UPCON 2019 held at Jawaharlal Nehru Medical College auditorium, AMU, Aligarh
Aligarh: “Technology must be used for benefit of the humanity and development has to be sustainable, so that climate remains healthy for living and sustainable solutions are found for current problems. Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) provides opportunity for engineers, researchers, industrialists and students to connect, discuss and innovate”, said Professor SN Singh, Vice Chancellor, MMM University of Technology, Gorakhpur (IEEE Vice Chair Technical Activities and IEEE India Council Chair 2019), while addressing the inaugural function of the three-day sixth International Conference on Electrical, Electronics and Computer Engineering, UPCON 2019 (Flagship Conference of IEEE UP Section), as chief guest, held at Jawaharlal Nehru Medical College auditorium, Aligarh Muslim University (AMU), Aligarh.
The conference has been organised by the departments of Electrical, Electronics and Computer Engineering, Zakir Husain College of Engineering and Technology, (ZHCET), AMU, in collaboration with Ohio State University, USA, and National Power Training Institute (NPTI), Ministry of Power, Govt of India.
Emphasising the relevance of multi-disciplinary approach in research and development, Prof Singh said technology keeps on moving and the day may come when energy will be purchased from the market, like a consumer product. Highlighting various activities being carried out by IEEE, he added that innovation comes with discussion and deliberation.
He applauded the largest set up of solar PV plant at AMU among all academic institutes in the country.
In his presidential remarks, Professor Akhtar Haseeb, Pro-Vice Chancellor, Aligarh Muslim University said, the conference is an excellent opportunity to connect and benefit from the expertise of the eminent scholars, researchers and practitioners of technology. He appreciated the way engineers and engineering inventions have helped in the growth of other fields of research.
Congratulating the organisers, Prof Akhtar Haseeb urged the students and young engineers to attend all the lectures, presentations and keynote addresses of the conference.
Guest of honour, Professor RK Pandey (Director General, NPTI) said that young engineers have to understand the needs of the country and society.
“Govt of India has announced its policy for electrical vehicles. Now the focus is on smart systems and smart city projects are in the phase of implementation in different cities. The need for high speed communication has also been realised, therefore new-age engineers have to provide solutions for technological challenges with multi-disciplinary approach”, he said.
Highlighting the activities of IEEE and presenting its brief history, Prof Asheesh Kumar Singh (Chairperson, Executive Committee, IEEE UP Section) said “IEEE is world?s largest technical organisation having more than 4 lakh members in about 160 countries, and we are proud to be associated with Zakir Husain College of Engineering and Technology, AMU.?
Earlier, Prof MM Sufyan Beg (Principal, ZHCET, AMU) welcomed the guests and delegates of the conference.
“AMU and ZHCET has a long legacy. ZHCET was established in the year 1935 and it has an illustrious list of alumni which includes two Bharat Ratna, Khan Abdul Gaffar Khan and Dr Zakir Husain, and more than seventy Padma awardees”, he said.
Presenting a brief outline of the conference, Prof Badrul Hasan Khan (Dean, Faculty of Engineering, AMU), said that 278 papers were selected from 400 research papers received for the conference, and two hundred delegates have assembled from the country and abroad.
He also talked about the different engineering courses and centres run by the engineering college. “A recent addition is the Centre of Artificial Intelligence that has started M Tech course from the current academic session”, he added.
During the inaugural function, life-time achievement award in memory of Prof GK Dubey was conferred upon Prof Ajit Kumar Chaturvedi, (Director, IIT, Roorkee). He could not attend the function and the award was received by Prof KV Srivastava of IIT Kanpur. Conference souvenir was also released on the occasion.
Dr Mohd Rihan (Conference Chair) expressed thanks to the Vice Chancellor, Patron of the conference, the organising committee and other university functionaries.
After the inaugural function, Prof Akhtar Kalam (Victoria University, Melbourne, Australia) delivered keynote address on “Smart Grid in the 21st Century”.
Meanwhile, the valedictory session of the conference was held at the Department of Electrical Engineering, in which Prof Bhim Singh from IIT, Delhi (Fellow IEEE) delivered a lecture. He distributed certificates to the participants. Prof Akhtar Kalam was also present on the occasion.