President Pranab Mukherjee has received Garwood Award for Outstanding Global Leader in Open Innovation from UC Berkeley-Haas School of Business. Prof. Solomon Darwin, Executive Director Garwood Center for Corporate Innovation presented the award to the President. The University of California, Berkeley, one of the most prestigious educational institutes in the world, has established the Garwood Award to acknowledge individuals who have embraced, supported and encouraged open innovation in a significant and impactful way.

The award was presented to the President for promoting open innovation; for taking initiative of hosting and gathering global innovators at the first-ever Global Roundtable on the Inclusive Innovations at Rashtrapati Bhavan; for urging higher education leaders to establish Innovation Clubs to catalyze the collaboration between institutions of higher learning and grassroots innovations..etc

In his acceptance speech, the President said that innovation is a critical driver of growth and development. Open innovation takes the innovation to next level and creates a new eco-system of access and equal opportunities to all. Open innovation has a potential to transform the global social landscape and help achieve the goal of a more fair and just world.