India

Innovation in India.
Research Commercialization Partnerships for Business Incubation
At a Glance
• Canada-India research commercialization partnerships involving business and postsecondary
education focus on turning IP into commercial spinoffs and innovations.
• The Bombay Stock Exchange Institute and Ryerson University are partners in a novel
transnational business incubation system that assists start-ups in going global.
• Strong personal relationships among Canadian and Indian professionals at DMZ and
ZSI were the key to building the trust among partners needed to create an effective
international partnership.
BRIEFING OCTOBER 2015

For the exclusive use of Liz Martin, martinel@conferenceboard.ca, The Conference Board of Canada.
Innovation in India
Research Commercialization Partnerships for Business Incubation
The incubation
centres partnership
takes a novel
approach to
international
agreements
and is an
innovative
collaboration
among
post‐secondary
institutions.
Executive Summary
International partnerships and business
incubation can substantially improve the
transition from mind to market, especially
when they are used together.
This briefing highlights an international partnership between the business
incubation centres of Ryerson University in Canada and the Bombay
Stock Exchange Institute in India that seeks to improve the research
commercialization ecosystem of both universities by connecting their
business incubation and acceleration systems. These institutions aim to
facilitate the development of their start-ups into successful companies
while nurturing the emergence of “born global” companies that enter
international markets from the outset of operations. In addition to
improving research commercialization outcomes, the partnership itself
takes a novel approach to international agreements and is an innovative
collaboration among post-secondary institutions.
Background
Research commercialization—the development of new ideas into
commercially viable products, processes, and services—is an essential
component of the innovation process and one that has demanded special
attention in India. Until recently, most research commercialization in India
occurred through informal channels due to the weakness of intellectual
property rights (IPRs). This situation has undermined the growth of
start-up companies and other spinoffs from the development of public
sector technology and research. 1
1 Pray, “Public-Private Sector Linkages.”
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Reforms implemented in 2009 “formally permitted researchers working
in Indian public academic and research institutions to hold equity stakes
in spin offs.” 2 Before this time, there were few nationally administered
incentives to commercialize research and “academic institutions in India
[tended to] suffer from a low rate of technology/IP commercialization.” 3
(See “Intellectual Property Rights Reform in India.”) Without a strong
legal framework to advance research commercialization, collaborations
between industry and post-secondary institutions were slow to start. 4
The absence of strong governance fundamentals pushed Indian
institutions to innovate to an uncommon degree in developing their
own research commercialization ecosystems. As a result, Indian
institutions have pioneered novel approaches for conducting research
commercialization at places like the Bombay Stock Exchange that have
a character all their own. Canada can learn a great deal from these
Indian practices, which are unbounded by orthodox approaches and
“in the box” thinking.
Intellectual Property Rights Reform in India
The Indian legal framework for intellectual property (IP) has been at odds with
global norms since the Indian Patents Act of 1970, which shifted “the country’s
(IP) environment from a product patent regime to one which didn’t recognize
production patents.” 5 Since the mid-2000s, strides have been made to improve
the IP environment, notably with the introduction of a 2008 bill marking a strong
effort to “provide incentives for creating and commercializing intellectual property
from publically funded research.” 6 A functional IP system is likewise perceived
by the new Modi government to be a strong driver of future economic growth in
India, 7 so much so, in fact, that IP reform has become one of the main pillars
2 Arumugam and Jain, “Technology Transfer,” 141.
3 Ibid.
4 Srivastava and Sunita, “Technology Commercialization,” 126.
5 Chatterjee, Fundamental Patent Reform.
6 Srivastava, and Sunita, “Technology Commercialization,” 123.
7 Luthra and Gillispie, Revitalizing India’s Economic Growth.
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Innovation in India
Research Commercialization Partnerships for Business Incubation
of India’s industrial strategy. A first draft of the new Indian National Intellectual
Property Rights Policy 8 was released in December 2014 and remains a frequent
topic of discussion in both public and private sectors. Indian policy-makers
hope that these reforms will encourage more investment in Indian research and
commercialization, by both Indian and non-Indian firms alike.
Overview
The Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE) Institute in Mumbai is an example
of an organization that has taken a novel approach to research
commercialization. The BSE Institute is an educational institution
founded by the Bombay Stock Exchange in 1989. Its offerings range
from short-term courses for working professionals to comprehensive
graduate programs for full-time students. The success of the BSE
Institute in providing higher education and training gave rise to a
desire to enhance its footprint and commercial spinoffs. Accordingly, a
business incubator was founded to assist the BSE Institute’s students
in launching their own start-ups. Zone Startups India (ZSI) was formed
in 2013 through a partnership between the BSE Institute and Ryerson
University of Ontario, Canada. Once ZSI had been established, it was
twinned with Ryerson’s business incubation and acceleration system to
enhance the capacity of both organizations.
