portion of a Display Screen (Apps - Updated Blue Journal by itself and with new orientation)

Method and systems for asymmetric supersampling rasterization of image data

Media Case

system for storing session data to a specified data offset on a sequential access storage medium BATTERY COVER FOR A GAME CONTROLLER GAME CONTROLLER (7) An apparatus for adaptively routing messages and method thereof channel selection in wireless networks with network nodes equipped with more than one radio transceiver MOTION SENSOR HANDSET (3) Method for processing video data

managing data with backup server indexing

Method to configure a bluetooth logical link control and adaptation protocol channel

creating frequent application-consistent backups efficiently

retaining shadow copy data during replication

Secure Media Path Methods, Systems, and Architectures

System and method for visual group interface for group connectivity

Process mode independent single implementation driver model

A computer -implemented method to manage access to a plurality of shared storage units

EXTENDING MOBILE PHONE NETWORKS

Systems and methods for creating virtual network topology

system and methods for providing controllable texture sampling

Formatting multimedia programming information for electronic transfer

A computer system and a method for operating a platform portable virtual machine running on the computer system. It is time that our R&D data is revised taking into account work done at MNC R&D centers in India?

Toolkit to support effective management of IP

UK Intellectual Property Office released a set of model agreements, called Toolkit to accelerate cooperation between industry and academia of India and UK. The toolkit is adopted from Lambert Toolkit and is the result of work by Christine Red and Sunita K Sreedharan with inputs from several stakeholders in 2 round table discussions held in New Delhi.
The Toolkit consists of:

• a Model Research Collaboration Agreement 1A under under which an Indian Institute owns the Intellectual Property Rights in the Results of the collaboration and grants either a non-exclusive licence or an exclusive licence to a company (Sponsor) in the UK;

• a Model Research Collaboration Agreement 1B under under which a UK University owns the Intellectual Property Rights in the Results of the collaboration and grants either a non-exclusive licence or an exclusive licence to a company (Sponsor) in India;

• a Model Research Collaboration Agreement 2A under under which a UK company (Sponsor) owns the Intellectual Property Rights in the Results of the collaboration and grants an Indian Institute a right to use those results for academic purposes;

• a Model Research Collaboration Agreement 2B under under which an Indian company (Sponsor) owns the Intellectual Property Rights in the Results of the collaboration and grants a University in the UK a right to use those results for academic purposes.

For details , contact:

 Anshika Jha, Senior Intellectual Property Liaison Officer, UK Intellectual Property Office, British High Commission, Shantipath, Chanakyapuri,| New Delhi - 110021 | Email: anshika.jha@fco.gov.uk | Tel: +91 11 2419 2166 | FTN: 8414 2166 | Fax: +91 11 2467 0234 |

E Book: Promoting Innovation in Clusters

The E Book `Promoting Innovation in Clusters- a guide book for promoting innovation in MSME clusters' is now available as DVD. This book is authored by me along with Mukesh Gulati,Dr.Tamal Sarkar, Ranjan Singh, Keerthi Lal kala, Sourabh Gargav, Dr.Ashutosh Khanna.
Contents:

Chapter1: Overview of Clusters in India

Defining cluster 

Presence of Clusters Globally 

Presence of Clusters in India 

Cluster Development in India, its Challenges and the Vision Ahead 

Chapter 2: Global Models of Innovation

Regional Innovation Clusters and the US Model of Innovation

European Model of Innovation

Asian Models of Innovation 

Chapter 3: Technology Upgradation for Promoting Innovation in Indian Clusters

- Case Studies 

Phase 1- Technology Procurement Through Funds 

i.) Shantha Biotechnics Vaccine Innovation Case – Funded by TDB 

ii.) Revival of Kinhal Art Innovation – Funded by TEPP

Phase 2 – Technology Transfer 

i.) Coimbatore - SBI Uptech Programme

ii.) Indo- German Tool rooms for new dies and moulds- GTZ, Ministry of SSI

Phase 3 – Collective Approach 

i.) Ludhiana Knitwear Cluster- A case on providing multiple inputs 

ii.) Technology change through benchmarking in Ganjam Cashew Cluster

iii.) Jalandhar Sports Goods Cluster 

Phase 4 – New Trajectory towards Innovation

i.) Conceptualisation of Bio Technopreneur Programme

for Ahmedabad Pharmaceutical Cluster 

ii.) Formation of NITEE & its various focus areas in ICT Cluster Delhi-NCR

iii.) Design intervention reflecting knowledge flows among network partners leading to new

designs in Samalkha Foundry Cluster

Chapter 4: Implementation Challenges and Opportunities, Analysis in the Indian Context 

An overview of Innovation Clusters

Challenges that limit knowledge flows into the clusters in India

Indian Pilots for Promotion of Innovation in Clusters 

Innovation and MSME Clusters- Indian Context 

Chapter 5: Proposed Implementation Framework at Cluster Level 

Diagnostic Study Report and Action Plan.

