IIT Ropar Technology and Innovation Foundation – AWaDH, under the NM-ICPS of the Department of Science and Technology, Government of India, in collaboration with Govind Ballabh Pant Institute of Engineering and Technology (GBPIET), Pauri, Uttarakhand, organized a two-day workshop on “Recent Trends in Advanced Manufacturing Technology and Startup Opportunities for Students” under IIT Ropar’s Samriddhi Ideathon initiative.
The workshop empowered faculty and student startups, reinforcing IIT Ropar’s commitment to innovation in agriculture, AI, and CPS. GBPIET was selected under the Ideathon initiative to receive a grant for CPS training. Dr. Amit Kumar (PI) and student Rohit Kandwal also secured an additional ₹2.5 lakh grant for the development of water treatment technologies.
The inaugural session was graced by Dr. Dhananjay Singh (Director, GBPIET), Prof. K.K.S. Mer (HOD), Prof. Sanjeev Naithani (Dean R&D), Dr. Mukesh Kestwal (CIO, IIT Ropar TIF), Dr. Amit Kumar (PI), and Co-PIs Dr. Ashutosh Gupta and Dr. Himanshu Prasad Raturi. Dr. Dhananjay Singh emphasized the importance of workshops in promoting student-industry linkages and congratulated the team.
Dr. Mukesh Kestwal delivered keynote speeches on IIT Ropar’s iHub – AWaDH and the ANNAM.AI initiative (AI Centre of Excellence for Agriculture). He discussed CPS integration, funding opportunities, TRLs, and Smart Manufacturing. Dr. Pawan Rakesh (NIT Uttarakhand) conducted a technical session on Additive Manufacturing, Dr. I.D. Singh (IIT Roorkee) on Unconventional Machining, Prof. Ritunesh Kumar (IIT Indore) on Surface Modification, and Dr. R.S. Mulik (IIT Roorkee) held a session on opportunities in the Manufacturing Startup Ecosystem. The event concluded with the distribution of certificates.
Dr. Mukesh Kestwal highlighted that this workshop is a part of 14 workshops being conducted under DST NM-ICPS, supporting the vision of “Viksit Bharat 2047” and strengthening grassroots innovation through AWaDH’s CPS labs, training programs, SPRINT, and Samriddhi initiatives.