FICE Becomes UC Berkeley’s Partner to Establish Jobs 4.0 Micro Accelerators in Indian Academia

Business Wire India
FICE Education today announced a partnership with the Innovation Acceleration Group at University of California Berkeley Executive Education (UC Berkeley), one of the world's most prominent educational institutions. Under this partnership, FICE will establish Micro Accelerators to enable educational institutions and student innovators to co-create technology with customers and develop job skills aligned to the 4th industrial revolution (Jobs 4.0).
 
At the heart of the Micro Accelerators is an Advanced Innovation and Design lab that will be set up within premises of participating Indian institutions. The Micro- Accelerators are modelled on UC Berkeley's IAG Scaling Startup Ecosystems program. This is a unique concept that UC Berkeley has pioneered with large corporations and universities across the globe.
 
In the first phase, ten micro-accelerators will be set up in active collaboration with top Indian engineering institutions around India. Students undergoing the program will develop Jobs 4.0 skills like empathy, co-creation, customer development and business model innovation.
 
The areas of focus will be Artificial Intelligence (AI), Water, Energy, Transportation, Waste Management, Healthcare, Climate and Smart Agriculture.
 
Mark Searle, Managing Director, Innovation Acceleration Group at UC Berkeley Executive Education said, "Indian innovators have made a name for themselves globally. The Micro Accelerators will provide an opportunity for student innovators in India to develop skills and gear up for the 4th industrial revolution."
 
Manav Subodh, Director, International Development, Innovation Acceleration Group at UC Berkeley Executive Education said "The Micro Accelerators will be designed to create Make in India local solutions to local problems. Top student innovators will get an opportunity to participate in UC Berkeley's Smart City Challenge and Co-Innovation labs."

Nagesh Singh, Executive Director, FICE Education said "We have helped 200 leading institutions around India set up IoT and Artificial Intelligence labs focused on the areas that are evolving and innovating at the most rapid pace today. Ten of these institutions, selected through a rigorous process, will get a chance to accelerate their students' innovations to the market, in alliance with UC Berkeley. We are very excited to work with University of California Berkeley on this very prestigious initiative that will enhance innovation, accelerate entrepreneurship and improve employability of Indian students."About IAG, UC Berkeley
 
The Innovation Acceleration Group at UC Berkeley Executive Education accelerates the delivery to market of customer-validated innovations, focused on leveraging new technologies and establishing disruptive business models. Through guided experiential learning process, teams work on real current problems and opportunities – not case studies or hypothetical examples – and deliver tangible results in as little as two months. IAG has helped teams launch new products, services and business models in one third the time at one-tenth the cost of traditional methods. IAG's programs' immersive experience turns employees into innovators, armed with a repeatable and scalable process they can use again and again.
 
About FICE Education
 
FICE (www.fice.in), along with Sapience Consulting and MakeSense Labs, is focused on bridging the academia-industry divide, enhancing student employability, promoting innovation and creating an entrepreneurial ecosystem for youth. It strives to create a coherent innovation and entrepreneurship oriented ecosystem that exploits existing opportunities and creates new avenues for economic and social growth. FICE was founded in 2008 and currently operates in India and the United States of America. FICE works with institutions, instructors, corporations and youth around the world. Experiential learning programs are offered with a strong focus on core technical skills, innovation, making and entrepreneurship. FICE partners with more than a thousand engineering colleges around India to improve their curriculum and promote experiential learning.