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Transcript of © 2002 IBM Corporation 1 Can India be an Innovation Superpower C. Mohan, Ph.D. IBM Fellow & Former...
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© 2002 IBM Corporation
Can India be an Innovation Superpower
C. Mohan, Ph.D.
IBM Fellow & Former IBM India Chief Scientist
[email protected]://www.almaden.ibm.com/u/mohan/
UC Santa Cruz Mapping the Future of India Lecture SeriesIndia Community Center, Milpitas, CA, USA
24 March 2010http://bit.ly/9lGNBd
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Caveats
Personal opinions, NOT to be interpreted as IBM’s
Basis: extensive experiences, not systematic study
Highly subjective and debatable impressions/conclusions: exceptions to everything
Passionate about India while being a realist and not wishful thinker
Never been a people/money manager but exposed to and/or party to strategic/global decision making in a $100B MNC – 28 years!
Bias: high tech, given my background
No claims to being an expert on innovation but
well traveled outside India/US also
exposed extensively to industrial/academic work
Candid, not trying to be politically correct
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Innovation Ecosystem Government: Infrastructure, Incubation/Research Funding,
Intellectual Property protection, R&D Labs
Universities: Faculty including adjunct, Students, Teaching Vs Research, Consulting, Incubation
Public/Private firms: R&D labs, Visionary leaders, Univ linkages
Funding Entities: Banks, VC firms, Govt agencies – debt Vs equity
Networking/Trade Bodies: Mentoring, Standards
Customers, especially domestic
Society at Large: Cultural attitudes on questioning authority, Relatives, Money focus, Press, Relevant role models
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Example: Innovation Ecosystem at IBM Well-defined and highly appreciated technical career path
Technical Execs: Fellows, Distinguished Engineers (DEs) Senior Technical Staff Member (STSM), Architects, …
Invention disclosures, patent plateaus, Master Inventors: money and peer recognition, factors in technical promotions; Extra incentives for “new” areas
Rewards: Corporate Innovation / Patent Portfolio awards, Outstanding Innovation / Technical Achievement Awards (OIAs/ OTAAs)
Internal and external conferences IBM Academy of Technology (AoT), Architecture Boards Measurement criteria, even in Research division
Patents CEO milestones Internal and external awards Product impact Publications
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Avenues for Technical Participation & Leadership
Computing Infrastructure
Services Deployment Models
Standards & Policies
SocialAccessible,
Open Computing
based
BusinessFlexible, Scalable,
Innovative Business Models
Global Market
Leadership through Innovation
Asset based services model
Governments & Industries Standards and policy
formation e-Governance &
opportunities in Public Sector
Local Market
Thought Leadership
Integrated Solutions & Services
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Types of Innovation Product Service Business model Business process Policy and society
Innovation Metrics Patents Products with deep technologies – not “me too” businesses PhDs Publications in journals/conf which win awards Revenue from technology cross licensing …
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Backdrop
Satellites, moon mission, atomic energy, defense
Fairly successful Indian pharma companies
$2500 Nano Car
Indian companies’ foreign forays
Great emphasis at highest levels of government PM to past president on down
DST’s major funding of nano tech, solar; bilateral agreements
MHRD on education funding/reforms
Indian Nobel Laureates and numerous other highly accomplished scientists/technologists outside India
Highly successful India IT services business
Numerous MNC research/product labs in India for a long time
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Essential Attributes for Innovation
Sheer intellect, analytical thinking, synthesis, inquisitiveness
Sustained work in an area
Maniacal focus and attention to detail
Appreciation for long term technical careers and role models
Soft skills and belief in collaborating with other people
Risk taking and handling failures gracefully
Dedicated follow through to turn invention to innovation
Scale: pockets of brilliance insufficient for meaningful impact
Paths/desire for faculty to turn research into commercial impact
Truly serious collaboration between academia and industry
Startups versus established companies
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Good Signs IITs made to concentrate more on graduate education/research; more
IISc-like places; …
Tech festivals (in even 3rd tier colleges) with S&T leaders as speakers
Science conclaves, Inspire programs for school & college students
Mobile: free incoming calls/SMSs was an Indian revolution which opened up a whole host of possibilities, dual SIM phone, …
Zinnov helps in setting up India R&D operations
NEA Indo-US Ventures, Helion, Intellectual Ventures, Murthy’s Catamaran, …
DST: India Innovation Pioneers Challenge, Inspire, Certification & Training of Technology Commercialization Specialists, Women Scientists Scheme, India-Israel Initiative for Industrial R&D, India-Taiwan Cooperation in S&T
IISc’s SID, Nasscom awards/conclave, CII Innovation focus, NRDC Innovation Awards, Infosys innovation prizes
Foreign universities being allowed to operate in India
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Issues Way too much focus on compensation – all know/discuss it!
