Bob Hoekstra's view on Innovation and India/ Bengaluru ...

The destiny of India and more so that of Bangalore, will depend mainly on how well we can focus on “Innovation”. Innovation brings ideas and means  together to serve a market. As India, being one of  the countries in the strongly emerging BRIC markets, the need for it to stay focused on innovation becomes crucial. Whether it is in the domain of healthcare, or energy creation, new ways have to be found to make these services available and accessible, while at the same time keeping them affordable.

When I started my career in 1970, I walked through the gates of the Philips Physics Laboratories and when I walk through the same now they are wide open.  The gates no longer exist. Personnel from a number of companies are huddling together in an open creative environment. The facilities are shared by all. Competence centres  have been created where knowledge is shared amongst the companies and Universities.

Philips had learnt that it needed one partner to create the CD market, and multiple partners to create the DVD market. Going it alone is risky, as it reduces the chances of success, and is very costly. Creating new markets together with like-minded, even competing companies, has become a way of life.

I have personally seen how in Cambridge UK, a great system has developed centered around multiple companies, small and large, building innovations together.  Not supported by government, but privately managed by networked organizations involving its companies and its great University.

The objective of the Center for Business Innovation India is to help create Innovative Business opportunities in India

CfBII Origins:

Linked to Cambridge as that has created a state-of-the-art ecosystem of business innovation around excellent universities in the last half century 

Offering:

We run multi-company consortia in the white spaces between sectors. Track-record of Cambridge includes consortia on:  ‘Knowledge Management’; ‘Fuel Cells’; ‘Implications of Decoding the Genome’; ‘Smart Labels’; ‘Transportation Information Systems’, ’Valuing Intangibles’.

Through those activities we help build in innovative ecosystem in India, with some focus on Bangalore.

From the start, we seek a connect to great ecosystems around the world, starting with Europe.

Focus:

Fast moving technology or business process areas where trade/ or technology associations do not exist.

Post research / pre-market commercial opportunities where money and intellectual property are important.

Initially the focus will be pre-market, as that is the prime opportunity in India now, gradually moving to post research over time

Initially the focus will be how ICT can create new business opportunities in important business sectors

Benefit:

Save time and money while learning from/with peers you would not normally meet in a trusting confidential environment. Participants create a “Collaborative Advantage”.

Detailed Brochure may be downloaded here.

E-Health Consortium Brochure may be downloaded here.