Agenda

Panel Discussions

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The panel discussions will bring some of the best minds from Industry, Academia, the Government and the Development sectors to a jam packed auditorium and have them present their views on the three pillars that are showcased in the theme of the meet. The panels will host BITSian as well as other eminent speakers who have a wealth of experience and will discuss issues ranging from how entrepreneurship has evolved over the ages, what is needed to ramp up higher education in India, how to create the next generation of ultra skilled workforce as well how the society at large can be benefited from innovative actions.


Transforming Enterprises: The Evolution, The Progress & A Peek Into The Future

BITS Pilani has produced a plethora of high impact entrepreneurs who have created a dent in the industry they chose. These entrepreneurs have created champion enterprises which have created hundreds of thousands of jobs and implemented innovative practices in their operations.

Sukumar, a BITSian himself, the Editor of MINT, will be in conversation with an electric panel of some of the biggest names from various industries including Information Technology/ITeS, Heavy Industry and Electronics. The stalwarts will take us through their entrepreneurial journeys, how they overcame their struggles and innovated and what can BITSians expect from them in the coming years.


Interactive Q&A session with audience featuring All Campus Directors

BITSAA International co-founder Anupendra Sharma will lead an open session with the Directors of all the 4 BITS Pilani campuses. Joining them would be the Vice Chancellor of BITS, B N Jain & Kris Ramachandran, Advisor to Aditya Birla Group. The session will be highly interactive and will discuss the path that BITS Pilani will take to propel it to one of the best universities of the world highlighting important factors such as the role of alumnus, initiatives that will enrich the faculty & student experience at the campus, ramping up existing programs and introducing newer initiatives.


Transforming Society through Innovative Actions

With India aiming for double digit growth, it is essential that the benefits of such growth be reaped by the entire society and that livelihoods are sustained.

The versatile Ramesh Ramanathan will be in talks with the top thinkers and leaders that cover the wide spectrum of responsible business, development and sustainability. The panel will discuss what innovative actions are required to transform the society not only at the bottom but also at the middle and the top of the pyramid.


Breakthrough Ideas in Education: Cultivating, Retaining & Nurturing the Zeal for Learning

One of the biggest challenges facing Indian universities is retaining top talent, and providing them with hard resources such as a world class research infrastructure, grants as well as soft resources in terms of collaboration. Retaining top talent apart from improving the research that takes place on campuses also improves the quality of students that it churns out.

What sort of investment is needed and which strategies could be carved to nurture this zeal for learning which will help top Indian universities such as BITS leapfrog in their research endeavors?


Critical requirements for our Educational System to drive High-Growth Entrepreneurs

One look at the BITSAA Who's Who list and it gives you an idea how many BITSians end up running their own enterprises. Entrepreneurship is clearly the ultimate test of a person's dedication and passion towards an idea. In the last decade or so we have noticed quite a few students starting their enterprises while still at college. There is a tremendous opportunity here. Universities with their proximity to research facilities, professors, collaborations and network of alumni are at a vantage point of creating high impact entrepreneurs be it students or the professors themselves. This panel will address various steps that might have to be taken to strengthen our institute's ideal playgrounds from which great enterprises can emerge.


Nurturing the Next Brand of Professionals

The jobs that exist today are nothing like what the previous generation had imagined. This panel will speak to key industry professionals, BITS Pilani administration and academicians about what can BITS do to keep up with the changing industry landscape. Moreover, it will also address how BITS Pilani's existing system (Practice School Program, TIC projects where companies outsource their projects to BITSians) be leveraged to create the next class of professionals. Ultimately it will also address how alumni can evangelize BITS within their organizations' to ensure that the top companies come to recruit at the campus.


Mind boggling BITSian achievements

In this panel we present to you talks by few BITSians who have gone on to achieved interesting milestones be it being a Project Director at the Smithsonian, or developing a novel farming technique, or creating a state of the art navigation system and much more. Catch these achievers in highly impactful short crisp talks that will enthrall the audience.


Technologies that will shape the future

Gone are the days when India was stereotyped as a slow adopter of western technology, hub for outsourcing and menial IT support arm of global firms. India is seeing a new tide in the rise of entrepreneurship, innovation, management consulting and sophisticated R&D. BITS Pilani is a vanguard in shaping students who are steering a new breed of enterprises and products of technical & intellectual innovation that are laying a foundation for a better future.

This panel brings experts from energy, health, IT, semiconductor, media and more. It is aimed to focus on discussions about emerging technologies that will help to position the BITS fraternity at the forefront of new ideas & developments. The panel will also answer critical questions that will define our country's progress as we step into the next decade with technological revolution in all industries.

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