IIIT Hyderabad’s Annual R&D Showcase begins

Hyderabad, March 16, 2024: IIIT Hyderabad’s annual R&D Showcase this year on campus at Gachibowli which began on Saturday morning was a big draw. It is a two-day show held on 16 and 17 March.   This year’s Showcase is themed INTERCONNECT, highlighting the link of Algorithms, Ethics and Society.

 
The Showcase included 300+ search posters, demos and models from IIITH’s 28 research centres, roundtable discussions on Responsible AI and Rethinking  Thinking in the age of AI, research reflections and a research startup showcase by the Center for Innovation and Entrepreneurship (CIE). 
 

Speaking on the occasion Prof P J Narayanan, Director IIITH said, “The response to the showcase has been very encouraging, it's always a pleasure to share our research with the public. As a research-focused institution, the enthusiasm of the students and the results of their research are what we cherish most and present to the world. The Showcase celebrates the spirit of Research & Development where faculty and students share their work with the public in keeping with our endeavour to promote applied research that benefits society”.
 

The inaugural session of the Showcase included a plenary discussion on Right to Know your Algorithms, featuring thought leaders in the confluence of technology, legislation, and policy.
 

Usha Ramanathan, a visiting faculty at various universities; Tanveer Hasan- Tanveer Hasan A K is the Executive Director of the Centre for Internet and Society, Bengaluru; Krishna Ravi Srinivas, an Adjunct Professor at NALSAR University of Law, Hyderabad, and a consultant with Research & Information System in Developing Countries (RIS) participated in the panel discussion.  Akansha Natani Asst Prof at IIIT Hyderabad moderated the panel discussion
 

The panelists felt that algorithmic transparency is a must.  In the absence of it , alogorithmic transparency can hide discrimination, enable manipulation.  Or it can even cause individuals to blindly trust algorithmic decision making.   
 

It provided a unique opportunity for viewers to interact with faculty and students to understand their work in more tangible forms through demos, prototypes and presentations in keeping with the institute’s endeavour to promote applied research that benefits society.
 

IIITH’s Tech Transfer Office felicitated patent recipients at a special event in the evening. 
 

Sunday’s program included a student seminar on Excitement of Research (ExOR) for external college students to get excited about research and consider a Masters in research and the scope of deep tech jobs.
 

The Showcase will conclude on Sunday with a cultural program by classically trained musicologist Kaustuv Kanti Ganguli.