The World’s eyes are on the World Economic Forum 2012 currently taking place at Davos, Switzerland. As eminent business leaders, thinkers and decision makers engage in conversations around the world economy and future, innovation as emerged as a key proposition and India is at the forefront and top of the mind.
We were tuned into a very interesting panel conversation today “Design & Innovation: Enablers of India’s Urban Future” led by Tim Brown, CEO and President, IDEO in addition to other panelists including Soumitra Dutta, Professor, INSEAD and Dean Designate, John Kao, Founder & Chairman, Institute for Large Scale Innovation, USA, Asha Jadeja, Founder, Edu Dot Ventures, Chris Luebkeman and Alex Sandy Pentland, Toshiba Professor of Media, Arts & Sciences and Director, Media Lab Entrepreneurship Program, MIT Media Lab.
The panel was powered by !ndialogues, an Ideaworks initiative and brought in some amazing insights on how India could lead the innovation path. From some of the most memorable quotes that emanated from the panel, one of them that truly signify the core essence of the discussion is “Every Indian has to innovate to move from surviving to thriving” as very appropriately put by Chris Luebkeman! That’s the moral of the story that thinkers and innovators across the World are talking about when it comes to “Brand India”. Asha Jadeja brought in a very interesting perspective as she talked about how India is buzzing with innovation and talent; it’s just a matter of investing in the right areas.
Some of the key milestones that the panel felt India should be focusing on are to build a world-class infrastructure, boost educational systems and inculcate the youth talent. Adding further to the conversation, Asha also talked about how the “Can do it attitude of India is a big opportunity” and how the country has collaborated successfully with global conglomerates to establish SEZs in the country.
Chris Lubekeman acknowledged India’s efforts on building world-class airport systems stating that India has done some remarkable work in the area. The panel was in consensus that the next big innovation wave will come from public private partnership and executing the projects in collaboration with world institutions.