India's Startup Village to ink deal with Finland's Aalto University

India's telecom incubator Startup Village and Finland's Aalto Center for Entrepreneurship (ACE) are planning to formalize a partnership. An MOU is expected to be signed in early September. ACE provides innovation, commercialization, and start-up services for Aalto University. It acts as a tech hub and is best known for game-changing products like products like Angry Birds (Rovio’s founders were graduates of the Helsinki School of Technology, one of three schools that now make up the newly established Aalto University). Startup Village, based in Kerala, India, will formally sign a Memorandum of Understanding on September 6 in Finland with Aalto University, to maximize the exposure of Indian start-ups to cutting edge product technologies, drive innovative ties, and enable future industry collaborations. The chairman of Startup Village's board will be in Finland at that time as part of an Indian government delegation. There are benefits for both sides: it helps expose Finnish technology to Indian markets and the MoU will give Startup Village an opportunity to work with App Campus, a $24M mobile application program set up together by Nokia and Microsoft. Mr Sijo Kuruvilla, CEO of Startup Village, said, "ACE has been rated as one of the most vibrant hubs for start-ups. Rovio Entertainment, the creators of video game Angry Birds, took birth as a student startup at Aalto University. Finland is also known for its product technologies. It comes as a big boost to our aspiration to nurture billion-dollar venture from Indian campuses. The tie-up will open up a slew of opportunities in the form of mutually beneficial technological collaborations and funding.", adding, "In addition, our young entrepreneurs here will have a chance to be mentored by world-class leaders.'