Kerala startup hub Maker Village gets Mentor

Striving to turn Kerala into a cradle of innovation, Maker Village, the startup hub in Kochi, has partnered two leading international players --- Mentor Graphics and Dassault Systemes --- to provide p
Image for representational purpose only.
Image for representational purpose only.

KOCHI:Striving to turn Kerala into a cradle of innovation, Maker Village, the startup hub in Kochi, has partnered two leading international players --- Mentor Graphics and Dassault Systemes --- to provide product design packages.

Mentor Graphics has provided 100 licences free of cost, aimed at delivering end-to-end design and simulation solutions to the startups. Dassault Systemes has handed over 30 licences at a highly subsidised rate for providing their complete design suite and fulltime on-site technical support for training and service.

“We at Dassault Systemes have a strong focus on the startups and makers community in India and worldwide. We've a Global Entrepreneur Programme which aims at accelerating the development of breakthrough innovations by startups, entrepreneurs and makers. The programme leveraging Dassault Systemes’ 3D Experience platform, applications, expertise, and community of mentors and services, delivers a full portfolio of tailored solutions and different types of engagement to accompany innovators at every step of their development, from seed to late stages," Dassault Systemes India director Arun Rao told Express.

He said the initiative with Maker Village is significant.

"Our team coordinates with them to provide the 3D Experience platform alongside the necessary design and simulation tools for the hardware startups operating from Maker Village. We're also committed to providing fulltime technical support so that the budding entrepreneurs can speed up the innovation process and design virtual products in the shortest possible time. We're committed to nurturing and developing a solid entrepreneurial ecosystem in this country," said Rao.

Siemens-owned Mentor enables companies to develop better electronic products faster and more cost-effectively. They help engineers tackle challenges in the increasingly complex world of board and chip design.

Mentor Graphics Country Director Raghu Panicker said, "We've partnered with Maker Village for developing the hardware startup eco-system in this part of the world. Mentor has offered its system design solutions under a technology partnership model. As part of this multi-million dollar investment, Mentor has provided a large licence pool to enable the hardware startups to derive optimal design solutions. This joint initiative is expected to accelerate the movement towards building a vibrant hardware start up eco system in Kerala."

According to Maker Village CEO Prasad Balakrishnan Nair, emerging technologies are taking the world by storm and startups are captivating the world with innovation.

"The job of the startup incubators is to handhold innovative minds to take the giant leap in the entrepreneurial world. We, at Maker Village, are striving to create a dynamic startup ecosystem in Kerala. These partnerships will help us develop Kerala into a major startup destination in the world and attract talents from across the world," said Prasad Balakrishnan Nair.

Maker Village has tie-up with two leading players --- Wurth Electronics and SM Electronics --- to facilitate the timely supply of components in required quantities, thereby, effectively addressing the pain point in sourcing.

"We've developed associations with major local industries and academic institutions for ensuring prompt technical and business mentoring support to the startups," he said.

Incubating innovation

Maker Village is a joint initiative of the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY), Indian Institute of Information Technology and Management-Kerala (IIITM-K), the nodal agency of the project, Kerala Startup Mission and Government of Kerala. Its aim is to promote consumer electronics-based innovation and set up labs and innovation centres that focus on the current trend and emerging technologies of disruptive nature to bring India to the forefront of innovation in the electronics space.

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