IIT Mandi iHub organises HIVE conclave for foster collaboration among researchers, industry leaders

NEW DELHI: Indian Institute of Technology Mandi iHub and HCI Foundation today concluded the first edition of “HIVE Conclave” held at Hotel Pride Plaza, New Delhi. The conclave was organised to foster collaboration between researchers and industry leaders.

The first-of-its-kind event in the country was attended by several researchers and industry professionals. The theme of the conclave was ‘Leading through problem statement: Following it with Solution Pitch’. The participants discussed ideal partnership between research and industry to address real-life problems using technology.

Industry leaders such as Anil Viswas, general manager, Open Innovation Startups at Samsung Research; KR Venkatadri, CTO, Tata Chemicals; Sridharan Thyagrajan, founder of Bumo3dr (Singapore), and Anu Pillai, digital partner at Wipro, also gave addresses at the event.

The attendees participated in events such as discussions, presentations, and talks including a keynote address by M Balakrishnan, IIT Delhi, focusing on the “simplicity fostered by user-centric designs”. IIT Bombay professor Anirudha Joshi spoke on the topic ‘Design technology solutions for and with Indian emergent users’ while Lieutenant General Anil Kapoor gave an address on ‘Human-machine interface: A design thinking perspective from lab to market’.

Conclave started on November 18

IIT Mandi director Laxmidhar Behera delivered the inaugural address on November 18. He congratulated IIT Mandi iHub for its skill development programme, which is focusing on skilling and providing employment after the training.Behera said, “IIT Mandi is at the forefront of human-computer interaction with numerous exciting developments underway. Our focus extends beyond theoretical research to tangible marketable products. In collaboration with a consortium of researchers, we are driving four grand projects, including an innovative artificial scheme, a bio-manufacturing initiative for printable food, and the crucial development of a made in India air ambulance.”

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The IIT Mandi iHub has provided skill training to more than 180 students who have also been provided job opportunities. Secretary of Science and Engineering Research Board (SERB) Akhilesh Gupta was the chief guest at the inaugural ceremony of the conclave. He said, “In public-private-partnership programmes implemented across India in recent years, the industry has always been playing a supporting role, whereas the majority of these initiatives were led by academia. However, it should go the other way around to be successful and impactful – it’s important for today’s startups and other industry players to take the lead in terms of creating innovation and impact.”