Wings for Innovation, Wheels for Progress: GE's Edison Challenge

Innovation is not a one-dimensional thing. Many aspects and areas culminate together to differentiate the average performers from the true-trailblazers. To harness the power of innovation, there needs to be a system that fosters ingenuity and inventiveness. For centuries, countries and civilizations have discovered this quintessential quality of innovation - through successes and failures alike. A system that works on collaboration across the society, from education to governance, is the key for success of any nation. Something that was present and worked well in ancient India.

Nothing has changed much over the centuries. A look at the latest Bloomberg Innovation Index tells the same story. The top-rungs of the world’s most innovative countries’ list is occupied by countries like South Korea, Germany, Sweden, Japan etc; reaffirming how a strong bunch of many factors working well together matters more than singularly driven countries.

India was ranked at 45^th place on this ladder though and scored 52.76 in total, while ranking 38 on R&D intensity, 38 on manufacturing value-added attribute, 50 on researcher concentration and 42 on patent activity. These figures, when corresponded to the Numero Uno South Korea (that clocked ranks like 2^nd on R&D intensity, 1^st  on manufacturing value-added attribute, 6^th  on researcher concentration, and 2^nd on patent activity) reveals a lot about the big and formidable gap that confronts our country.

Manufacturing prowess cannot happen without adequate attention to the research muscle of a country. Finland, which has come up in this reckoning as the first one on research personnel (professionals working in R&D per 1 million population) shows a good road for boosting this aspect.

India is focusing strongly on many ‘Make in India’ interventions and this is a ripe time to amplify innovation powered with apt research strengths and talent pool.

This is also a time when the line ‘50 billion connected things by 2020’ should not sound like an aberration or an exaggeration. From Internet of Things to Industrial Internet, India stands at a cusp of technological revolution that can help create an egalitarian society. This can be achieved if the digital and physical worlds can converge in radical ways and create unprecedented outcomes in the realms of energy, healthcare, transportation and water. This could be the catalyst for India to change and transform into an economical and progressive powerhouse.

Precisely what the GE Edison Challenge 2016 attempts as it hunts for a digital-physical solution for India.

Since 2008, and for many illustrious and impactful years, this extraordinary battle of minds has presented open innovation challenges for the university student community in India, thanks to the John F. Welch India Technology Centre. It is much more than a technical competition and tests not just the imagination mettle of an idea but also many crucial factors flanking it; like analytical skills, commercial viability and technical expertise. The idea is to promote technology and product innovation and catapult young minds towards new research and development frontiers.

This year, the challenge explores how digital-physical solutions can empower the end user with better knowledge, outcome-based services, optimization of operations of the end user ecosystem and hence, endeavors to solve some significant challenges in energy, healthcare, transportation and water sectors.

Through the Edison Challenge 2016, GE is keen to motivate young innovators to come up with digital-physical industrial internet solutions to create an India with better healthcare, energy and transportation for all its citizens. This is an ace platform where young Indians can show the world their innovative and inventive might, and in turn, take the Make-in-India campaign strongly forward.

Innovation needs to be propelled, and programs like these can accelerate the adoption. When the innovative genius of the students combines with the inventive acumen of GE, it can lead to much bigger things. In this regards GE’s Edison challenge is the perfect springboard for innovation. Many wait eagerly to see it unfold in the next month or so. Watch out for more.