Mumbai: The Stanford Asia Technology Initiative's (ATI) 'India global entrepreneurship conference 2005 will be held in Mumbai on August 27. The conference is aimed promoting high-tech entrepreneurship in Asian countries and will be a forum for leaders in industry and academia in India and Silicon Valley to exchange ideas and explore business opportunities through the Stanford Annual Conference and Alumni Social.

The conference will analyse the concept of the creation of a Silicon Valley in India by involving the government, industry, venture capitalists, institutions and entrepreneurs in India. Professor Richard B. Dasher, director, US-Asia Technology Management Center and Dr. Naushad Forbes, Stanford consulting professor of science, technology and society, Stanford University, will moderate the event.

Panelists from India joining the host of speakers include Rakesh Mohan, deputy governor for the RBI, Avnish Bajaj, Neeraj Roy, Bala Krishnan, Farhad Forbes, Prof. Deepak Phatak, Akhil Gupta, and Gurcharan Das.

ATI comprises students from Stanford University interested in business issues in Asia. The aim of the organisation is to cultivate entrepreneurship through hands-on entrepreneurial experiences and by promoting link ups between the valley and technology clusters throughout Asia. As a part of this programme, every June, ATI sends a select few qualified Stanford students to Mumbai and Bangalore, Shanghai and Singapore for 10 weeks to explore the synergy between technology, industry and entrepreneurship in the Asian context.

The students interact and work with local companies on core projects where they transfer the Silicon Valley culture and also learn about local business settings by interacting closely with entrepreneurs at these sites. Key supporters of the program include Narayana Murthy, Azim Premji and vice provost of Stanford, Prof John Bravman.

India, as the Info tech, financial, and communication services hub in South East Asia, is well positioned at the forefront of technology creation and entrepreneurship. Bangalore, at the heart of technology, and Mumbai, the financial capital represent the dynamism and spirit of entrepreneurship that is inherent in the spirit of India. ATI's involvement in India has been a notable success in previous years.