Webinar held on “Mission @Atma Nirbhar Bharat: Engineers at the Forefront”

Chandigarh, September 16, 2021: Panjab University Alumni Association (PUAA) in collaboration with Dr. S.S.B.U.I.C.E.T, Panjab University; U.I.E.T, Panjab university and U.I.E.T, Hoshiarpur organized a webinar “Mission @Atma Nirbhar Bharat: Engineers at the Forefront” to commemorate Engineer’s Day on September 15, 2021. Over 450 delegates over different diciplines participated in the event. Since 1968, September 15 is marked as Engineers' Day in India, as a tribute to Sir M. Visvesvaraya and to honour and acknowledge all engineers for their pivotal role in making our planet better and technologically advanced.
 
At the onset, Prof. Anupama Sharma, Dean Alumni Relations welcomed the guests, distinguished speakers and participants and introduced the theme of the event. She acknowledged the leadership and tutelage of honorable Vice Chancellor for ensuring renewed vigour in academics. She highlighted that the salient contributions by the engineers has made India a technological giant in the field of information technology, pharmaceutical sciences and defence. She greeted all the brilliant engineers who are constantly striving towards the vision of Atmanirbhar Bharat through their amazing innovations. When India speaks of becoming self-reliant, it doesn’t advocate a self-centred system. In Hon’ble PM, Shri Narendra Modi’s vision of self-reliance and being a five trillion economy; there is a concern for the whole world’s happiness, cooperation and peace. She highlighted that all the four eminent speakers are proud alumni of Panjab University.
 
Chief guest Mr. Anuj Dhir, Vice-President and Business Head, Commercial Lighting Business Wipro Enterprise Ltd. inaugurated the event. Sharing his views, he opined that in everyday life and in all domains, we can observe the impact the engineers have made through their efforts. He shared that preparing engineers to become facilitators of sustainable development, using appropriate technology, and being social and economic change agents is one of the greatest challenges faced by the engineering profession today. Further, applauding the role of engineers in nation building, he said that engineering fraternity has to make concerted efforts as  they can drive this nation towards a leadership position in the world and be a Vishwa Guru.

Prof. Amrit Pal Toor, Chairperson, Dr. SSBUICET, Panjab University noted that in this technological age, the power of the engineers in shaping the society and environment is all pervading and can profoundly affect the lives of all sections of the society. Engineers must complement their technical and analytical capabilities with a broad understanding of social, environmental, economic, cultural, and ethical aspects.

Dr. Chitra Rajagopalan, Distinguished Scientist and Former Director General (R&M), DRDO made a very vivid presentation “Self Reliance in Integrated Safety Management in Defence” highlighting path breaking research by DRDO in the defence sector through many videos. She said that the defence sector is one of the strategic sectors of the Indian economy that has the potential for tremendous growth. She shared that DRDO is not only excelling in defence sector, but also doing excellent work in the areas of biotechnology, material science, fire safety equipments and apparels, naval research by developing innovative, niche, and cutting-edge technologies.
Prof. Renu Wig, Former director, UIET opined that considering the problems facing our planet today, the engineering profession must revisit its mindset and adopt a new mission statement - to contribute to the building of a more sustainable, stable, and equitable world. Engineers provide the bridge between science and society. In this role, engineers must actively promote and participate in multidisciplinary teams with other professionals.

Mr Ajay Gupta, Vice-President and Head, Strategy, Ericsson shared his views on  “Transformation of Industries” highlighting the paradigm shift that has occurred with rapid changes in technology. He shared the developments which have taken place in product delivery and warehousing through sharing of success stories of Amazon and Walmart on global logistics.  He also shared about the transformation of technology in mining and agriculture at different levels of digitalization. Mr Gupta interacted with students and faculty members and answered their queries. He said that nowadays there are great opportunities for engineers who are passing out provided they develop deep understanding for the subject, hone their skills and acquire knowledge in allied domains like AI, IOT through online courses.
 
Prof. H. S. Bains, Director, UIET, SSGPURC, Hoshiarpur highlighted that the new role of engineering, demands new practices based on social-environmental factors rather than just business goals. The Impetus of engineering profession is now on rebuilding after the pandemic and to enhance India’s global competitiveness and making it an innovation hub. .

Er. Yogesh Kalia, CTO, Medhaavi Centre for Automotive Research highlighted the tremendous potential of initiating an entrepreneurial venture due to the enabling environment.  Sharing journey of his startup with their core-competency in the field of electronics & its applications in automobile sector. Through numerous examples, he stressed how innovations have increased the use of electronics in automobile and helped automobile companies to offer more safety, comfort & also environment friendly cars. He talked about how engineers have contributed to enhance the knowledge and integrataion of mechanical engineering and electronics for sustainable mobility. He shared his experiences regarding development of new technologies in the automobile sector, which was mostly based on electronic systems.

Prof. H.S. Bains proposed a vote of thanks and hoped more events will be organized in a collaborative mode for spread of knowledge.