A landmark event bringing together distinguished guests from academia, government, and industry, the International Education and Innovation Summit 2024 unfolded with tremendous success, creating ripples of excitement in the global education community. The summit, spearheaded by the International Institute of Medical Science and Technology Council (IIMSTC) under the leadership of Prof. Sreedhar Saraswathy and Visvesvaraya Technological University (VTU) under the leadership of Prof. Dr. S. Vidyashankar showcased international opportunities, ground breaking internship management platform and unveiling breakthrough textbooks aimed at shaping the future of education. The event witnessed three major segments benifiting all of the stakeholders from Academia, Industry and Students.
The International Education and Innovation Summit 2024 commenced at 10:00 AM, at Lalith Ashok, Bangalore witnessed for 250 audience with esteem dignataries that included legendary educationalists, over 12 Vice Chancellors, Industrialists, Institute Directors, prestigious council members and Principals from over 150 engineering colleges. The event started with an inspiring video presentation on the SPRINT International Internship Program, setting the tone for a day filled with key educational announcements and collaborations. Following this, distinguished delegates from the Government of South Korea, including Paul, Ryan, and Juno, addressed the audience, reflecting on the strategic international partnerships between South Korea and IIMSTC. They also emphasized why the time is now to act on this opportunity. A video showcasing IIMSTC’s journey and its significant foreign collaborations was also presented.
The Athithi Devo Bhava segments of the International Education and Innovation Summit 2024 brought together a distinguished panel of esteemed dignitaries who have made significant contributions to academia and industry. In Athithi Devo Bhava I, we were honored to host the presiding officer of the event Prof. Dr. S. Vidhyashankar (Vice Chanellor of Visvesvarayya Technological University), Prof. Dr. Vinay Kumar Pathak (Vice Chancellor at Chhatrapati Shahuji Maharaj University, Kanpur), Prof. Devika P. Madalli (Director, INFLIBNET, UGC-IUC, Gandhinagar), Dr. Varinder S. Kanwar (Chief Executive Officer, Quality Council of India(QCI)), Prof. Dr. Niranjana Vanalli (Vice Chancellor, Bengaluru North University), Shri Sangeeth Varghese (President: IFSPD Europe. WEF Young Global Leader. Contributing Editor. Author: 4 Global Bestsellers), Thiru Somarajeswaran (AVP (MEAC) ,TNSDC), and Ms. Veena Bhalla, (former joint secretary, International Division, Association of Indian Universities (AIU), Delhi) all of whom brought their wealth of knowledge and experience to the event.
The ceremonial Lighting of the Lamp was a symbolic highlight of the event, with Ms. Veena Bhalla, Prof. Devika P. Madalli, Dr. Padma Sundar, Ms. Preethi, and Ms. Spoorthy performing the honors while male council members showered flowers in celebration. The event then proceeded to formally introduce the distinguished chief guests, including Prof. Dr. S. Vidhyashankar, Prof. Dr. Vinay Kumar Pathak, Prof. Devika P. Madalli, Dr. Varinder S. Kanwar, Prof. Dr. Niranjana Vanalli, Dr. Sangeeth Varghese, Dr. Sitharam Chowti, Thiru Somarajeswaran, and Ms. Veena Bhalla, all of whom took part in the grand proceedings.
In his opening remarks, Dr. Adithya Chowti, Principal of IIMSTC, delivered an insightful introductory speech about the council and the journey of prof. Dr. Sreedhar Sarawathy, setting the stage for the day’s discussions. Prof. Dr. Sreedhar Sarawathy, Chairman of IIMSTC, addressed the gathering regarding the noble vision behind councils establishment and the uphill task involved in bringing legendary council members aligning on the vision. Prof. Dr. Sreedhar shared the inspiring story on the two flagship projects from council in medical, Paramedtronics and engineering, Sprint Program. He announced that the students pursuing international internship via sprint program shall be offered a scholarship of 85 to 100%.
One of the standout moments of the summit was the unveiling of two landmark books. Dr. Sreedhar Saraswathy presented his authored book to the chief guest, Dr. Sitaram Chowti while revealed the much-anticipated neuroscience textbook, “Fire in the Blue”, a crucial addition to the field. The event witnessed the book unveiling from legendary dignitaries (photo and names).
The keynote address was delivered by Prof. Dr. Vinay Kumar Pathak, further enriching the discussions on international collaborations. Prof. Dr. Vinay addressed the need of such an opportunity for the entire indian student ecosystem and not restrict it only to Karnataka. Professor resonated on the councils vision of making India self reliant on our students career. He emphasized the importance of collaboration between IIMSTC council and Association of Indian Universities (AIU).
