Source Name: Tata Consultancy Services Ltd.

TCS Partners with The Royal College of Art to Establish UK Design Innovation Lab

London facility will drive innovation through combined design and technology research and development

May 28, 2015 11:56 IST

Mumbai, Maharashtra, India

Tata Consultancy Services (TCS), (BSE: 532540, NSE: TCS) a leading global IT services, consulting and business solutions organisation, today announced that it is partnering with The Royal College of Art (RCA), recently named the world’s leading university of Art and Design in the 2015 QS World University Rankings, to establish a Design Innovation Lab to help foster design and technology innovation in the UK.

The TCS-RCA Design Innovation Lab will develop and deliver joint research projects at the confluence of design, technology and business, with the goal of filing joint patents and publications. The Lab, located on the RCA’s South Kensington campus in Central London, will also be able to host students on internships and researchers on sabbaticals.

The TCS-RCA Design Innovation Lab will also act as a showcase centre for leading work from RCA students, TCS customers and partners and as a venue for workshops and industry events. The facility is currently under development and is due to officially open in September 2015.

Under the terms of the partnership agreement, TCS customers will have the opportunity to gain access to the RCA’s academic expertise and advice for design projects. A number of joint projects are already being worked on by TCS and the RCA, including development of a contactless payment concept for a TCS customer and studies focusing on the use of design within insurance and retail.

Specialising in teaching and research, the Royal College of Art has over 1,500 Master’s and doctoral students across the disciplines of applied art, fine art, design, communications and humanities.

K Ananth Krishnan, Chief Technology Officer, Tata Consultancy Services, commented: “With digital technologies now the default channel for organisations to engage with customers and employees, intelligent and intuitive design has never been more important. Partnerships with the world’s finest academic institutions are a key part of TCS’ Research and Co-Innovation strategy and we are looking forward to working closely with RCA staff and students to explore new concepts and ideas that we hope will ultimately prove tremendously valuable for our customers.”

Shankar Narayanan, Country Head UK & Ireland, Tata Consultancy Services, commented: “As one of the world’s foremost centres for design innovation and research, the Royal College of Art was the obvious academic partner for TCS in the UK. We have already seen first-hand the value that joint research projects with the RCA can bring and we are excited about the potential benefits that the TCS-RCA Design Innovation Lab will bring for TCS customers in the UK and elsewhere.”

Dr Paul Thompson, Rector, The Royal College of Art, commented: “The Royal College of Art’s reputation is founded on our world–leading design research and technological innovation. Key to this is the ability to apply theories and methodologies to real-world issues, translate research findings into practice and work directly with academic, corporate, non-profit and government sectors. The TCS-RCA Design Innovation Lab will give our researchers the facilities and resources they need to explore new areas of research and test their theories with TCS’ impressive list of international clients looking for the best technology, design and data solutions.”

Other academic institutions to partner with TCS include: Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), University of California Berkeley, Aalborg University, Denmark, Said Business School Oxford University and the Indian Institute of Technology.

About Tata Consultancy Services Ltd (TCS)

Tata Consultancy Services is an IT services, consulting and business solutions organization that delivers real results to global business, ensuring a level of certainty no other firm can match. TCS offers a consulting-led, integrated portfolio of IT, BPS,infrastructure, engineering and assurance services. This is delivered through its unique Global Network Delivery Model™, recognized as the benchmark of excellence in software development. A part of the Tata group, India’s largest industrial conglomerate, TCS has over 319,000 of the world’s best-trained consultants in 46 countries. The company generated consolidated revenues of US $15.5 billion for year ended March 31, 2015 and is listed on the National Stock Exchange and Bombay Stock Exchange in India. For more information, visit us at www.tcs.com.

Follow TCS on Twitter. Subscribe to an RSS Feed of TCS Press Releases.

About Royal College of Art

The Royal College of Art is the world’s leading university of art and design, placing at number one in the 2015 QS World University Rankings. Specialising in teaching and research, the RCA offers the degrees of MA, MPhil and PhD across the disciplines of applied art, fine art, design, communications and humanities. There are over 1,500 Master’s and doctoral students and more than 1,000 professionals interacting with them – including scholars, art and design practitioners, along with specialists, advisors and distinguished visitors. www.rca.ac.uk

TCS media contacts:

Global

Email: pradipta.bagchi@tcs.com

Phone: +91 22 6778 9999

Europe / UK

Email: abhinav.kumar@tcs.com | ashish.babu@tcs.com

Phone: +32 2282 1927 | +44 078 418 92227

India

Email: h.ramachandra@tcs.com | shamala.p@tcs.com

Phone: +91 22 6778 9078 | +91 22 6778 9081

USA / Canada

Email: b.trounson@tcs.com