IIT Kanpur E-SUMMIT'22: Innovations and Entrepreneurial Future

Amidst a gathering of leading entrepreneurs, the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Kanpur played host to the 11th edition of the annual entrepreneurial event, E-SUMMIT'22. The event, held from January 13th to 15th, 2023, was marked by an inaugural ceremony that featured Prof. Abhay Karandikar, Director of IIT Kanpur, highlighting the institute's entrepreneurial journey and the significance of organizing the event. The ceremony was followed by a keynote address by the esteemed Padma Shri BVR Mohan Reddy, Founder Chairman & Board Member-Cyient and former Chairman of NASSCOM, who shared his own journey as an entrepreneur and the challenges he faced.

The keynote was followed by a panel discussion, led by the distinguished Mr. Ravi Purohit, Vice President & India Head at ColorTokens, and featuring panelists such as Mr. Rajiv Batra, Founder of Palo Alto Networks; and Mr. Sanjiv Rangrass, Independent Director of Zetwerk and former Group Head of ITC. The topic of the panel discussion was "The Decade of Avant-Garde Innovation" and the discussion revolved around the innovations of the decade and the future of the entrepreneurial world. The panelists talked about the importance of company culture and specialization in key areas and reminisced about their own entrepreneurial journeys and the challenges they faced.

The panelists also echoed the idea that the 21st century will be "the Indian century" as India's demographic dividend and increase in manufacturing and sustainability solutions will lead to the nation's exponential growth in the foreseeable future.

The event also featured a Startup Expo, where several startups from diverse areas showcased their next-gen products and the grand finale of the UpStart business model competition was held on the third day, where the selected startups presented their business models to a panel of judges.

With over 150+ incubated startups catering to diverse sectors and growing significantly, E-SUMMIT'22 served as a platform for students and other participants to inculcate an entrepreneurial spirit and gain insights into the fast-changing world of business.