Prof Lars Peter Hansen at IIT G
Nobel Laureate Prof. Lars Peter Hansen delivers a keynote speech at IIT Guwahati’s ‘Research and Industry Conclave- Integration 2022’

Guwahati, Jan 31: Indian Institute of Technology Guwahati and IIT Guwahati Research Park jointly organized the First edition of ‘Research and Industrial Conclave (RIC) – Integration 2022’ where Nobel Laureate Prof Lars Peter Hansen delivered a keynote speech.

The Students’ Academic Board (SAB) under Academic Affairs was a key organizer on behalf of IIT Guwahati. A set of nine events were held under the banner of RIC-2022, including research presentations, start-up pitching and fundraising, panel discussions on topics of social and scientific relevance, and immersive workshops.

Inaugurating the Conclave on January 20, Prof. T.G. Sitharam, Director, IIT Guwahati, highlighted the objectives of the first-ever Research and Industrial Conclave Integration 2022 and the steps taken by IIT Guwahati to boost industrial interactions, entrepreneurship, research and innovations.

Speaking on the occasion, Prof. S. K. Kakoty, Deputy Director, IIT Guwahati, pressed upon the need for a closer relationship between academia and industry.

The Chief Guest of the ceremony at IIT was the renowned economist and Nobel Laureate Prof Lars Peter Hansen who delivered an insightful lecture on the macroeconomic consequences of uncertain climate change.

Eminent dignitaries including the Dean of Academic Affairs, Dean of Industrial Interactions and Special Initiatives (II&SI), the Chairpersons of IIT Guwahati Technology Incubation Centre and SAB IITG, and the conveners of RIC 2022 made their brief address.


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Five distinguished institute speakers engaged with the participants for the next three days, sharing collaborative problem-solving experiences from various industries.

Prof. V Ramgopal Rao, Director, IIT Delhi, spoke with attendees to connect academic R&D with product requirements and fulfil Atma Nirbhar Bharat’s needs.

Dr Bhupati Kumar Das, former Managing Director of Numaligarh Refinery Ltd, spoke about the prospects and challenges in promoting industry-academia collaborations. On the following day, Padmashree recipients Dr Kunal Konwar Sarma and Dr Anil Gupta delivered a lecture on ‘Human-Elephant Conflict Mitigation: Some Thoughts’ and ‘Encountering the Dominant Research Trends: Outliers, Deviants and Disruptors’, respectively. Prof. Subimal Ghosh’s lecture was on the topic ‘Global and Regional Climate Change and Improving Climate Services.’

The Scientific event witnessed a spirited competition among over 400 young researchers from across the country, who presented their work in the oral, poster, and three-minute thesis formats. Nearly fifty competitors emerged as winners from diverse departments and specializations and were awarded certificates and cash prizes worth Rs 1 lakh.

In addition, a select range of twenty-five speakers invited by different departments of the institute presented talks on pertinent issues and scientific advancements. Department of Biotechnology, Gov. of India funded North East Center for Biological Sciences and Healthcare Engineering (www.iitg.ac.in/necbh), IIT Guwahati organized workshops on patent filing, research article writing, deep learning, and artificial intelligence by acclaimed experts from the respective fields were also part of the four-day endeavour.


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Bhaskar Jyoti Phukan, Director (Technical), Numaligarh Refinery Ltd inaugurated the industrial vertical of the Conclave by innovative virtual lighting of the lamp and talked on the need for innovation in green energy. The NewGen IEDC, IIT Guwahati organized a hackathon and panel discussions on the sector such as e-mobility, agriculture, healthcare, food technology and entrepreneurship.

The one-month entrepreneurship development program that was organized as pre-conclave by NewGen, IEDC, IIT Guwahati partnering with IIT Guwahati Technology Incubation Center ended with a start-up pitching. As post conclave activity, the IndSol program, which provides an opportunity for academicians and innovators to work on industrial problems will continue.

The Conclave came to a successful conclusion with the valedictory ceremony held on 23rd January, where Prof Anupam Saikia – the first Chairman of SAB – recollected the experience of organizing the first research conclave in 2015.

Prof. Biman B Mandal, Prof. K V Krishna, and Prof. P Muthukumar felicitated the winners. Prof. Nelson Muthu and Prof. Ganesh Narayan shared the RIC 2022 journey milestones. Prof. G Krishnamoorthy Dean, II&SI, IITG and Professor-in-charge of the research park lauded the contribution of everyone, in particular the students, in successfully organizing the first-ever RIC Integration 2022.


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He further stated for the first time, IITG and IITG research park partnered with industry (NRL), banker (Canara Bank), industrial federation (FICCI), society (IIT Guwahati Technology Incubation Center), Council (ASDC) and Start-up India to organize an event and the partnership will be strengthened further to fulfil the society’s need.

RIC 2022 was a milestone in promoting interdisciplinary collaborations among multiple stakeholders of scientific progress, including researchers, industries, and government agencies. The institute is eager to hold versions of the Conclave in the upcoming years.