Trust Building, Social Capital and Implementation

Monitoring and Evaluation.

The DVD priced at Rs 799/- contains an E Book ( E Reader not required) and a PDF file.

For copies but online at E bay or contact:

Foundation for MSME Cluster

USO House, 2nd Floor, USO Road

off Shaheed Jeet Singh Marg

6 Institutional Area, New Delhi 110067

Universities Research and Innovation Bill, 2012

PARLIAMENTARY STANDING COMMITTEE ON HUMAN RESOURCE DEVELOPMENT
TWO HUNDRED FORTY EIGHTH REPORT ON THE UNIVERSITIES FOR RESEARCH AND INNOVATION BILL, 2012 can be accessed here.

The Bill provides for setting up of Universities for Research and Innovation both in the private sector and the public sector. Presently, there is no central law which provides for this framework, hence the need for a central legislation.These universities would concentrate less on teaching and more on research and innovation. These universities would also be non-affiliating universities and enrolments would mostly be at the postgraduate (PG) and post-PG level.

While the views of the academia supported making existing institutions stronger in terms of autonomy and innovation, the industry representatives were of the view that this legislation created an excellent facilitating framework for research and innovation in areas which were generally neglected by the regular programmes of regular universities.

Conclusion by the committe:

It is an undisputed fact that our country is yet to make its presence felt in the world so far as pioneering research work is concerned. The Committee is also aware that quite a few of our universities and research organizations have been doing commendable work inspite of persistent constraints being faced by them. Lack of funds resulting in the absence of minimum infrastructure, severe shortage of qualified and experienced faculty and also no autonomy even in issues strictly falling under their domain can be cited as the main impediments in their functioning. In such a scenario, the objective behind the proposed legislation is laudable and needs to be supported by all concerned. The Committee also welcomes the initiative of the Government for proposing the new category of specialized universities. However, the Committee, after making an in-depth analysis of the Bill and its likely impact has drawn the attention of Government to the shortcomings, lack of required provisions and contradictions
observed in the Bill in the Report. The Committee would appreciate that necessary
modifications are brought out in the Bill as recommended by it.

STI Policy (2013): review by Sunil Mani

The new Science, Technology and Innovation Policy of 2013 makes all the right noises, but how do we know that it will not go the way of  the 2003 policy when it comes to implementation? There are indeed some interesting ideas in STIP 2013 but none show that they have been thought through...Sunil Mani in EPW

Students of VNRVJIET, Hyderabad plan Telugu Entrepreneur Network (TEN)

Students of VNRVJIET, Hyderabad are working on the concept of Telugu Entrepreneur Network (TEN). A panel discussion is scheduled on 5th March afternoon between 3 to 4PM at VJIM. Myself and Brig Ganesham of pallesrujana agreed to be on the panel.
All stakeholders invited to the discussion.

From TePP to IPO: Case of MobMe Wireless

TePP suported Sanjay Vijyakumar when he was a student. Now the start-up promoted by him MobMe Wireless is going public with initial IPOm making it the first for a TePP innovator to reach this landmark. It will be the first IT company to be listed in NSE SME Excahnge.
Read more:

STI Policy (2013): Implementation hurdle- is U/C condition bringing research at IITs/ IISc to halt?

Release of grants to faculty is guided by General Finance Rules (GFR) of Government of India. Researchers are expected to spend the money received in the current financial year  and seek next installment in the following year. The GFR condition stipulates that unspent amount need to be returned to the granting body if carry forward is not approved . In actual practice, the researcher routinely keeps the unspent money on to his / her project account and submits Utilisation Certificate (U/C) only when he/she needs next installment.
State governments are major defaulters in submission of U/Cs and many times Finance Ministry takes a tough stand w.r.t defaulting states.
Both,the amount released and underutilized by researchers is insignificant yet this time the Finance Ministry wants the scientific departments to play tough. I understand that departments now insist on U/C from the institute for all the projects taken by its researchers. That means if an IIT has 20 projects run by 20 different faculty, then this IIT has to submit a comprehensive U/C for all the 20 projects. If information from one faculty is delayed all others suffer.Whether the threat of stopping further research grants would actually be carried out or not is to be seen but this directive has slowed down funds release to the researchers.

What is the way out of this bureaucratic maze? Why cannot the annual budgetary support to academic and research institutes be increased so that they do not have to seek grants from scientific  departments for individual projects?