A panel discussion on ‘Digital Industry through Smart Imagination’ was organised during the ongoing Mitsubishi Electric Cup 2019 at the MRIIRS campus. Mr. Vikram Mattoo, Head, FAID, MEI was the moderator of the discussion. Mr. Sriram, General Manager- National Sales Head, FAID, MEI; Mr. Anup Wadhwa, Director, Automation Industry Association; Mr. Bhupender Virmani, Head, Panasonic; Dr. Ashiv Shah, Chief Operating Officer, AKGEC; and Dr. S.S. Tyagi, Dean-FCA, MRIIRS were the esteemed panelists.

On being asked about the feedback about the exhibition, Dr. Ashiv Shah said that there is improvement in the projects designed by the students and have the application and utility for the society and industry. He emphasized on the need to expand factory automation horizon including more hardware components other than HMI and VLC. Mr. Anup Wadhwa, the automation veteran, mentioned that we need to take these projects to international forum, and young minds should be well-mentored by their mentors. He continued, “Make In India initiative has to be beyond just engineering and imagination, which is to approach hardware components”.

Giving his feedback on the exhibition and appreciating the projects developed by students, Mr. Sriram said, “Most of the projects already exist in the industry and it is the responsibility of the mentors to guide students about the industry. There is a huge gap in the industry and academia which we can narrow down by upskilling our students”.

Mr. Bhupender Virmani addressed the delay in project presentation in the exhibition and informed students to not depend on the existing prototype model while designing and presenting their project.

Dr. S.S. Tyagi said, “With the industry-academia connect, the situation has now taking a shape giving opportunities to college students upskill themselves”. He encouraged students to ‘Think- Think for Everyone. Think as Big as you Can’.

The discussion came to an end with students interacting with the panelists.