STORY CREDITS
Writer: Saumya Mishra
Photo: Mayur Bhatiya
IIT Gandhinagar (IITGN) organised ‘Colab 2024’, its inaugural Industry Open house event, on March 2, 2024 in its campus. More than 150 industry participants from diverse domains participated in this day-long event which aimed to foster sustainable industry-academia collaborations.
Sharing insights from his personal experiences, Prof Rajat Moona, Director, IITGN, stated that several key technologies such as the driving licences and vehicle registration certificates, which he actively contributed to developing, emerged as a direct outcome of collaborative efforts with industry partners.
He said, “The industry- academia relations can succeed when one complements the strength of the other. Logically, it follows that while an academician cannot give a finished product, the industrial research is designed for business goals and not necessarily the fundamental research. In order to be successful, collaborations need to be based on individual strengths. Industries and academicians have different strengths and should come together to navigate through ideas.”
Following this, Mr Dileep Patil, Engineering Leader-MEIA Rotary Compressors & EMEIA Services, Ingersoll Rand, presented his keynote address. His talk focussed on Ingersoll Rand’s partnership with IIT Gandhinagar.
He highlighted Ingersoll Rand’s role in offering valuable industrial exposure to both faculty and students at IITGN, facilitating short-term industry projects. Additionally, he emphasised the company’s commitment to supporting IITGN’s industry projects aimed at a greater benefit of society through Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) funding.
Prof Pratik Mutha, Dean, Institutional Advancement, underlined the facets that set IITGN apart from other institutes including exceptional student quality, global outlook, entrepreneurial culture, autonomy and high transparency. He added that for research collaboration, industries can benefit from IITGN’s Research Park, IIT Gandhinagar Innovation and Entrepreneurship Center (IIEC), and the expertise of the faculty.
Furthermore, Mr Bhavesh Manglani, Co-Founder, Delhivery, delivered a keynote address on ‘Charting Delhivery’s Progress as a Premier Logistics Service Provider – The Role of
Technology’. He stressed on how technology is the key differentiator in Delhivery’s success.
“Our logistics operations and technology intersect to create a highly-differentiated operating system for businesses. Our systems have gone through the journey of being manual at first, to being system guided, and then system directed,” he said.
Prof Harish PM, Dean, General Administration, presented a talk on ‘Tech Transfer from Lab to Commercialization’. He focussed on how his lab is ensuring that research can be translated into industry-relevant applications.
During the event, several parallel panel discussions also took place, each focussing on specific domains such as Biomedical Engineering, Healthcare & Pharmaceuticals, Manufacturing, Energy & Water, Artificial Intelligence (AI) & Computing, Climate Challenge & Solutions, and Defense, Military, & Space Tech. The panellists featured esteemed industry representatives and IITGN faculty members.
Additionally, the participants had the opportunity to witness some of the state-of-the-art facilities at IITGN including the Central Instrumentation Facility, Center for Creative Learning, Marker Bhavan, IIT Gandhinagar Research Park, and various laboratories.
Furthermore, exposition stalls were set up which showcased several projects and advancements in diverse domains, providing a first-hand experience of the Institute’s cutting-edge research capabilities and tech innovations.