Chulalongkorn University has joined hands with government and corporate giants to invest over 350 million baht to launch Siam Innovation District (SID), a new startup and intellectual community centre.
The centre, located at the Siam Square One shopping complex, covering 1,000 square metres, is set to open officially on March 22.
Natcha Thawesaengskulthai, the SID project director, said the new centre will be a landmark for innovation activities in Thailand.
"It is a prototype project that will demonstrate how we can transform trading spaces into a knowledge society to solve nationwide challenges," she said.
The project has received 233 million baht in financial support from the government, while Chulalongkorn University is contributing space worth up to 36 million baht for the centre.
Three corporations -- Thai Beverage Plc, Kasikornbank and the Provincial Electricity Authority (PEA) -- have been funding the project while talks to convince retailer Tesco Lotus are ongoing, said Ms Natcha.
This pattern will allow startups to experience business management and operations of big corporations to possibly create technologies or services to meet customer needs, said Ms Natcha.
For instance, PEA may want startups to create power-saving technology.
Each startup that joins the project will receive 1 million baht in seed funds to create a prototype project and a 5-million-baht fund will be set up for those who want to bring their innovations to markets.
Apart from funding from corporate partners, Chulalongkorn also has CU Innovation Hub, which offers 100 million baht for any innovations that could have a great impact on the economy. The innovations should be related to the lifestyle, digital or robotics, education, sustainability for energy or food and water sectors, as well as be inclusive to communities or smart cities.
SID plans to showcase at least 40 innovations that received financial support at the grand opening.
One of the innovations is "spray nano", which helps eliminate the unpleasant odours in helmets used by public motorbikes.
She said SID activities try to match researchers with users to commercialise their ideas and spin off businesses.
SID will be a marketplace for innovative products, as well as a unit to demonstrate the latest and most advanced technology showcase, and talent-building to help train new skills for capacity building, incubators and accelerators, said Ms Natcha.