RIM to set up first BlackBerry innovation zone in India

It will showcase the latest in BlackBerry technologies to inspire future entrepreneurs

Research In Motion (RIM) and Startup Village today announced plans to launch the first BlackBerry Innovation Zone in India. Located at Rubus Labs in Kerala-based Startup Village, the Innovation Zone will be the first of its kind in the Asia Pacific region, and will showcase the latest in BlackBerry technologies to inspire future entrepreneurs.

“Our partnership with RIM marks a historic moment for Startup Village as RIM will create an Innovation Zone in India to share experiences with young technology entrepreneurs in the country,” said Sanjay Vijayakumar, Chairman, (Board of Governors), Startup Village.

Rubus Labs will be host to regular developer activities such as BlackBerry Hackathons and Bar Camps. Training sessions will be conducted across the 126 engineering colleges in Kerala under the BlackBerry BASE (BlackBerry Apps by Student Entrepreneurs) program by leveraging the campus outreach network of Startup Village.

“We are excited to partner with Startup Village to set up our first Innovation Zone in India. Rubus Labs is designed to foster the spirit of innovation in the minds of young entrepreneurs and students in India, and we’re pleased to provide them with access to the latest BlackBerry products and technical know-how,” said Alec Saunders, Vice President of Developer Relations and Ecosystems Development, Research In Motion.

As the first telecom technology incubator, Startup Village was inaugurated in April by Infosys co-founder Kris Gopalakrishnan, who is also the chief mentor of the ambitious project that aims to groom 1000 startups over the next 10 years. It was set up jointly by up by the National Science and Technology Entrepreneurship Development Board (NSTEDB) under the Department of Science and Technology (DST) of the Central Government and the Kerala Government-run Technopark, in collaboration with MobME Wireless.