Business Weekly

Passage to India: Charted by Prime Minister, Gordon Brown

 The University of Cambridge has been centre stage in a spate of fresh collaborations, including a new £3.2 million professorship funded by the Indian government, a Tata internship and a BP-funded Cambridge Centre for Indian Business – See page IV.

But the potential for several more potentially lucrative tie-ups in commercial areas has been enhanced by separate initiatives that tap into hi-tech and entrepreneurship.

Dr Shai Vyakarnam, director of Cambridge University’s Centre for Entrepreneurial Learning (CfEL), has been taking part in Prime Minister Gordon Brown’s visit to India to explore trade opportunities for the UK in knowledge-driven enterprises.

Dr Vyakarnam featured in a panel discussion on entrepreneurial eco-systems, highlighting the entrepreneurial ethos in Cambridge and the broader eastern region.

He was also part of University Vice-Chancellor, Professor Alison Richard’s, recent delegation to Bangalore  where he shared information and initiated links with key players involved in the emerging technology entrepreneurship agenda.

Dr Vyakarnam said: “The Indian Institute of Science was a focal point of the visit.

With a long established record of research in science & technology, there is a natural synergy for CfEL to channel its energies with the Indian Institute of Science in terms of future developments in commercialisation, intellectual property and entrepreneurship education.

“Building on the Cambridge social network study, a comparative study of Bangalore was set up to try to better understand the dynamic of clusters.

“In addition to this development with the Institute, further opportunities were opened up for internships, individual projects and exchange visits with some of the better-resourced businesses, Research & Development laboratories and others in Bangalore.”

East of England International is equally convinced that opportunities for export success in India exist for both Life Sciences and ICT-related businesses in this region.

Robert Edge, who has helped EEI identify a number of openings for future collaborations says: “We are only just beginning to scratch the surface of what is possible in terms of trade and investment between India and this region.

“On a mission to India near the end of last year people we met knew all about the University of Cambridge and that Nehru studied here – but were not aware that it was such a major technology centre in Europe and globally.

“We were happy to put our hosts right and that has begun a process to significantly heighten awareness through key technology centres in India that the East of England is a serious global player in science & technology, among many other industry segments.

“Mobile device usage in India is growing at twice the rate as in China and if both countries continue on their current rate of progress, India will have overtaken China in mobile usage by 2010.

“India also has more wireless hotspots than China. Hotels are a case in point. We know all about Internet cafes but in key centres of India whole hotels are wireless and management have trouble keeping non guests at bay.”

The changing climate in India’s pharmaceutical sector could also trigger business for East of England Life Sciences companies, Edge believes.

Fierce competition from China and Vietnam in terms of Pharma manufacturing is eroding India’s traditional advantage and cost base in this arena, but from that cloud has emerged a silver lining: “They are now having to invest in drug development,” says Edge. “And that’s where this region’s European-leading bio-technology cluster comes in. We have built an enviable expertise in taking world-class science from the lab to the marketplace in collaborations with Big Pharma.”

EEI has also begun to attract vibrant young Indian business to put down roots in the East of England following a resoundingly successful programme which it sponsored for the first time last year at the University’s Centre for Entrepreneurial Learning Summer School – rebranded Ignite.

EEI sponsored Ignite scholarships for Indian companies and other organisations  in three sectors – ICT, Life Sciences and Advanced Engineering – to accept places on the CfEL programme.

The outcome was so successful that out of the four Indian scholars placed, three are returning to the region to hold further discussions with mentors and potential angel funders – and one is conducting due diligence with the intention of establishing a new technology business in Cambridge.

EEI is delighted with such an immediate ‘payback’ on its investment. Persuading young Indian entrepreneurs that Cambridge can be the centre for their European business ventures is very much part of EEI’s long-term game plan.

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