Academicians, industrialists brainstorm on roadmap to future innovation and research

The shift in the global business world brought by the sudden outbreak of the pandemic comes as a golden opportunity for leaders, entrepreneurs, researchers across the world to bolster research and innovation. In fact, as the world aligns with the new normal, technological inventions are required to take quantum leaps. Organisations need to constantly innovate to stay relevant and create value for their stakeholders.

The above-mentioned points were discussed in depth at the13th National Conference organised by Apeejay School of Management (ASM), Dwarka. The theme for this year’s conference, held in hybrid mode, was Business Research, Innovation and Technology (BRIT-2022). 

The conference began with Dr Etinder Pal Singh, Deputy Director at ASM delivering the welcome address. In his speech, he mentioned, “Crisis is the mother of invention and any new crisis gives rise to new business models. This is applicable to the education sector as well, wherein the education will continue to be delivered in hybrid mode. The idea is also to make education more learner-centric and place agnostic, where teachers can teach from anywhere and students can learn from their respective location.”

Dr Mahadeo Jaiswal , Professor (Information Management) and Executive Dean of School of Design Thinking, Innovation and The Digital Economy, Management Development Institute (MDI), Gurgaon  was the keynote speaker. He highlighted that current research must focus on ‘innovation’, ‘sustainability’ and ‘start-up ecosystems versus big organisations. 

He also said, “In the disruptive innovation front, digital is taking the lead in all spheres. Technology is foraying in all spaces and agriculture is a major one, given that India is primarily an agrarian-based economy. Technological innovations are required to further shape the agriculture sector. More and more start-ups are coming up catering to location specific needs and requirements. Undoubtedly,  there is a trend of the startup ecosystem as it enables customisation and is generating more jobs in India.”

Sharing an industry perspective, the second keynote speaker, Mr. Somasundharam Muthupalani, Managing Partner with Momenta India, highlighted, “There is a need to share important outcomes of academic research with the industry professionals. This is the only way industry and academia can benefit each other. Academicians must go to industry, take lectures as well as share knowledge and vice-versa. Also, academic research and its results must be discussed with students to keep them abreast of latest findings which may be applied to industry when they go for internships and take up jobs.”

The conference received an overwhelming response with delegates and participants participating from across India and abroad. Some of the participating institutions were Swami Ram Himalayan University, Dehradun; Bharti Vidyapeeth, Banasthali University; Aligarh Muslim University, Delhi; Christ University, Bangalore; Priyadarshini Lokmanya Tilak Institute of Management Studies and Research, Nagpur; Uniglobe College, Kathmandu, Nepal.  

During the conference, research papers were presented across five technical domains – Finance, General Management & Sustainability, Human Resource Management, Marketing Management and Operations & Technology. These sessions were chaired by distinguished academicians including Dr. Kinnary Thakkar from Department of Commerce, Mumbai University; Dr. Deependra Sharma,  School of Management (UG) MIT World Peace University, Pune; Dr. Geeta Rana from Swami Rama Himalayan University, Dehradun; Dr. Sangeeta Trott from ITM Mumbai and Dr. Manoj Kumar Srivastava from MDI, respectively along with senior faculty members of ASM.