UK-India partnership results in new School of Innovation in Punjab
Birmingham City University and India’s prominent industrial house, the Hero Group, have been collaborating to establish the brand-new international school to promote innovation and entrepreneurship in the state of Punjab.
As a result of the landmark collaboration, the Munjal BCU School of Innovation and Entrepreneurship (MBCIE) was inaugurated in the city of Ludhiana in the northern Indian state this week. The aim of the project, a joint venture between Hero Group’s BCM Foundation and BCU, is to cater to the needs of the business industrial sector of Punjab. The new facility was inaugurated by BCU Vice-Chancellor (V-C) Philip Plowden, alongside BCU Deputy V-C (Research, Innovation and Enterprise) Julian Beer and BCU Deputy V-C (Academic) Peter Francis, and Yogesh Munjal, Sunil Kant Munjal, Vijay Munjal and Suresh Munjal from BCM and Hero Group.
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“This is great news for the West Midlands and Birmingham’s relationship with India, and a real trade connection… with two powerhouses of the Commonwealth,” said Prof. Beer, with reference to the initiative.
According to the university, the MBSIE plans to take a STEAM-oriented (Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts and Mathematics) approach to higher education. The idea is to use the strengths of each of these streams to power innovation and productivity. To do this effectively, the new school proposes to collaborate with some of the well-established names pioneering STEAM-based higher education around the world.
STEAMhouse, pioneered by BCU, is designed as a centre for innovation, research, and creative production where technology, art, and design are used to nurture innovation and creativity. The MBSIE campus in Ludhiana is designed around these goals to meet the growing innovation needs of industrial enterprises in Punjab.
“STEAM has the ability to transform economies across the globe and by developing this way of thinking and this way of working we can make a real difference to businesses and communities worldwide, and this partnership is a real step forward in this journey,” added Beer.
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Punjab is home to around 50,000 small and medium enterprises (SMEs) spread across the clusters of Ludhiana, Amritsar, Jalandhar, Mohali, Patiala, Mandi, Gobindgarh and other areas. MBSIE aims to trigger industrial revival in the state by:
Driving innovation in the state’s industrial clusters and promoting entrepreneurship
Tapping into the state’s reservoirs of manpower
Developing the considerable potential in the knowledge-intensive businesses
It is conceived as a common, independent platform that facilitates innovation and builds an entrepreneurship ecosystem in Punjab.
*Info: STEAMhouse