VIT Chennai signs 7 MoUs and patent commercialisation agreement at industry-academia summit

VIT Chennai on Thursday signed seven Memoranda of Understanding (MoUs) and a patent commercialisation agreement at its Industry-Academia Innovators Conclave to mark its 15-year celebrations.

While the MoUs would aim to train students in robotics, automation, and network security, including quality concepts and shop-floor practices, the patent transfer agreement signed with Chennai-based Datayaan Solutions would allow VIT’s water quality assessment technology to be scaled up to be used commercially.

Themed ‘Smart Mobility, Sustainable Manufacturing, and Automation for a Resilient Future’, the two-day conclave brought together 48 industry experts, over 140 industry participants, and 55 academicians.

At the inaugural event, A.S. Ramadoss, director, Global Automotive Research Centre, pointed out real-world challenges such as supply chain disruptions witnessed during the pandemic, semiconductor shortages, and the scarcity of rare materials for electric vehicles while emphasising that collective problem-solving between industry and academia can lead to breakthroughs with transformative global impact.

Samba Moorthy, president, Epson India, said history held the key to modern day data science and decoding history could generate datasets that offer a peek into the understanding of several issues, such as consumer behaviour.

Venugopal Shankar, vice-president, Technology Innovation and IP – Mahindra and Mahindra, said young innovators required to shift focus to the Pasteur’s Quadrant, where pure basic research was used to solve real world problems.

Umesh Pai, managing director, Eplan, said data, energy, and urbanisation were three megatrends that had thrown up serious challenges to sustainability and, at the same time, also provided opportunities for young innovators to find solutions.

Palanisamy Lakshman, Chief Business Officer, Fuji Electric, said India’s carbon footprint had grown from 315 million metric tonnes to 623 million metric tonnes in just eight years and that these challenges also open a window of opportunities for students and innovators.

T. Kalaiselvan, Chairman, Quality Circle Forum of India, Chennai, V.S. Kanchana Bhaaskaran, Vice-Chancellor, VIT, T. Thyagarajan, Pro-Vice-Chancellor, VIT Chennai, R. Sivakumar, dean, Sponsored Research and Industrial Consultancy, VIT, and Abirami, Assistant Dean, spoke.