Read about the official launch of the Rajiv Gandhi Centre for Innovation and Entrepreneurship

In December 2007, the official launch of the Centre was held at the Taj Mahal Palace and Towers Hotel in Mumbai, India.

The Rajiv Gandhi Centre sits within the Tanaka Business School at Imperial College London, and was established to help Indian and British companies improve innovative performance and find better ways to develop and exploit new ideas, with specific, but not exclusive reference to British and Indian markets. The vision of the Centre is to become the pre-eminent global partner for education, technology transfer and research focussed on innovation and entrepreneurship in the Indian subcontinent.

Speaking at the launch event, Principal of Tanaka Business School, Professor David Begg, explained the new Centre’s focus. “Indian companies are stepping up, striving to compete globally on more than simply cost competition,” he said. “Well managed innovation processes unlock the potential value in a company and are vital to this transformation. The Centre helps facilitate this important step change.”

Professor Begg also expressed his sincere gratitude to the founding partners of the Centre: The BP Foundation Inc and The Kusuma Trust, who have each made a contribution of £250,000. In addition, BP has agreed to sponsor the Centre over 5 years. The College itself has also made a significant commitment to the Centre’s success, allocating £2 million to fund five Rajiv Gandhi Centre scholarships, each worth £20,000, which will encourage the movement of students between India and the UK, and bring closer ties between the two student populations.

In a message sent to the launch, Iain Conn, Chief Executive of Refining and Marketing at BP said: “BP is very proud to be a founding partner and sponsor of this exciting centre. I am confident that the Rajiv Gandhi Centre will not only help Indian entrepreneurs’ access global best practice, but also help the world learn from Indian entrepreneurship and innovation. For BP, as for many leading companies, India is a crucial part of the business strategy for the coming decades and we are delighted that Imperial’s business school is helping to underpin mutual cooperation on the key challenges that we all face. We look forward to working closely with the Rajiv Gandhi Centre in areas of research and education.”

Professor Gerry George, Professor of Innovation and Entrepreneurship and Director of the Rajiv Gandhi Centre, also spoke at the launch. He said: “As part of Imperial College’s Business School, the Centre is able to tap into a rich seam of proven research and practical know-how. It has a unique location in London, situated next to, and working with, global leaders in medicine, energy and environmental research.”

Other speakers at the prestigious event included Rector, Sir Richard Sykes, Pro-Rector Emeritus, Dr Tidu Maini and Imperial Innovations CEO, Susan Searle.

The Rajiv Gandhi Centre is one of the projects within the College’s £207 million Centenary campaign. If you would like to find out more about the Centre, please visit: www.imperial.ac.uk/rajivgandhicentre