COE next year to function as hub for design in Ker

Kerala will get next year a pioneering Centre of Excellence (COE) that will function as an international hub for design, opening doors for talents from the world over to execute ideas so as to turn them into cutting-edge products, Arun Balachandran, Chief Ministers Fellow (IT), Kerala government, said on Wednesday.

The proposed establishment, which is to effectively work as an incubator for design professionals, will be run by globally reputed companies in the field.

Slated to come up in 2020 summer at the Integrated Startup Complex in Kalamassery near here, the establishment will supply the aspirants with both software and hardware.

The state government will meet the infrastructural requirements and facilitate the setting up of the facility, the official said.

The need for such a centre arose after a Kochi Design Week (KDW) the government held here last year with a view to showcasing varied options in the area of design, he said.

The news about the proposed set-up comes ahead of the second edition of the KDW next month.

Billed as the largest design festival of the country, the December 12-14 KDW at Bolgatty Island here will discuss global trends in design.

t is being organised by the state Department of Information Technology in association with Asset Foundation.