TCS & Royal College of Art partner to drive innovation

19 June 2015 Consultancy.uk

IT services, consulting and business solutions firm Tata Consultancy Services has agreed to a partnership with The Royal College of Art to establish a Design Innovation Lab in the UK to drive innovation through design and technology research and development.

The Royal College of Art (RCA) is a leading university of art and design, recently ranked as the number one in the 2015 QS World University Rankings. The RCA offers degrees of MA, MPhil and PhD across the disciplines of applied art, fine art, design, communications and humanities to more than 1,500 Master’s and doctoral students.

In line with its ambition to foster design and technology innovation in the UK, Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) decided to join hands with the RCA, with the partnership allowing the consulting firm to profit from RCA’s academic expertise and advice for design projects.

TCS and RCA partner to establish Design Innovation Lab

Design Innovation Lab
The UK Design Innovation Lab will be set up with the goal of driving innovation through technology research and the development and delivery of joint research projects that combine design, technology and business. The Design Innovation Lab will also be used by TCS as a showcase centre for leading work from customers and partners and by the RCA from its students.

The Lab, which will be located on RCA’s South Kensington campus in Central London, will be to officially open in September 2015.

Commenting on the partnership, Shankar Narayanan, Country Head of TCS UK & Ireland, says: “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.”

Paul Thompson and Shankar Narayanan

Paul Thompson, Rector of The Royal College of Art, adds: “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.”