Lockheed Martin and FICCI programme for Indian technologies and entrepreneurs

New Delhi: US defence and aerospace major, Lockheed Martin, launched a programme Tuesday that aims at accelerating Indian technologies into US markets and other parts of the world. It said that it would conduct the programme in collaboration with the Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FICCI), and Texas University.

The two-day programme will take place all over the country, said a FICCI statement.

'Lockheed Martin is sponsoring the Innovation Growth Programme to demonstrate that we intend to be a corporate partner with the government and industries of India for many years to come, in many different ways,' said Orville Prins, the company's vice-president for India business development.

'We will provide all the funding for the India Innovation Growth Programme and will be inviting Indian technologists, researchers, inventors and entrepreneurs to apply for participation as we begin a structured search for promising technologies with commercial applications on a global scale,' Prins added.

According to the statement, at the end of the programme entrepreneurs will have a better understanding of the overall technology commercialisation processes and methods to strengthen their efforts to successfully enter the global market.

The programme will start in June and the entrepreneurs will be taught by US industry experts and by the faculty of Texas University. These entrepreneurs will also be able to meet an international panel of technologists and will then be awarded the Lockheed Martin Innovation Medal.

The twelve entrepreneurs who get the medal will then engage in a global business development effort led by the University of Texas at Austin.