Amalthea 2019 enthralled young minds with technological prowess and knowledge
Gandhinagar: The decennial edition of Amalthea, the annual technical summit of the Indian Institute of Technology Gandhinagar (IITGN), concluded yesterday after two exciting days of enthusiasm and energy that inspired young minds to ‘Transcend Boundaries’. While a host of exhilarating events, advanced tech-expo captivated the participants and visitors with outstanding technologies, distinguished speakers and industry leaders from all around the globe enlightened them with advantageous knowledge during the conclave and symposium. The event saw participants from all over the state and the country.
On the first day, Prof Sudhir Jain, Director, IIT Gandhinagar and Mr Sandeep Dhar, President of Customer Experience Transformation, Hexaware Technologies, inaugurated the summit. Appreciating the leadership capabilities of IITGN students for organising Amalthea for the last ten years, Prof Sudhir Jain said, “IIT Gandhinagar puts a lot of faith and trust on young students and that makes the difference. Amalthea is a fine example of student leadership who manage everything for this event. We are proud of our students and it is a matter of joy for us that industry also puts trust in young people.”
In his inaugural talk, Mr Sandeep Dhar, President of Customer Experience Transformation, Hexaware Technologies, emphasised on the need of design thinking and the importance of team work said, “Designing experiences, is the science you need to learn. To not see an innovation or product only from an engineering point of view but to make it simple for common people. So design need to be incorporated in everything you do. And without teamwork, nothing great can be achieved. Teamwork is the path to achieve great work.”
The first day of the Conclave also had Mr Neel Gala, CEO, Incore Semiconductors, speaking on “Lowering Barriers of Innovation – Open Source” and Mr Abhinay Bhasin, Director, Data Sciences (South Asia), Dentsu Aegis, talking about “Evolution of Communication”. Leaders from the pharma industry in India and abroad shared their expertise at the symposium on ‘Drug Discovery and Distribution: Taking a Leap’.
On the second day of the Conclave, Mr Peter Cook, British Deputy High Commissioner, urged students to keep moving with the process of learning and said, “Your degree is valid only for the day you get your certificate of qualification, next day you start learning again, it is the process of life-long learning. You have to keep pushing yourself to transcend boundaries.” He also reminisced his early childhood years in Kolkata where he was born and so he feels strongly connected to India. He gave examples of Mahatma Gandhi, Greta Thunberg, and Malala Yousafazai, who pushed their boundaries to change the world and said, “Never underestimate how a small group of dedicated people can change the world.”
Mr Sudarshan Sen, Former Executive Director, RBI, gave an insightful talk on “Fintech and its regulation”. He said, “Fintech is growing and hence there are opportunities as well as risks. As policymakers we need to be constantly running and constantly assess the adequacy of our regulatory framework, as the adoption of Fintech increases. What we did yesterday, may be obsolete today.” He also talked about the benefits and risks or challenges of Fintech. He emphasised on ensuring safety of Fintech services for the common people. “We need a dedicated organisational structure within the supervisory frameworks which would be fully focused on the regulation of Fintech,” he said.
Dr S Christopher, Former Chairman, DRDO, introduced the audience with “Netra- India’s eye in the sky”, a case study on this indigenous Air Surveillance, Warning and Control system. He explained technicalities, design and process of this aircraft to the students. “Patience, perseverance, innovation is essential for building super power,” he said during his talk. He also appreciated the efforts of IITGN first and second year students in organising this summit and bringing people from different walks of life and trying to improve knowledge.
In the last talk of the Conclave, Dr Tapan Misra, Former Director of SAC, ISRO, underlined the significance of innovation and said, “Innovation is key to improved production and GDP growth. India’s future will depend on innovations and so we have to be competitive in international market. Innovation is possible when science is manipulated better.” Quoting Shankaracharya’s words- Mantra, Tantra, Yantra, he said, “You can create anything, if you can imagine it, provided you establish all the processes for it.” He encouraged students to take risks and think differently and said, “We are not ready to risk things. If you don’t become risk taker, you don’t become leader.”
Apart from the technological deliberations with the experts during the two days, Amalthea 2019 also witnessed a rush of technology in the tech expo and various technical events. The interactive expo had on display Indro 3.0, the tallest humanoid robot in the country, Augmented Reality and Virtual Reality headsets, electric folding cycle, latest 3D print technology, and so on.
Young brains participated and competed in various exciting techno-centric events such as Drone Racing, Drift Racing, Robo Quest, Electronica, Brain Wiz, Chem-e-Car, and Amalthea Open 2019, an official WCA (World Cube Association) event and the largest cubing competition in Ahmedabad.