Objectives
ZSI facilitates the development of start-ups by BSE Institute students
by providing them with early stage development facilities and access to
capital and business networks. Through its partnership with Ryerson
Futures Inc. (Ryerson’s business accelerator), ZSI seeks to provide its
students with a bridge to international markets and access to a wide
range of mentorship opportunities that would not otherwise be available
8 IPR Think Tank, National IPR Policy.
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The establishment
of ZSI and
the continuing
relationship
between ZSI and
Ryerson are the
two key processes
that have governed
the partnership.
in such early stages of development. These efforts provide start-ups with
an enhanced acceleration capacity and the right tools to be “born global”
(i.e., to internationalize during the start-up process).
Processes
Two key processes have governed the partnership between the BSE
Institute and Ryerson: the establishment of ZSI and the continuing
relationship between ZSI and Ryerson.
The establishment of ZSI within the Bombay Stock Exchange building
was initiated through a memorandum of understanding (MOU) between
the BSE Institute, Ryerson University, and Ryerson Futures. ZSI was
provided with capacity to get its operations off the ground through the
mentorship of Ryerson’s own pioneers in research commercialization.
The MOU provided the groundwork for a more formal partnership
agreement between ZSI and Ryerson’s DMZ 9 that has enabled lasting
collaboration between the two. Subsequent arrangements between these
two organizations give all of their start-ups access to the organizations’
collective resources, including mentorship capabilities, venture capital,
and incubation space.
Resources
The Canadian High Commission and Consulate General of Canada
in Mumbai were of great help in establishing ZSI and its partnership
with Ryerson. They provided cross-cultural support and made key
introductions that allowed the partnership to progress in its early stages.
Strong networks in both India and Canada were identified as important
9 Formerly known as Ryerson’s Digital Media Zone [http:/dmz.ryerson.ca/], the DMZ
is Ryerson’s business incubator. It is one of Canada’s largest business incubators
for emerging tech start-ups, and Canada’s top-ranked university incubator. The DMZ
and Ryerson Futures cooperate closely to provide the university’s start-up facilities
and services.
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Innovation in India
Research Commercialization Partnerships for Business Incubation
The space-sharing
arrangement
involving a stock
exchange is an
uncommon but
sensible blend
of institutions.
resources for adapting to different cultural norms and legal standards.
The Canadian Association of Business Incubation (CABI) also provided
expert advice and capacity that facilitated the partnership process.
Innovations
BSE has fostered a collaborative environment in which a stock
exchange, a post-secondary institution, and a business incubator all
share the same space and similar missions. The shared space in the
Bombay Stock Exchange building facilitates an open flow of instructors
between BSE and the BSE Institute, with many acting as both teachers
and practitioners. This close connection between potential employers
and students enables BSE to directly cultivate the talent it needs while
exposing student researchers early on to the practical challenges
of industry. Prior research by The Conference Board of Canada has
indicated that this type of co-location has the added benefit of improving
the overall innovation environment and contributing to the performance
of teams. 10
The space-sharing arrangement involving a stock exchange is an
uncommon (see “Research Commercialization in the Developing World”)
