Chennai, September 14, 2022: With a message that technological interventions are must towards providing high-impact solutions to key societal issues facing the country, Indian Institute of Technology Madras (IIT Madras) conducted a CSR Conclave with the theme ‘Technology for Everyone’ in Mumbai recently.
Organized by the Office of Alumni and Corporate Relations, IIT Madras, the event organised on 13th September 2022, also highlighted the scope of research at IIT Madras as an eligible and valuable investment under CSR.
The Institute, which is Ranked #1 in the overall category in NIRF India Rankings of the Government of India for the fourth consecutive year in a row, is conducting outreach on CSR (Corporate Social Responsibility) programs to corporate firms. The objective is to create awareness of the various technological innovations underway at IIT Madras to provide high-impact solutions to key societal issues facing the country.
So far, IIT Madras has collaborated with over 200 Corporates on technology-driven CSR projects that have a societal impact across the various UN-SDGs (United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals). Various socially-relevant CSR Projects and ideas of IIT Madras were also on display for the benefit of industry leaders across themes such as water, green energy, sanitation, health, education, urban housing and infrastructure, waste management and skill development.
Highlighting the importance of such CSR Outreach events, Prof. Mahesh Panchagnula, Dean, Alumni and Corporate Relations, IIT Madras, said, “IIT Madras is on a mission to develop better technologies for tomorrow and technologies for a better tomorrow. Every single problem that we encounter today, be it poverty, health or the environment requires a better solution; a solution that is possible through technology.”
Further, Prof. Mahesh Panchagnula said, “IIT Madras has been renowned not only for its path-breaking research but also for its translational research. The Work in our labs have translated into practical, scalable solutions.”
Sharing their views on industry participation in CSR projects with India’s premier institute, Mr Pratyush Panda, Head Sustainability and CSR, LTI, said, “IIT Madras is undertaking remarkable work in the areas of research, technology-driven environmental, social impact and incubation. This is in complete alignment with our honourable PM's 'Make in India' campaign, presenting excellent CSR synergies for progressive corporates looking to create lasting change.”
Speaking during the conclave, Mr Anurag Pratap, Vice-President, CSR, Capgemini, said, “I do not believe in creating 'islands' of change. An intervention should be able to impact society at scale, for it to have lasting impact. One of the main ways this can happen is through Technology. I commend IIT Madras for organizing this wonderful initiative, creating awareness amongst Corporate stakeholders, on the various CSR collaboration opportunities across important themes. I urge everyone here to make a visit to IIT Madras, to interact with the technology experts and witness the remarkable work being undertaken at IIT Madras, first-hand. I assure you, it will be a transforming experience.”
Mr. Kaviraj Nair, Chief Executive Officer, Office of Institutional Advancement, IIT Madras said, “I invite like-minded, progressive Corporates to join us in enabling technology to drive their CSR initiatives, for lasting impact. We have rigorous project management and methodologies in place to bring about outcome-oriented, socially relevant projects meeting donor expectations.”
Discussions with IIT Madras faculty and industry leaders were held on several topics including Innovating Healthcare, Enhancing Sustainability, Combating Urban Infrastructure Challenges, and Enriching Education and Skill Development.
Mr. Anant Bhagwati, Partner, The Bridgespan Group as the keynote speaker, set the context to the evening, by sharing rich insights on the CSR landscape in India.
Several IIT Madras faculty participated in the conclave presenting their ground-breaking, innovative projects. Prof. Ashwin Mahalingam and Dr. Venkatraman Srinivasan, Department of Civil Engineering, IIT Madras and Dr. Arvind Kumar Chandiran, Department of Chemical Engineering, participated in an interesting panel discussion on ‘Enhancing sustainability’ moderated by Mr Pratyush Panda, Head (Sustainability and CSR), LTI. This panel presented various project collaboration opportunities on green energy / battery technology as well as AI-enabled simulations for analysing and strategizing urban development more effectively
Ms. Shefali Khalsa , Head CSR , SBI General, Head - Brand, Corporate, moderated a highly-relevant panel discussion on ‘Innovating Healthcare’ in which Prof. Kavitha Arunachalam, Department of Engineering Design, and Prof. VV Raghavendra Sai, Department of Applied Mechanics, participated and shared unique initiatives and diagnostic devices, among others.
Ms. Prerana Langa, Chief Executive Officer, Aga Khan Agency for Habitat India, facilitated an engaging panel discussion on ‘Combating urban housing infrastructure challenges’ in which Prof. Manu Santhanam, Department of Civil Engineering and Prof. Madivala G. Basavaraj, Department of Chemical Engineering participated and presented affordable, low-cost and scalable housing solutions to benefit marginalised populations such as migrant workers.
Mr Anurag Pratap, Vice-President, CSR, Capgemini, moderated a panel discussion on ‘Enriching education and skill development’ in which Prof. Andrew Thangaraj, Coordinator, BSc Degree Program, and Prof. Sathyan Subbiah, Department of Mechanical Engineering, shared various low-cost high-impact education solutions such as NPTEL and BS Data Science courses, and how these were reshaping the learning landscape –, irrespective of age, economical background or geography, these projects that democratised education, along with the others, truly embodied the Conclave’s theme, “Technology for Everyone”.
Some of the IIT Madras projects showcased during the event included Workshops with government agencies to define the challenges related to land-use planning, water and waste management nexus, research on batteries at the ‘Centre for Battery Safety’, IIT Madras, Research on giving a second-life for Lithium-ion Batteries used in Electric Vehicles, Rapid groundwater recharge technology for combined flood and drought mitigation, Climate change impact on food and water security, A Novel Point-of-Care Diagnostic Device for Tuberculosis from Urine & Pre-eclampsia at PHCs.
Recognized as an Institution of Eminence (IoE) in 2019, IITM has been ranked No.1 in the ‘Overall’ Category for the fourth consecutive year in India Ranking 2022 released by National Institutional Ranking Framework, Ministry of Education, Govt. of India. The Institute has also been ranked No.1 in the ‘Engineering Institutions’ category in the same Rankings for seven consecutive years – from 2016 to 2022. It was also adjudged as the ‘Top innovative Institution’ in the country in Atal Ranking of Institutions on Innovation Achievements (ARIIA) in 2019, 2020 and 2021. ARIIA Ranking was launched by the Innovation Cell of Ministry of Education.
