KOCHI:
Kerala will get next year a pioneering Centre for Excellence that will function as an international hub for design, opening doors for talents from across the world to execute ideas so as to turn them into cutting-edge products.
The proposed establishment, which is to effectively work as an incubator for design professionals, will be run by globally reputed companies in the field. Slated to come up in 2020 summer at the Integrated Startup Complex in Kalamassery north of here, the establishment will supply the aspirants with both software and hardware.
The Government of Kerala will meet the infrastructural requirements and facilitate the setting up of the facility, a top official said today.
“Any designer with creative idea can approach the centre and brief about one’s ideas and the plan to implement them. He or she will get all necessary support,” said Arun Balachandran, Chief Minister’s Fellow (IT), Government of Kerala.
The need for such a centre arose after a Kochi Design Week (KDW) the government held in this city last year with a view to showcase varied options in the area of design, he revealed. “Today, design is emerging the world over as a major buzzword across domains,” he added.
The news about the proposed set-up comes ahead of the second edition of the KDW next month. Billed as the largest design festival of the country, the December 12-14 KDW at Bolgatty Island here will discuss global trends in design. The upcoming KDW, being organised by the state Department of Information Technology in association with Asset Foundation, will see close to 100 speakers addressing more than 3,000 delegates from across the country.
