Infotech Lead India: Microsoft India has set up 14 Microsoft Innovation Centers (MICs) in India.
The software major has 75 MICs globally.
In India, it has signed up with academic institutions in four states. Hyderabad, Vijayawada, Rajahmundry, Khammam, Bapatla, Guntur and Tirupati in Andhra Pradesh, Raipur inChhattisgarh, Bhopal in Madhya Pradesh, Trichy, Vellore, Coimbatore, Madurai and Salem in Tamil Nadu will host MICs in the first phase of the launch.
Microsoft aims to launch 100 MICs in India in the next two years.
The company claims that these MICs will impact over 500,000 students, certifying 100,000 students on Microsoft technologies. The program will also drive innovation and help build a product-based software economy by supporting product development, and over 500 start-ups.
The MICs will act as innovation hubs at select colleges and technology institutes, providing incubation and expert hands-on support on Microsoft technology innovation, research, and software solutions, aiming to create a pool of student technology experts across India.
Moreover, each MIC will function as a hub for five other neighboring colleges and will operate in a hub-spoke model driving employability, innovation, and entrepreneurship in the academic ecosystem around it.
Joseph Landes, general manager, DPE, Microsoft India, said: “The Microsoft Innovation Centers are designed to offer a unique environment conducive for student entrepreneurship. As knowledge and innovation become primary catalysts for economic growth in India, the Microsoft Innovation Centers can play a vital role in generating powerful new ideas through training, education and knowledge transfer.”
Budding developers will be encouraged to innovate across key priority technology focus areas that are driving growth and change for the economy, namely: Mobility (Windows Phone), Cloud (Windows Azure), Kinect, Accessibility, Healthcare and a wider ambit for solving problems with an India focus.
G Viswanathan, founder & Chancellor, VIT University, Vellore, said: “Being a part of the first group of the Microsoft Innovation Center (MICs) in India, we see VIT becoming a center for applied technology solutions, digital literacy and a creator of socio-economic change in the community and the economy.”
