IIT Kanpur's annual fest explores new horizons in tech

IIT Kanpur hosted the 28th edition of Asia's largest technical and entrepreneurship festival, Techkriti'22 recently. The annual fest witnessed the presence of Nobel laureates, scientists, technocrats, and many other dignitaries from various fields, this year. With the theme 'Transcending Origins', IIT Kanpur offered a platform for the great minds to discuss and explore various crucial aspects of business development, startup and entrepreneurial eco-system, and ever-evolving technologies.

Thriving all these years, Techkriti has approached and now stands on the edge of the technological frontier. The thematic idea was to reflect how we may transcend our scientific and cultural roots and redefine our identities, individual or collective. The faculty coordinator for this year was Prof Amitabha Bandyopadhyay, Department of Biological Sciences & Bioengineering (BSBE), IIT Kanpur.

"IIT Kanpur always strives to enrich the research and development pool to cater to diverse areas. Techkriti has been a platform where ideas are exchanged and discussions take shape to take research and innovation one step further. This year also, with Nobel laureates and experts coming from various sectors, we are proud to explore new and emerging territories of business development, startup eco-system and the fast-changing world of technology. The amalgamated discussions on the old versus the new truly resonate with the theme "Transcending Origins". This would not only groom future leaders, but also would give shape to countless ideas of young entrepreneurs and technology enthusiasts," said Prof Abhay Karandikar, Director IIT Kanpur,

There were various talks scheduled for the three-day event where experts from various sectors exchanged ideas and ignited discussions. Some of the key takeaways from the talks are as follows:

• First day event titled 'Road to Techkriti', Bangladeshi Nobel laureate Muhammad Yunus, who was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize for founding the Grameen Bank and pioneering the concepts of microcredit and microfinance, talked about his own idea of creating a 'World of Three Zeros'. The three zeroes are zero carbon emission, zero wealth concentration, and zero unemployment. He urged people to value Nature and to work towards preventing global warming. He said that the current profit-driven Economic system has concentrated the capital in the hands of few, leaving the economic system to be nothing but a ticking time bomb. He also added that the economic slowdown due to Covid must be reversed.

• Swiss chemist, biophysicist Dr Kurt Wüthrich, who was awarded the Nobel Prize in Chemistry for developing nuclear magnetic resonance methods for studying biological macromolecules, gave an enlightening talk on 'The Molecules of Life: DNA, RNA, and Proteins – History Placed in Perspective'. He explained about DNA, RNA, and protein, with anecdotal references.