During Athithi Devo Bhava II, the summit welcomed eminent figures including Dr. M. R. Gangadhar (Vice Chancellor, Chamarajanagara University), Dr. Tejum Padu (Vice Chancellor, North East Frontier Technical University), Dr. Ashok Sangappa (Vice Chancellor, Kodagu University), Prof. (Dr.) Anurag Tomar (Director, NIMS University), Dr. Nayik (Vice Chancellor, Garden City University), Prof. (Dr.) B. P. Singh (Vice Chancellor, Maharishi University, Lucknow), Dr. Venkateshwarlu (Vice Chancellor, Tumkur University), Er. K. Murugaiah (CEO, Karpagam University), Prof. Dr. Suresh H. Jangamshetti (Vice Chancellor, Haveri University), and Prof. L. Gomathi Devi (Vice Chancellor, Maharani Cluster University), each sharing their insights on the evolving educational landscape.
A significant highlight was the launch of the Internship Management System, a state-of-the-art platform designed to streamline internships for students globally. The software was unveiled by Prof. Devika P. Madalli, followed by a video presentation led by Dr. Deepak Palaksha and Ms. Preethi, which detailed the software’s features and benefits. After this, Prof. Devika P. Madalli addressed the gathering once again, providing valuable insights into the future of internship management. She emphasized the use of software platforms that can drive the efficiency. She resonated Inflibnet’s revolutionary Library Management tool was developed with the same vision. She expressed her interest to work with IIMSTC council to fortify the collaboration.
In Athithi Devo Bhava III, additional luminaries graced the stage, including Dr. Rangswamy B.E. (Registrar, VTU), Dr. Sandhya R. Anvekar (Director, Skill Development, VTU), Venkitaraman Anand (Advisor, Goenka Group), Ms. Sonal Pinto (Director, Ryan Group of Institutions), Dr. Reshmi Ravi Kiran (Chairperson, East West Group of Institutions), Dr. Spoorthy (Asst. Commissioner of Taxes), Prof. N. Nadeem (Founder Director, Institute of Design, Sri Lanka & Brunei), Mr. Dilip Kumar Nayar (Chancellor, North East Frontier Technical University), Mr. K.V. Harinarayanan (Managing Director, Lighting Technology India), Dr. Shivakumar Kumbhar (Chairman, Indian Medical Association), Rohini Nag (Regional Head, Electronic Sector Skill Council of India), Dr. B.A. Vishwanath (Chairman, Aditya Group of Institutions), Shri Anil Sharma (Ministry of Education and Health, Mozambique), Dr. Sandeep Sasidharan (Al-Shama Group, UAE), and Dr. Radhamohan (Program Head, Hindustan University). Their presence and contributions underscored the summit’s emphasis on fostering international collaborations and excellence in education.
The final major unveiling of the day was the Textbook on Internship and Research Methodology, led by Prof. Dr. Varinder S. Kanwar, which promises to be an invaluable resource for students and educators on effective methods performing research internship and driving accountability in International Internships as per AICTE guidelines. Prof. Dr. Varinder S Kanwar also emphasized the need for these upskilling programs outside the Information Technology domain and he would have his support on this council’s Initiative. All the dignataries, unveiled the book that shall benefit all of the internship stakeholders (Photo).
Sangeeth Varghese is an emminent guest who have travelled length and breadths of the world addressing core youth problem. In his address to the august gathering he mentioned the importance of transferable skills and how many of us overlook our strengths within.
The presiding officer Prof. Dr. Vidyashankar the vice chancellor of Visvesvarayya Technological University (VTU) provided an insightful speech on the value of internships in bridging the gap between the industry and academia. He also identified the challenges in providing industry internship to all of the students. He applauded the efforts from the IIMSTC council in bridging this gap and would like to consider Sprint Program as their flagship project to drive collaboration between VTU students and International Industries.
The summit also honored key contributors, including Mr. Vikas, CEO of Edsol, Mr. Himansu, and Mr. Sarvajeeth from Edsol Informatics, for their pivotal role in the publishing and event marketing of the event. The event concluded with a lively Q&A session where experts from various fields, followed by a formal Vote of Thanks delivered by Dr. Sitaram Chowti. Guests were then treated to a specially arranged lunch, marking the end of a highly successful and memorable summit.