but sensible blend of institutions. Research has shown that innovation
ecosystems work best “when venture capitalists and other individuals
with strong industry ties are involved in designing and operating the
incubator, a complementary education system is in place, and the
incubator managers are working with real estate developers.” 11 With
this in mind, financial nodes such as stock exchanges may prove to be
ideal locations for new business incubators and similar university-driven
commercialization initiatives, especially when related real estate has a
single owner, as is the case with BSE. These types of collaborations
are also immediately beneficial to firms, which are provided with a
10 Dimick, Driving Creativity and Commercialization, 3–10.
11 Markman, Siegel, and Wright, “Research and Technology Commercialization,” 1406.
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low-cost innovation back-office capacity as well as easily accessible
“opportunities to rigorously assess the skills and aptitudes of
potential recruits.” 12
Research Commercialization in the
Developing World
While some elements of the Indian approach to research commercialization may
initially seem strange in the Canadian context, the United Nations Economic and
Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (UN ESCAP) has suggested that its
features are characteristic of the emergent research commercialization regime
of developing countries. Whereas developed countries tend to move from pure
research, to development, to design and production, developing countries tend
to approach research commercialization from the opposite tack: from production,
to design, to further development, and finally to research. 13
The continuing international partnership between the incubation systems
of the BSE Institute and Ryerson has fostered an ideal environment
for global research commercialization opportunities. With supportive
international infrastructure facilitating access to mentorship opportunities,
networks, and capital from abroad, start-ups at BSE and Ryerson have a
superior potential for global expansion early on in their development. The
BSE Institute has already sent two groups of start-ups to visit Ryerson’s
facilities in Toronto, and plans are underway for a Ryerson start-up to
expand its footprint into Mumbai in 2015. The government of Canada
has also named Ryerson Futures a designated business incubator for
its Start-Up Visa Program. The first of its kind in the world, this newly
created visa program provides an avenue for international entrepreneurs
to expand into the Canadian market.
12 Munro and Haimowitz, Innovation Catalysts and Accelerators, 25.
13 Ramanathan, An Overview of Technology Transfer, 5.
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Innovation in India
Research Commercialization Partnerships for Business Incubation
Challenges
Preparation to launch the BSE Institute-Ryerson Futures partnership
entailed a number of face-to-face meetings between organizers at the
BSE Institute and Ryerson, which required a significant commitment
of time and money to international travel. There were also cultural
and regulatory differences between the two countries that had to be
addressed and overcome at each stage of the partnership’s development.
The impact of cultural and regulatory challenges cannot be overstated
and poses a major barrier to the transferability of systems and processes
if not carefully managed. Although networks and government support
were able to alleviate some of these difficulties, the challenges inherent
to international partnerships required organizers to dedicate time,
cultivate patience, and use adaptive learning strategies.
Keys to Success
The support of individual high-profile members of the Canadian
government was very helpful in drawing positive media attention to the
initiative. His Excellency the Right Honourable David Johnston, Governor
General of Canada, attended the opening of ZSI, and other politicians
continue to visit the facility. This support underpins a sustained level of
media attention that promotes accelerated growth and rapid expansion.
Having strong and reliable networks on each side of the international
partnership was also identified as crucial to the initiative’s success. Due
to cultural differences, challenges can arise when addressing the modest
fundamentals of partnership, making strong relationships with local
counterparts a cornerstone of success.
Benefits, Outcomes, and Impacts
Through its partnership with Ryerson, the BSE Institute was able to
develop a first-class business incubator with exceptional speed and
success. Estimating the economic impact of business incubators has
proven challenging for traditional metrics like return on investment
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Discussions are
currently under
way with other
universities
worldwide, which
will allow the
ambitious pace
of expansion
to continue.
(ROI) or economic multipliers, so business incubators tend to employ
non-monetary metrics to determine success. Within ZSI’s first year it
supported the foundation of 42 new Indian start-ups and anticipates
that that number of successfully incubated start-ups will almost double,
reaching 80 by December 2015. Although BSE had initially agreed to
provide ZSI with two floors of its space, this commitment has been
expanded to meet demand, to a total of five floors of space in the stock
exchange building. Ryerson expects that this partnership will ultimately
draw greater numbers of innovators and start-ups to DMZ as well,
although the exact number of Ryerson start-ups that can be attributed to
this partnership is uncertain.
Ryerson and the BSE Institute have both improved their research
commercialization systems by effectively “twinning” their business
incubators through this partnership. This has created a channel for
greater networks of professionals, mentors, and investors to operate
between these institutions, providing start-ups with greater resources
to succeed. This close relationship and free exchange of expertise and
entrepreneurship affords the start-ups of both institutions a stronger
network of resources to help them grow.
The partnership agreement between ZSI and DMZ has expanded to
include Simon Fraser University in British Columbia and, more recently,
to include another incubator at the University of the Witwatersrand in
South Africa. In addition, discussions are currently underway with other
universities worldwide, which will allow the ambitious pace of expansion
to continue.
Applicability to Canada
Circumstances have forced Indian organizations to innovate and to
approach research commercialization with out-of-the-box thinking.
Canada can learn from the experience of these Indian institutions and
test the assumptions governing our own research commercialization
ecosystems. For instance, how might other Canadian post-secondary
institutions establish a business incubation footprint in financial nodes
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Innovation in India
Research Commercialization Partnerships for Business Incubation
such as stock exchanges? Although uncommon in Canada, the strategy
of including these institutions in the business incubation processes has
great potential, as proven by ZSI’s success.
