In collaboration with New Energy and Industrial Technology Development Organisation NEDO, IIT Bombay Research Park Foundation organised a ‘Seminar on collaboration between Japanese Industries and IIT Bombay’ on the 24th-25th of February 2023. A total of 112 people attended the two-day event. These attendees spanned representatives of Japanese industries, IIT Bombay dignitaries, faculty, and students. The event witnessed the participation of twenty-four Japanese companies. This Seminar aims to give an overview of the research activities at IIT Bombay in emerging areas to foster collaborations with the Japanese industry.
On Friday, 24th February 2023, the delegates were given tours of the Carbon capture laboratory, the Green Hydrogen laboratory, the Nanofabrication laboratory, and the National Centre for Photovoltaic Research and Education (NCPRE). After the laboratory tours, the delegates gathered at PC Saxena Auditorium for presentations by SINE incubated companies.
The evening program on 24th February commenced with an inaugural speech by Prof. Subhasis Chaudhuri, the Director of IIT Bombay. He welcomed all the participants on behalf of IIT Bombay and NEDO. He mentioned the pre-eminence of IIT Bombay in higher education. He said IIT Bombay is the country’s most sought-after institute for undergraduate and postgraduate programs. The institute takes pride in the achievements of its alumni in diverse fields across the world. He also explained the innovation ecosystem at the IIT Bombay campus and highlighted how the institute emphasises developing entrepreneurship among students. The institute was also awarded the ‘Institute of Eminence’ status in 2018.
Dr. Sharad Kumar Saraf, the Chairman of the Board of Governors of IIT Bombay, then addressed the Seminar. He remarked that IIT Bombay has historically had its roots seeped in R&D and produced competent graduates. The Chairman pointed out that the Japanese are highly sophisticated and innovative, and such innovation needs robust research and development activities. He said many synergies between both cultures could be explored through collaborations.
Afterward, Prof. Swaroop Ganguly, the Professor-In-Charge, gave an overview of the role of the IIT Bombay Research Park in establishing alliances between industry and academia. Prof. Amit Agarwal, The Dean of International Affairs, briefed on international relationships and collaborations with Japanese universities. In addition, Prof. Milind Atrey, the Dean of Research & Development, presented a glimpse of the Institute’s Research & Development endeavours. Following that, Prof. Santosh Gharpure, the Professor-in-charge of SINE, gave an overview of the incubation activities at IIT Bombay.
Following the insightful presentations by the dignitaries of IIT Bombay, the attention was then turned to the spirit of the coalition by professionals from various fields. This began with a talk by the Chief Representative of NEDO, India, Mr. Yoshiro Kaku. Mr. Kaku articulated the activities held by NEDO in India. Mr. Vineet Jain, Partner and Group Head of Nomura Research Institute, highlighted the current aspects of Indo-Japan Joint Research supported with exciting statistics. Dr. Karun Malhotra, the Managing Director of MuRata Engineering India Limited, enunciated his collaboration experiences with IIT Bombay and voiced the enormous potential of the partnership between IIT Bombay and the industrial funding influx.
The evening ended with a spectacular Indian classical dance recital by Smt. Divya Vishnu and her team.
Prof. Swaroop Ganguly gave a warm welcome address to mark the beginning of the conference’s second day. Insightful talks followed this by IIT Bombay faculty members giving overviews of various Centres of Eminence like the National Centre for Photovoltaics Research & Education (NCPRE), the Centre for Machine Intelligence & Data Science (C-MInDS), the Koita Centre for Digital Health (KCDH), the Centre for Semiconductor Technology and the Centre for Carbon Capture. The faculty members also presented the technology development efforts at IIT Bombay in emerging areas like Robotics, Drone technologies, e-mobilities, smart communities, green hydrogen, water treatment, and battery technologies.
Mr. Toshihiro Kaneko, The Chief Consulate-General of Japan in Mumbai, also graced the second day of the Seminar. From a historical perspective, he communicated about the Indo-Japanese collaboration to encourage forthcoming alliances, particularly in the R&D sector.
A Hackathon on the application of IoT/AI in Indian Supermarkets facilitated by AWL, Inc was organized as part of the Seminar. About a hundred and eight students of IIT Bombay participated in the Hackathon with a total of 50 teams, among which seven were deemed the crème de la crème and presented in front of the congregation. Ms. Mina Tsuchida, The Head of Human Resources of AWL, Inc., gave a short synopsis of the Hackathon selection and a briefing that paved the way for the finals. An eminent jury of Dr. Karun Malhotra, the Managing Director of MuRata Engineering India Limited, Mr. Mayur Shah, Head of Business Development of Beyond Next Ventures, Mr. Yasuhiro Tsuchida, the Director and CTO of AWL, Inc., Prof. Amit Sethi from the Department of Electrical Engineering and Prof. Biplab Banerjee of Centre for Studies in Resources Engineering (CSRE) evaluated the final teams.
In absolute, the juries declared four winning teams. This comprised a Grand prize winner, the First prize winner, the Second prize winner, and a Judge’s selection team. The participating students also interacted with the jury members and participating industries.
The Seminar concluded on a note of gratitude from Prof. Swaroop Ganguly to all the participants, juries, students, and organisers who made the event a grand success.
