Bio-wise and otherwise

IISc global conference

The recently concluded IISc. (Indian Institute of Science) global conference held in Marriott hotel, Santa Clara, provided a forum for collaborative interaction among the Institute, its alumni, academic institutions and industry. The main objective of this conference was to build a  long-term  partnership between Institute and its alumni and to  usher in the next phase of the IISc. The conference turned out to be a pleasant melee of  ex- IIScians turned enterpreneurs, professors, industry leaders and technology evangelists.

Being a proud member of the IISc alumni, it was a pleasant coincidence for me to be at Santa Clara and participate in the conference.

Several talks by eminent professors and industry leaders echoed high energy and enthusiasm to collaborate and  usher in new innovations.

 Prof P Balaram, Director, Indian Institute of Science, Bangalore

In his opening note, Professor P Balaram created a powerful bridge between the institute's illustrious  past and the dynamic future. In his color-filled presentation (where the natural habitat of the IISc was so beautifully portrayed), he showed glimpses of the roadmap for this prestigious institute. He spoke about the importance of forging collaboration between research in pure science and applied science- one example being biotechnology and research in medicine. He urged the alumni gathered to give back to the IISc, because the most important stakeholders were not the venture capitalists, academicians, or philanthropists but actually the people of India. 

Prof APJ Abdul Kalam, President of India delivered the inaugural note live via satellite. He visualizes an increased focus on  vaccinology, nutrition and application of traditional knowledge for holistic medicine. The Institute must also intensify translational research, according to Prof Kalam. He visualizes biomedical research as a leading area for the future in IISc and feels that education and research in this area has to be taken up in partnership with medical institutions. He also mooted the idea of the Institute establishing a school of medicine. 

Some of the directions that the president saw IISc growing towards are:

• Creating an undergraduate eduction at IISc which will enrich teaching and research.
• Being eminent in at least 5 areas of S&T
• Being a partner in the World Knowledge Platform to promote world class knowledge creation, knowledge  sharing and knowledge dissemination among all partner countries.

What the occasion really could have done with more of was showcasing the younger generation of scientists  and having them share their dreams with the audience. After all, if IISc were to attract young talent, this would have been an ideal forum for them to voice their aspirations.

Nevertheless, the conference turned out to be a grand success. Kudos to all the volunteers who worked night and day and did a splendid job of making it all happen.

'Twas clearly an occasion when academia met industry over crumpets and tea.

And I met my friends over drinks and dinner. :-)

 L>R: Kabs (Phillips), Kals (Five Prime Therapeutics), me (Sun), Usha (Five Prime Therapeutics), Gayathri (Amgen)

Posted at 10:21PM Jun 30, 2007 by Manju in Sun  |  Comments[0]