United States' Oldest Research Varsity Johns Hopkins' Gupta-Klinsky India Institute (GKII) to Work with India Inc. Fostering Innovation

Milton S. Eisenhower Library, Johns Hopkins University

The relationship between India and Johns Hopkins University has taken a new leap with the establishment of the Gupta-Klinsky India Institute (GKII), an organization that fosters multidisciplinary work between more than 165 faculty across 7 University schools and Indian partners on high impact global efforts. 

Founded in 1876, Johns Hopkins is the oldest research university in the United States. The research University named for its first benefactor, the American entrepreneur and philanthropist Johns Hopkins.

A leadership delegation from GKII is in India to further these ties through discussions with existing and potential partners and panel discussions. The first panel event was held in Mumbai today to discuss and explore opportunities to advance research and innovation and promote science for societal good. The session, “Tech for Good: India Inc.’s Commitment to Research and Innovation,” included noted industry leaders from India’s science and technology sector. 

From left to right - Tamanna Inamdar, Senior Editor, ET Now, Shekar Sivasubramanian, CEO, Wadhwani AI,  Viresh Prashar, Founder & CEO, Fruitfal, Dr. Subhasis Chaudhuri, Director, IIT Bombay, Neera Nundy, Managing Partner & Founder, Dasra,  Suchitra Ella, Co-Founder & Joint MD, Bharat Biotech (joined virtually)

Keynote speaker, Dr. Saurabh Garg, CEO, UIDAI, and panelists including Suchitra Ella, Co-Founder & Joint MD, Bharat Biotech, Neera Nundy, Managing Partner & Founder, Dasra, Dr. Subhasis Chaudhuri, Director, IIT Bombay, Shekar Sivasubramanian, CEO, Wadhwani AI, and Viresh Prashar, Founder & CEO, Fruitfal, highlighted the role of the private sector in creating opportunities and lowering barriers to interdisciplinary knowledge sharing and shaping emerging technologies of the future.

India’s investment in R&D is $48 billion per annum, ranking 7th globally. However, at 0.7% of GDP it falls short of the top 15, pointing to a role that the private sector can fill with increased engagement. The private sector in India contributes 37% of the total national R&D expenditure, as compared to other countries where the private sector contributes the most; China and Japan are at 77%, United States at 71% and Germany at 68%. Collaborative work will focus on efforts that advance science, foster stimulating partnerships in research and innovation, and promote private sector engagement.

From left to right - Tamanna Inamdar, Senior Editor, ET Now, Shekar Sivasubramanian, CEO, Wadhwani AI,  Viresh Prashar, Founder & CEO, Fruitfal, Dr. Subhasis Chaudhuri, Director, IIT Bombay, Neera Nundy, Managing Partner & Founder, Dasra,  Suchitra Ella, Co-Founder & Joint MD, Bharat Biotech (joined virtually)

Speaking on this, Dr. Saurabh Garg, keynote speaker and CEO, UIDAI said, “The Indian Government has always been keen on public private partnerships in key sectors. We are ensuring that R&D becomes a critical part of both the start-up and the industrial policy. A key part of the Government role would be to build those pathways from the lab to research.”

Dr. Sunil Kumar, Provost, Johns Hopkins University said, "Moving the needle on private sector contribution to research will not only help India boost innovation, but it can also have an effect of making the Indian research ecosystem more attractive as a destination for research globally. It’s also important to provide incentives to scientists of Indian origin who are training or working elsewhere to return to set up labs in India. We believe that industry can work with the government and academia to enable this.”

One of the roles of the Gupta-Klinsky India Institute is to bring together Johns Hopkins’ faculty, staff, students, and alumni to engage with the private sector in India to learn and work on high quality, solution-based initiatives that can be employed globally for sustainable social impact. The collaboration with India Inc. as a key stakeholder is intended to spark new ideas and partnerships, leverage local, international and instructional resources, and promote interdisciplinary education opportunities. 

IDG Ventures Collaborates With Unilever, AWS For 2017 Innovation Program

Tech-focused venture capital firm IDG Ventures India (IDGVI) has launched the 2017 Innovation Program, #IDGIP2017 to reach out to mushrooming startups across its core sectors of consumer tech, software, healthtech and fintech products space. This program shall be applicable to startups looking to raise Seed or Series A rounds between $0.5 million to $5.0 million.

Commenting on the development, Sudhir Sethi, Founder Chairman, IDG Ventures India said, “After the very successful 2016 Innovation Program, the 2017 edition expects to reach out to over 1,000 companies in the next 2 months and partner with/invest in select start-ups from Fund 3 to grow with IDG Ventures India’s unique growth platform. IDG Ventures will view early-stage Seed and Series A startups in this Program who are uniquely disruptive and are innovative leaders in the market”.

For the program, IDGVI will be collaborating with Unilever Ventures and Amazon Internet Services Private Limited (AISPL), the Indian affiliate of Seattle-headquartered Amazon Web Services, Inc.

UV has a strategic relationship with IDGVI as an investor and will evaluate companies as part of this program for potential co-investments. Also, the shortlisted companies will receive technology mentorship from the AISPL team and value-added benefits like AWS credits, premium business support and GTM connects.

Who Can Apply?

Startups, preferably less than three years old looking to raise Seed or Series A rounds between $0.5 million to $5.0 million of funding are encouraged to apply. Applications for the IDGVI Innovators Program are open from June 8 and close on June 26. The shortlisted startups will meet the IDGVI team in Bengaluru on 6 and 7July, where they will present to senior team members of IDG Ventures India and Unilever Ventures. Selected startups will then progress to the funding track while all the shortlisted companies can participate in mentoring sessions by AISPL and Unilever Ventures’ team on all aspects related to starting up.

As the most active tech-focused VC, IDGVI has run successful sector programs in 2016 that focused on consumer-tech and software. The 2016 program saw close to 1,000 applications from startups and via this program, IDGVI invested in six companies – Little Black Book, Flyrobe, Active.ai, Pipecandy, Hansel.io and Infisecure. Investment size varied from $0.5 million to $3.0million depending on the stage of each of the selected companies.

One can apply for the current programme here.