SRM University of Chennai and SRM University AP–Amaravati have entered into a strategic partnership with the UC Berkeley College of Engineering, through global partnerships with the Dado and Maria Banatao Centre for Global Education and Outreach from Berkeley Engineering (GLOBE), the Sutardja Center for Entrepreneurship and Technology (SCET), and the Jacobs Institute for Design Innovation. The partnership will entail bi-directional information exchange in the areas of engineering education, particularly in the areas of technology-based entrepreneurship and design innovation.
This partnership seeks to establish centers of design, innovation and entrepreneurship at SRM that will embrace the study and practice of “technology-centric” innovation, bringing together technical depth, design methodology and a focus on societal impact. “We aim to bring a confluence of international ideas, technological innovation and social impact to the region, thus creating an ecosystem of innovation for the entire cities of Amaravati and Chennai and building a second Bay Area,” says Dr. P. Sathyanarayanan, president of SRM University.
Faculty members are to be the backbone of this culture; UC Berkeley will provide support in the design and development of courses to bring the concepts of design thinking and innovation to SRM. Berkeley will also facilitate SRM faculty visits to the US for capacity building.
SRM students will be immersed in and propagate this culture. They will be given the unique opportunity to spend a semester abroad to learn engineering at the Jacob’s Institute and SCET. A few selected students with entrepreneurial ambitions will attend “bootcamps” at the Jacob’s Institute and SCET. They will return and pass on this knowledge to the students present at SRM University, Chennai and SRM University AP-Amaravati, thereby creating the culture of design and innovation.
“Technological innovations and engineering designs are ingredients that inspire young minds. Through this strategic partnership between Berkeley Engineering and SRM, we will focus on design and innovations to create an environment for advancing knowledge in students that will impact a diverse society,” says Shankar Sastry, dean of engineering at UC Berkeley.
The partnership will officially kick off in spring 2018, when SRM will send twenty students to Berkeley for a semester of bootcamps and coursework focused on design innovation and entrepreneurship. After immersing themselves in design and prototyping processes, these students will return to their home universities equipped to help build a widespread culture of design innovation.
