Professor George at the launch
In December the Rajiv Gandhi Centre for Innovation and Entrepreneurship hosted a well attended panel discussion in Mumbai marking the beginning of its activities.
Professor Gerry George, the Centre’s director, was joined at the launch event by Sir Richard Sykes the College's Rector and former CEO and Chairman of GSK; Susan Searle, CEO of Imperial Innovations – the UK’s first publicly traded university spin out company; Professor David Begg, Principal of Tanaka Business School and Dr. Tidu Maini, until recently the Pro Rector for Development & Corporate Affairs and now a consultant to the College.
Each of the speakers explained their area of expertise and took questions from the audience of senior Indian business people which included representatives from Tata, Kotak Mahindra, Shapoorji Pallonji And Company Limited and Yash Birla Group. Sir Richard highlighted that energy, environment and healthcare industries are typically the drivers of growth in economies. He explained that these areas will be the principal focus of the Centre’s innovation and entrepreneurship research.
Sir Richard also explained the College’s heritage in drug discovery knowledge and capabilities in this area. He envisaged that, through projects like the Centre working with other research organisations and companies, more than £200 million a year could be invested in novel drug research projects in India.
Some of the audience were from academic partner institutions like the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT). They were particularly interested in Dr. Tidu Maini’s presentation on technology transfer and the role of corporate university linkages. He explained some of the lessons the College had learnt over the past 100 years as it developed a mature and successful model of collaboration with industry.
After Susan Searle explained how i2India will invest in India technology ventures, Gerry George closed proceedings with his vision for the new centre. Professor George explained how the Centre will transform ideas into opportunities by making London and the Business School a global portal for those working with Indian expertise. This, he explained would allow access to some of the College’s world-class research and help develop new leaders in and for India. He likened the Rajiv Gandhi Centre as a 5,000-mile bridge, along which ideas and opportunities will travel in both directions.
He ended by describing the first work of the Centre, the first systematic study of how technology commercialisation can be successful in the Indian university, research institutes and business contexts. An area of direct relevance to the audience and the Centre.
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Notes to Editors:
For further information on the Rajiv Gandhi Centre or Tanaka Business School please contact:
Elliott White, Tanaka Business School, Imperial College,
+44 207 594 9154 or e.white@imperial.ac.uk
1) The Rajiv Gandhi Centre
The Centre was launched in December 2007 as a specialist centre at Tanaka Business School. Its aim is to:
• establish highly credible research projects focusing on Indian business trends and markets
• develop and enhance lasting, mutually beneficial relationships between UK and Indian companies
• provide high quality, bespoke training programmes for Indian management built on Tanaka Business School’s reputation as the UK’s leading entrepreneurial establishment
The Centre receives financial support from organisations including the Kusuma Trust and BP plc. The Centre has signed memoranda of understanding with the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) and the Indian Institutes of Management (IIMs) Alumni Association in Europe to promote better understanding of Indian industry issues and provide a forum for discussing relevant managerial trends and challenges.
2) About Tanaka Business School
Tanaka Business School is a world class provider of business education and research, focusing primarily on Imperial College’s strengths in innovation and entrepreneurship, finance and healthcare management. It is rated as one of Europe's top business schools for entrepreneurship in the latest Financial Times rankings. The School offers customised executive education, full-time and Executive MBAs, Master's programmes in Finance, Risk Management and Financial Engineering, Actuarial Finance, International Health Management, Management, and a Doctoral programme.
The School's Innovation and Entrepreneurship faculty group is the leading research group of its kind in Europe, having received over £25m in funding from governmental and corporate sponsors.
For more, go to: www.imperial.ac.uk/tanaka
3) About Tanaka Business School’s Executive Education
Tanaka Business School’s customised executive education offers a disciplined but flexible approach to analysing, interpreting and responding to your organisation’s personality and its strategic and operational goals.
Our executive education solutions leap the constraining boundaries of traditional programmes. We create unique learning journeys that challenge, inspire and energise your managers to bring new mindsets to familiar challenges and emerging opportunities.
Core elements of the learning journey draw on Tanaka Business School’s key strengths in business strategy, innovation and leadership. We specialise in developing high-performing managers within innovation-intensive industries such as healthcare, pharmaceutical, mineral and energy, engineering and financial services. Tata Corporation, Arup, Laing O’Rourke, the NHS, BT and the Royal Society are just a few of the clients that have benefited from our unique learning journeys.
4) About Imperial College London
Imperial College London - rated the world’s fifth best university in the 2007 Times Higher Education Supplement University Rankings - is a science-based institution with a reputation for excellence in teaching and research that attracts 12,000 students and 6,000 staff of the highest international quality.
Innovative research at the College explores the interface between science, medicine, engineering and business, delivering practical solutions that improve quality of life and the environment - underpinned by a dynamic enterprise culture.
Website: www.imperial.ac.uk
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