Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Madras organized the Industry Conclave 2022 on April 16 and 17 to showcase research and innovations of the institute to the government, industry and corporate firms.

A virtual exhibition of research projects, start-ups, and projects of the institute’s Center for Innovation (CFI) and other projects was also created for the occasion.

“The objective of the conclave was to bridge the gap between industry and academia and facilitate Institute collaborations with industries for research projects, Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) initiatives, and start-ups. This event was also intended to help IIT Madras students and researchers gain an industry perspective,” the institute said.

Addressing the inaugural session virtually, Kaviraj Nair, CEO at Office of Institutional Advancement, IIT Madras, said, “The core focus of IIT Madras is science and technology. The institute has some of the best brains in the country engaged in path-breaking research on topics which are socially relevant. High-impact research leading to social transformation, inspires our corporate stakeholders and donors to invest in such projects.”

Dr Gulshan Rai, Chief Information Officer, Prime Minister’s Office, said, “From the perspective of cybersecurity, the collaborations between academics, industry and government play an important role in resolving the weak infrastructure of digital frameworks.”

“The rapidly growing gap between the digitization and the cybersecurity measures poses a unique situation where technology is moving fast and digital security is weak. Deploying a good secure IT infrastructure does not only entail using firewall and anti-virus due to which 90% of institutions stay vulnerable to digital attacks. It is only with the aid of academic institutes like IIT Madras that we can resolve the issue of unmanaged infrastructure by designing short courses or a dedicated curriculum in cybersecurity,” Rai added.