The joint annual flagship DST-CII ‘Technology Summit’ discussed research & development collaboration opportunities between India and Italy in the areas of aerospace, clean-tech, cultural heritage, education, healthcare, ICT and renewable energy.
The DST-CII India-Italy Technology Summit was jointly inaugurated by Union Minister for Science & Technology and Earth Sciences, Dr Harsh Vardhan and Italian Vice Minister in the Ministry of Economic Development, Dr Michele Geraci, on 29th October, 2018, New Delhi.
“The partnership between the countries strengthened through the summit will connect scientific knowledge creation to business enterprises,” Dr. Harsh Vardhan said in his inaugural address.
The iconic annual conference-cum-exposition of the world’s best in technology and research in different sectors is organised jointly by the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) and Department of Science & Technology (DST), Government of India. The partners from the Italian side for the summit this year include Farnesina - the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation; the Ministry of Economic Development; the Ministry of Education, Universities and Research (MIUR); the Italian Trade Agency (ITA) and Confindustria.
Dr Harsh Vardhan insisted that follow-up of the summit should converge from dialogue to action, potential projects for S&T and business collaboration should be identified, seamless way to link academia and industry facilitated and 3-4 technologies identified for time-bound development and demonstration.
The annual summit provides a platform for Indian industry, academic and research institutions to forge collaborations with global partners and boost policy to trigger investment in research & development and technology. It set a stage for industries, institutions and government agencies from India and partner countries for forging tech transfer, joint venture and R&D partnerships in wide ranging areas.
Dr. Harsh Vardhan emphasized that the high quality and high impact research partnership from discovery to solution between the two countries will help boost technological entrepreneurship and it is pertinent to focus on new areas of collaborations looking at market needs and societal challenges.
Deputy Minister of Italy Dr Michele Geraci said that more than 150 people from Italy had come to India for the Technology Summit, from more than 50 companies. Both the countries are going through big challenges which are crucial for them to solve. While Italy is looking at ways to ensure long-term growth, India is already on a high growth curve. This offers great opportunity for the two countries to increase their bilateral trade.
Participants at the summit deliberated on emerging areas for increased R&D collaborative investment like artificial intelligence, lower earth orbit, unmanned aerial vehicles, cyber physical systems for preserving the rich cultural heritage, renewable energy and so on.
“Protection & restoration of cultural heritage from Hampi in India to Pompai in Italy, MEMS, cognitive neurosciences, IT, artificial intelligence, communication sciences are some of the areas in which the two countries are emerging as major collaborators,” Prof. Ashutosh Sharma, Secretary, Department of Science & Technology pointed out.
“Many collaborative projects were already going on between India and Italy and more than 100 scientists were working together. The synchroton project and the Trent project were two examples. India is emerging as a leader in affordable technology. To leverage this, the two countries need to work together to boost tech incubators and startups,” he added.
Talking about the challenges and opportunities in India-Italy business cooperation, Mr. Shreekant Somany, Chairman of CII MSME Council & Chairman & Managing Director of Somany Ceramics, said, “Small and medium enterprises (SMEs) could be the cornerstone of partnership between the two countries." Among the potential sectors of increased bilateral trade, he mentioned fine dining, electronics, jewellery, watches and automobiles.
Chairman of CII Technology Committee and Chief Technology Officer of Tata Sons, Dr Gopichand Katragadda said it was important to keep an eye on the changes taking place constantly across businesses, needs of people and societies.
Mr Vincenzo De Luca, Director General for Cultural and Economic Promotion and Innovation Italian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, said that two years ago, 23 new projects were launched, showing intense strong productive useful cooperation in a very short time. Key areas he identified for cooperation included clean energy, energy efficiency, life sciences, and space.
Mr Piergiorgio Borgogelli, CEO and Director General, Italian Trade Agency, said that India is creating opportunities for Italian companies to provide technologies and help in development.
Mr Giulio Pedrollo, Vice President, Confindustria, noted that the Indian government initiatives like Make in India program, ease of doing business and others have fostered trade and investments.
India & Italy have been trading partners since the Roman Era. While India contributes as a very old civilization with a history of excellence in science and technology, Italy has given to the world some of the foremost scientific thinkers like Galileo Galilee, artists like Leonado de Vinci and many more.
The 40 years of S&T collaborations with Italy has helped R&D become pillars for industrial co-operation with extraordinary achievements & exceptional potential. The DST-CII India-Italy Technology Summit can take the historic bilateral exchanges between the two countries to a new high.
