M+E Connections

Next-gen digital services and consulting Infosys has opened a new Experience Design & Innovation Studio in the Shoreditch district of London, offering a space for its employees and clients alike to collaborate on combined design and technology around artificial intelligence, augmented and virtual reality, the Internet of Things (IoT) and 5G.

More than 200 people attended the June 10 launch event, including UK ministers, trade commissioners, university professors, Infosys clients and partners, design school reps, local start-ups and students.

Powered by Brilliant Basics — Infosys’ European experience design arm — the new studio “aims to bring a design-led mindset and customer-centric focus to clients’ digital transformation agendas,” the company said. The studio will hire talent with experience design, innovation strategy and customer-centric technology experience, with a focus on developing emerging technologies for UK businesses in the financial services, manufacturing, retail and telecom sectors.

The studio has room for 250 employees in 20,000 feet of space.

“Our global network of connected studios brings together the best of design and technology, knowledge, innovation and experience from across the world to drive the digital agenda for clients locally,” said Infosys president Ravi Kumar S. “We have invested in the heart of Silicon Roundabout in London because of the larger presence of entrepreneurs, innovative start-up ecosystem, proximity to some of the world’s largest and most successful brands and the access to diverse talent.

“In addition, to enhance the availability of relevant talent, we are partnering with universities across the UK, through academic partnerships, to develop digital talent.”

One of those partnership is with King’s College London, which currently partners with Infosys’ InStep global internship program. The new initiative covers academic training and research in AI, innovation and digital humanities.

“We at King’s are excited to partner with Infosys — a global leader in next-generation digital services and technology,” said professor Ed Byrne, president and principal of King’s College London. “Our engagement with the Design and Innovation Studio offers opportunities to our students and also to our academics.

“I look forward to the development of a strong collaborative research portfolio in multidisciplinary areas and to our students being exposed to innovation and entrepreneurship, with emphasis on closing the gender gap in STEM. The agreement signed today formalizes this unique industry-academia partnership.”

The new London studio joins others from Infosys in New York, L.A., Berlin, Melbourne, Bengaluru and Pune, India.

Anand Verma, founder and CEO of Infosys’ Brilliant Basics, added: “We will be showcasing the best of our design expertise, along with Infosys technologies such as AI, 5G, IoT and others, in this futuristic studio that demonstrates our customer-centric approach to solving clients’ business problems at start-up speed.”