A delegation of award winners from the maiden Bhutan Startup Summit along with members of the CII Eastern India visit the Webel-Fujisoft-Vara Centre of Excellence (CoE)

Kolkata, 9th May 2023: Marking a significant development in the startup ecosystems of two countries, namely, India and Bhutan, a delegation comprising the award winners from the maiden Bhutan Startup Summit along with members of the CII Eastern India visited the Webel-Fujisoft-Vara Centre of Excellence: Industry 4.0 recently, to understand the requirements of the Bhutanese startups and discussed various levels of engagement from providing 3D manufacturing solutions for their new product designs (Design to mass manufacturing of their packaging solutions) to providing specific data analytics solutions for their marketing and sales functions. The visit which facilitated an exposure cum orientation being given to the Bhutanese startups in India, also provided a platform to discuss potential engagement opportunities with CoE, especially in the field of imparting High-end technology training to the students, working professionals, and to the members of the Bhutan Chambers of Commerce & Industry. 

The CoE has the best-in-class infrastructure in multiple technologies with the latest hardware, software, training modules, best-in-the-class faculty members, Industry collaboration, hands-on training, and funding opportunities for startups to truly make it the Innovation hub of India. The CoE collaborates with the best Institutions, both in terms of academics and corporates to ensure that we provide the most relevant content. Teaching methodologies are heavily geared towards experiential learning. 70% of the learning is hands-on with opportunities to work on and solve real business problems.

It is noteworthy to mention here that the Governments of India and Bhutan are working to connect the startup ecosystems of the two countries for mutual benefit. DPIIT, Startup India, and CII in partnership with the Embassy of India, Thimphu had organized the first ever India – Bhutan Startup Summit on 29 February 2020 in Thimphu, Bhutan. Mr. Piyush Goyal, Hon’ble Minister of Commerce & Industry, Consumer Affairs, Food & Public Distribution and Textiles, Government of India had then led a high-level Indian delegation and inaugurated the 1st edition of the summit.

The CoE is a state-of-the-art facility in Kolkata developed by Fujisoft Vara Private Limited, a joint venture between Fujisoft Inc., Japan and Vara Technology, India. It is one of India’s first platforms that harnesses the full scope of the technologies of Industry 4.0, namely, Data Science, Cybersecurity, Embedded Systems/ IoT, and Additive Manufacturing – all under one roof. It has tied up with several global organizations and leading technology companies – both to provide the infrastructure, hardware, and software as well as academic support and certification. Some of the companies in collaboration include Intel, nVidia, Dassault Systemes, Stratasys, Trend Micro, Fortinet, IMI Israel, Think Cyber, Israel, Boston Training Academy and Boston IT Solutions to name a few.