IIT Kanpur, Penn State University co-host workshop to enhance Indo-US defence ties

NEW DELHI: Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Kanpur and Pennsylvania State University, USA, organised the inaugural India-United States Defence Acceleration Ecosystem (INDUS-X) workshop on Thursday. The initiative, which was co-facilitated by Innovations for Defence Excellence (iDEX) and US department of Defence, aims at enhancing defence excellence and collaboration among the two countries.

The workshop is supported by US-India Business Council (USIBC) and was conceptualised after the recent visit of prime minister Narendra Modi to the United States of America.

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The initiative provided a concrete platform for enhancing defence collaboration, bringing forth common challenges, and facilitating mentorship programmes among the two countries. The members present on the occasion deliberated on topics such as artificial intelligence and space innovations.

More than 500 participants from both the nations participated in the workshop. They discussed role of academia, startups, and industry in defence innovation, discussing market access, funding, policy changes, and technology transfer.

The speakers highlighted the role of academia and startups’ in the defence sector. Representatives from various academic institutes of national importance discussed the potential outcomes of such collaborations. Vijay Narayanan, professor at the Penn State University elaborated on the need for academic and Startup Programming partnerships through INDUS-X.

Abhay Karandikar, director, IIT Kanpur, and Ankush Sharma, professor-in-Charge, Startup Incubation and Innovation Centre (SIIC), IIT Kanpur, set the stage for the INDUS-X initiative by addressing the importance of collaboration. Nikhil Agarwal, CEO, SIIC & AIIDE-CoE, IIT Kanpur, echoed the Indian perspective on defence collaboration for bilateral programmes.

Neeli Bendapudi, president of Penn State University and co-chair of AAU India-US Task Force; and Barbara R Snyder, president of the Association of American Universities, offered initial remarks on the potential outcomes of INDUS-X.

The INDUS-X workshop aimed to translate cutting-edge defence innovations through startup-academia partnerships, bolstering the startup ecosystem and empowering entrepreneurs. It presented a holistic view of academia-startup roles in defence innovation, aligning with INDUS-X's goals of enhancing teamwork, fostering innovation, and creating jobs. The workshop highlighted the