About the initiative
The University of California, Berkeley, one of the world’s premier public universities, is taking a leading role in response to the COVID-19 health crisis and is connecting industry with its vast internal expertise to launch real-time initiatives.
To help companies thrive in these challenging times, the Sutardja Center for Entrepreneurship and Technology (SCET) will be conducting targeted projects in partnership with leading companies to focus on adapting and innovating under adversity.
Firms must quickly adapt
We are all currently experiencing a global pandemic. Its effects are both deadly and economic. The coronavirus has forced the world to develop a wide range of new work models (e.g. telecommuting) and new social behaviors (e.g. acceptance of social distance), among other fundamental changes.
In the face of these changes, many projects from the past 6 months are no longer relevant. Firms and public organizations today need to adapt quickly in order to survive.
Berkeley’s experience with innovation process, culture, data, communication tools, and technology development will serve as the backbone of the program. The program will be hosted by the Sutardja Center at UC Berkeley and include participation from a network of industry leaders and academic faculty. Participation allows for companies to augment team capacity and innovation capabilities while also widely sharing results and best practices to help the world adapt to the health and economic issues caused by Covid-19.
"This innovative university-industry partnership program will accelerate the development of solutions for adapting under adversity, benefiting not only the participating companies, but also our students."
Tsu-Jae King Liu
Professor & Dean
UC Berkeley College of Engineering.
“At Berkeley, we’ve been at the forefront of innovation since our founding. In today's historically turbulent time, Berkeley's bigger mission of translating intellectual creativity into societal benefit has never been more relevant."
Rich Lyons
Professor & Chief Innovation & Entrepreneurship Officer
UC Berkeley
Learn more about our vision for how firms can adapt
What Happens Next: A Roadmap to Life, Work, and Society after Coronavirus
Learn more about Prof. Ikhlaq Sidhu and the Sutardja Center's vision for what will happen in the next several months as people and companies adapt their mindsets and behaviors to the new environment being created by the pandemic.
About UC Berkeley: The University of California, Berkeley (UC Berkeley) is a public research university founded in 1868, it is the flagship campus and the oldest of the ten campuses of the University of California. Berkeley has been ranked by numerous major education publications as among the top universities in the world.
About the Sutardja Center: The Pantas and Ting Sutardja Center for Entrepreneurship & Technology is the premiere institution at UC Berkeley for the study and practice of entrepreneurship and technology innovation. Since 2005, SCET has created the foundation of Berkeley’s innovation and entrepreneurship ecosystem including SkyDeck, the Fung Institute, and an extensive ecosystem of Silicon Valley and Global partners. The Center is also known for developing the Berkeley Method and the Innovation Engineering framework, internationally recognized approaches to teaching and creating technology innovation. Recent programs of the Center include Data-X: Applied Data Science with Venture Applications, Plant-based Meat, Engineering Leadership for Professionals, Deplastification Challenge Lab, and Innovating 5G/AI with GSMA. Faculty in the Center received the IEEE Major Education Innovation Award in 2018.