Research commercialization partnerships between Canadian and Indian
post-secondary institutions such as the BSE Institute and Ryerson
University represent an especially timely opportunity. The Conference
Board of Canada has identified the higher education and R&D sector
in India as an area of strong potential for Canadian involvement and
collaboration, 14 and has also identified India as one of Canada’s next
top markets. 15 India ambitiously plans to open 1,000 new universities
and 50,000 colleges of various sizes in order to up-skill approximately
500 million people by 2022 and “is encouraging foreign companies and
institutions to partner to help achieve this vision.” 16 The strong brand
of Canadian post-secondary institutions, combined with the Indian
preference for partnering with international institutions, 17 means that
partnerships like that of the BSE Institute and Ryerson will become
more common.
With the new normal of start-ups increasingly resembling born-global
firms, the digital trading of services across world markets and the
incubation and acceleration infrastructure of universities will need to
be equivalently global. The ongoing partnership between the BSE
Institute and Ryerson provides a model for forging the new connections,
networks, and partnerships that will enable budding companies to
flourish in global markets.
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14 Goldfarb, Hottest Prospects for Canadian Companies in India.
15 Goldfarb, Canada’s “Next Top Markets.”
16 Rao, “Global Engagement.”
17 Basant and Pankaj, “Role of Educational R&D Institutions in City Clusters,” 9–12.
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Appendix A | The Conference Board of Canada
APPENDIX A
Bibliography
Arumugam V., and Karuna Jain. “Technology Transfer From Higher
Technical Institutions to the Industry in India: A Case Study of IIT
Bombay.” Journal of Intellectual Property Rights 17, (March 2012):
141–51.
Basant, Rakesh, and Pankaj Chandra. “Role of Educational R&D
Institutions in City Clusters: An Exploratory Study of Bangalore and Pune
Regions in India.” World Development 35, no. 6 (June 2007): 1037–55
Chatterjee, Chirantan. Fundamental Patent Reform and the Private
Returns to R&D: The Case of Indian Pharmaceuticals. Working Paper.
Pittsburgh: Carnegie Mellon University, April 2007.
Dimick, Sarah. Driving Creativity and Commercialization: Innovation
by Design. Ottawa: The Conference Board of Canada, 2014.
Goldfarb, Danielle. Canada’s “Next Top Markets.” Ottawa:
The Conference Board of Canada, 2013.
—. Hottest Prospects for Canadian Companies in India. Ottawa:
The Conference Board of Canada, 2013.
IPR Think Tank. National IPR Policy. Draft, Intellectual Property Rights
Think Tank, 2014.
Luthra, Sonia, and Clara Gillispie. Revitalizing India’s Economic Growth:
Key Policy Questions for the New Modi Government. May 29, 2014.
www.nbr.org/research/activity.aspx?id=454 (accessed March 12, 2015).
Find Conference Board research at www.e-library.ca 11

For the exclusive use of Liz Martin, martinel@conferenceboard.ca, The Conference Board of Canada.
Innovation in India
Research Commercialization Partnerships for Business Incubation
Markman, Gideon D., Donald S. Siegel, and Mike Wright. “Research and
Technology Commercialization.” Journal of Management Studies 45,
no. 8 (December 2008): 1402–23.
Munro, Daniel, and Joseph Haimowitz. Innovation Catalysts and
Accelerators: The Impact of Ontario Colleges’ Applied Research.
Ottawa: The Conference Board of Canada, 2010.
Pray, Carl. “Public-Private Sector Linkages in Research and
Development: Biotechnology and the Seed Industry in Brazil, China
and India.” American Journal of Agricultural Economics 83, no. 3
(August 2001).
Ramanathan, K. An Overview of Technology Transfer and Technology
Transfer Models. New Delhi: UN ESCAP, 2007.
Rao, Nirupama. “Global Engagement: A View From India.” American
Council on Education’s Leadership Network on International Education
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Srivastava, Pradeep, and Sunita Chandra. “Technology
Commercialization: Indian University Perspective.” Journal of Technology
Management & Innovation 7, no. 4 (2012).
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For the exclusive use of Liz Martin, martinel@conferenceboard.ca, The Conference Board of Canada.
Insights. Understanding. Impact.
Innovation in India: Research Commercialization Involving the Bombay
Stock Exchange Institute’s ZSI and Ryerson University
Mark Robbins
To cite this briefing: Robbins, Mark. Innovation in India: Research Commercialization Involving the Bombay Stock
Exchange Institute’s ZSI and Ryerson University . Ottawa: The Conference Board of Canada, 2015.
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