Work quality, leaving a legacy, … become secondary goals, if at all
Sense of entitlement, instant gratification pervade youth from day one at work
Lots of MoU signings between industry & academia, and Indian & foreign univs – more photo ops, not enough serious follow ups
Not enough accountability of outcomes with R&D investments When good does happen, not enough publicity/documentation Not enough interest in postgraduate education/research Tempting to blame convenient scapegoats: infrastructure,
government, politicians, bureaucracy, corruption, reservations, …
Those don’t explain why ROI hasn’t been significant for the past investments – society at large is also equally, if not more, guilty!
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Issues Only lip service provided on striving for excellence
In spite of becoming modern in many ways, hierarchy still matters and questioning authority is frowned on
Too often looking westward for requirements/problems when local customers do have non-trivial problems to innovate on
Acute shortage of soft skills; true desire for collaboration lacking even in faculty (within/outside the univ)
Not all entrepreneurship equals being innovative!
Quantum leap in level of professionalism needed
Doing subcontract/QA work may bring in money but cost arbitrage won’t be sustainable – have to move up the food chain
Too much of narrow grunt work and not enough indulgence in exploration on the side as skunk works by individuals
Managing technologists/products requires special mgmt skills
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Patents as a Measure
December 9, 2009
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R & D Expenditures
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NRIs and Their Transformational Role
Indian diaspora can play a significant role and it SHOULD – we owe it to our mother country – change from complainers to doers!
Even if India move/assignments not taken up, can still help
This role goes beyond sending money to India or investing money in India or sitting on boards/committees and such
Even regular visitors to India don’t spend enough time really understanding what is going on and what needs to go on
Engage more at the grassroots level
Become role models and instigators of a different way of thinking in techies as well as management
Shape kids at an early age, act as change agents for society at large
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Can India be an Innovation Superpower?
It has the potential, especially in knowledge-based areas, but to realize it some major changes are needed
Some people say: it is not a question of Can but When!
I disagree!! There is no guarantee that the potential will be realized at the current course and pace.
Russia has(d) very large pool of scientists/engineers and did develop significant technologies/products but those didn’t guarantee Russia innovation superpower status
France, Germany, UK have been in IT forever but never attained a significant/sustained level of innovation
Big difference: national missions (BARC, ISRO, DRDO) Vs private ones
The whole innovation ecosystem needs to improve and I really hope it does so SOON!
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References
“India: The Uneven Innovator”, Kirsten Bound, 2007, ISBN 1 84180 171 2, http://www.demos.co.uk
Department of Science and Technology, Government of India, http://dst.gov.in/
“In India, Anxiety Over the Slow Pace of Innovation”, Vikas Bajaj, New York Times, 8 December 2009
CII Raunaq Singh Innovation Grid, http://demo.netcommlabs.com/innovationgrid/
“Emerging Market Companies Ascending the Value Curve: Rationale, Motivation & Strategies”, R.T. Krishnan, K. Kumar, Strategic Management Society Mini-Conference, Hong Kong, 12/2003
Can India become an Innovation Powerhouse? R.T. Krishnan
“China Versus India” – Reality Check for Pharma R&D, L. Li, L. Kang, S. Gentela, Korn/Ferry International, 2008
Reports by Zinnov, htt://www.zinnov.com