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Collected from this week Barrons article
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Silicon Subcontinent
The graduates of India's universities have made big contributions to the evolution of information technology for many decades, especially in Silicon Valley. That's why it's fitting that some of India's most successful engineers and entrepreneurs in the Valley have planned a major soiree to celebrate the 50th anniversary of their alma mater, the India Institute of Technology, or IIT.
To honor the milestone for one of the world's top engineering undergraduate schools, Microsoft Chairman Bill Gates is slated to be the keynote speaker at a two-day confab planned for Jan. 17-18, to be held in San Jose and nearby Cupertino, Calif.
Considering that Microsoft in November committed to invest $400 million over the next three years in India, it is not shocking that the pragmatic Gates opted to address the IIT crowd. What's more important to note is that the Microsoft chief has identified the intellectual and economic benefits of making a big investment in India.
Of course, getting a toehold in such a highly educated emerging mass market is good business for Microsoft. For one thing, it helps the software giant keep tabs on the many innovations sure to emerge from the sub-continent. Equally important, it helps ensure that Microsoft will continue to recruit its fair share of India's best and brightest.
"Obviously [Gates] thinks it's important, but they are really acting in their own economic interest -- that's what is great about the global marketplace," says venture capitalist Vinod Khosla , a partner in Menlo Park-based Kleiner, Perkins, Caufield and Byers and a 1976 graduate of IIT.
Like most graduates of über-selective IIT, Khosla , who was a co-founder of Sun Microsystems, is proud of his alma mater. Fewer than 2% of all applicants get accepted to the institution's seven campuses. Khosla and other graduates maintain that it's among the best -- possibly the best -- undergraduate engineering programs in the world.
"It attracts the smartest, the real cream of the crop, who view IIT as their ticket to economic freedom and interesting jobs," says Khosla , who also earned a masters degree in biomedical engineering from Carnegie-Mellon and a masters in business from Harvard.
That ticket often takes them to the United States, where roughly 20% of IIT's graduates now work and live. In addition, hundreds of the companies founded in the United States in recent years were led by graduates of IIT, says Dilip Venkatachari, an IIT graduate and president and co-founder of Milipitas, Calif.-based CashEdge.
Despite its vast contribution to Silicon Valley and corporate America, IIT has had an extremely low profile here -- and this month's celebration is expected to help rectify, Venkatachari says.
The plan might be working. CBS News correspondent Leslie Stahl reportedly has been in Silicon Valley interviewing IIT graduates in preparation for a possible piece for "60 Minutes."
"We thought this would be a good time to take stock in letting the U.S. market understand what IIT is all about," says Venkatachari, who is helping plan the 50th anniversary bash.
What's more, the anniversary gives the Indian government-funded institution an opportunity to launch an organized alumni fund-raising campaign and to plant the seeds of an American-style alumni network. It should also encourage alums to use their influence with current employers to invest in India.
Plenty of companies seem to be doing just that, including Microsoft and General Electric. Corporations the world over are shifting various operations, such as telemarketing call centers and research labs, to India, where costs are low and educated workers run high.
"If you look at some of these big companies, they are willing to transfer resources to India because there is some great talent," Khosla says. "It is a big win for globalization."
More at www.bijili.com
Silicon Subcontinent
The graduates of India's universities have made big contributions to the evolution of information technology for many decades, especially in Silicon Valley. That's why it's fitting that some of India's most successful engineers and entrepreneurs in the Valley have planned a major soiree to celebrate the 50th anniversary of their alma mater, the India Institute of Technology, or IIT.
To honor the milestone for one of the world's top engineering undergraduate schools, Microsoft Chairman Bill Gates is slated to be the keynote speaker at a two-day confab planned for Jan. 17-18, to be held in San Jose and nearby Cupertino, Calif.
Considering that Microsoft in November committed to invest $400 million over the next three years in India, it is not shocking that the pragmatic Gates opted to address the IIT crowd. What's more important to note is that the Microsoft chief has identified the intellectual and economic benefits of making a big investment in India.
Of course, getting a toehold in such a highly educated emerging mass market is good business for Microsoft. For one thing, it helps the software giant keep tabs on the many innovations sure to emerge from the sub-continent. Equally important, it helps ensure that Microsoft will continue to recruit its fair share of India's best and brightest.
"Obviously [Gates] thinks it's important, but they are really acting in their own economic interest -- that's what is great about the global marketplace," says venture capitalist Vinod Khosla , a partner in Menlo Park-based Kleiner, Perkins, Caufield and Byers and a 1976 graduate of IIT.
Like most graduates of über-selective IIT, Khosla , who was a co-founder of Sun Microsystems, is proud of his alma mater. Fewer than 2% of all applicants get accepted to the institution's seven campuses. Khosla and other graduates maintain that it's among the best -- possibly the best -- undergraduate engineering programs in the world.
"It attracts the smartest, the real cream of the crop, who view IIT as their ticket to economic freedom and interesting jobs," says Khosla , who also earned a masters degree in biomedical engineering from Carnegie-Mellon and a masters in business from Harvard.
That ticket often takes them to the United States, where roughly 20% of IIT's graduates now work and live. In addition, hundreds of the companies founded in the United States in recent years were led by graduates of IIT, says Dilip Venkatachari, an IIT graduate and president and co-founder of Milipitas, Calif.-based CashEdge.
Despite its vast contribution to Silicon Valley and corporate America, IIT has had an extremely low profile here -- and this month's celebration is expected to help rectify, Venkatachari says.
The plan might be working. CBS News correspondent Leslie Stahl reportedly has been in Silicon Valley interviewing IIT graduates in preparation for a possible piece for "60 Minutes."
"We thought this would be a good time to take stock in letting the U.S. market understand what IIT is all about," says Venkatachari, who is helping plan the 50th anniversary bash.
What's more, the anniversary gives the Indian government-funded institution an opportunity to launch an organized alumni fund-raising campaign and to plant the seeds of an American-style alumni network. It should also encourage alums to use their influence with current employers to invest in India.
Plenty of companies seem to be doing just that, including Microsoft and General Electric. Corporations the world over are shifting various operations, such as telemarketing call centers and research labs, to India, where costs are low and educated workers run high.
"If you look at some of these big companies, they are willing to transfer resources to India because there is some great talent," Khosla says. "It is a big win for globalization."