Intel (News - Alert) has announced that it plans to set up 100 Internet of Things (IoT) centers, academic institutions geared for students, instructors, as well as do-it-yourself electronic enthusiasts. The announcement was made at the second Intel India Academic Forum 2015, highlighting the importance of a world-class ecosystem for innovation and research in India.
"Innovation is in Intel's DNA. For over 15 years, Intel has been building an ecosystem in India, which enables innovation, research and skill development,” said the president for Intel India, Kumud Srinivasan. “Intel's India Academic Forum is a platform for fostering insights on technology trends and for triggering collaboration opportunities between academia, government and industry, thereby enabling impactful innovation and research."
Intel is not stopping at the creation of the IoT centers, as the company is going the extra mile with the Intel India PhD fellowship program 2015. Five selected PhD students will be awarded fellowships that come to just under $10,000 per year for a four year period. In addition, there will also be a student stipend, contingency research funds and travel expenses to attend conferences and research forums.
It seems that this is not a new venture for Intel. It has already been providing grants to about 20 top institutes as an effort to help accelerate technology advancement among academia on the latest technology trends and developments.
Selected colleges are being given sensor kits with Intel Galileo boards. Intel has also been conducting regular workshops and providing curriculum content for these colleges. According to the announcement, the fellowship recipients will have the opportunity to work at Intel.
Intel has a two-fold goal for the recipients. First is for them to develop a rich and full understanding of the technological issues that the industry will face. This is followed by coming up with breakthrough research in areas such as parallel computing, architecture, graphics, perceptual computing, sensing, power management, validation and communications. Hopefully, all of this will lead to the development of product prototypes.
Edited by Rory J. Thompson