The series aims to engage young minds in solving real-world challenges and invites concept notes for the product development entries to be selected for support up to INR 2 lakhs

Kanpur, U.P. 23 January 2021 – Startup Innovation and Incubation Centre, IIT Kanpur launched the Season 3 of its coveted series, Tech Talk, supported by Capri Foundation. Dr Rakesh Kalapala and R Madhavan were invited to conduct the first session on 22nd January 2021 in an online webinar. They threw open sector-specific challenges at the participants and invited them to devise product-based innovation to address the same. The first talk by Dr Kalapala, titled “Emerging Technological Innovations & opportunities in Gastroenterology” spoke about treatment aspects related to gastrointestinal diseases, pertinent to the Indian context. In the second talk, “Increasing Farm Productivity: Way for Rural Prosperity,” Mr Madhavan shed light on associated practices of soil analysis, cultivation, fertilization, and nutrient management.

Dr Kalapala elaborated on the avenues for innovation at the intersection of gastroenterology and technology, citing the need to explore gastrointestinal microbiome and gastrointestinal endoscopy areas. He presented four key areas which require technological intervention to address gastrointestinal concerns. These broadly included:

• Development of indigenous radiofrequency ablation (RFA) catheters

• Need for artificial intelligence in endoscopy for efficient diagnosis and non-invasive treatment

• Addressing the triad of diabetes, obesity, and non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD), and He ended on a hopeful note as he emphasized that necessity is the mother of invention, and commitment, zeal, and enthusiasm leads to wonders.

R Madhavan delivered his talk on increasing soil productivity, emphasizing the sanitization of field, fertilization, and combating pest infestation to reduce the application of pesticides. Some of the pertinent issues that he emphasized were:

• Need for nutritious food, available cheaply and to all

• Need for educated youth to train farmers on scientific aspects of farming practices

• Outsourcing expensive tools to marginal farmers to extend the benefit of technology in daily farming practice such as using drones for pest management

CEO of SIIC IIT Kanpur, Dr Nikhil Agarwal commented, “Through the talks in our very popular series TechTalks, we look forward to attracting young innovators, startups, researchers and faculty members towards solving the real problems and thus nurturing pragmatic innovation and entrepreneurship. We”

About Tech Talks:

Tech Talks is SIIC IIT Kanpur’s way of bridging the gaps between real-world challenges and the innovations capable of addressing those, combining an interactive methodology with entrepreneurial potential. Supported by the Capri Foundation, the selected solutions would stand a chance to win INR 2 lakhs for further developing their prototype, besides world-class support from the IIT Kanpur ecosystem.

About Startup Incubation and Innovation Centre (SIIC), IIT Kanpur

Startups and social enterprises are widely regarded as the key to addressing developmental challenges, especially in emerging economies such as India. With path breaking innovation brewing at incubatee startups, SIIC IIT Kanpur aims to create impact at the bottom of the pyramid. Established in the year 2000, Startup Incubation and Innovation Centre (SIIC), IIT Kanpur, is one of the oldest technology business incubators with many successes under its belt. The multifaceted, vibrant incubation ecosystem nurtured over two decades aims to fill all the gaps on the road to convert an idea into a business. SIIC has developed the experience base and ecosystem that become critical ingredients in developing early-stage, technology-focused startups disrupting paradigms across the domains such as agriculture, healthcare, aerospace, energy, water, and education.

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