IIT Ropar Technology and Innovation Foundation – AWaDH, under the National Mission on Interdisciplinary Cyber-Physical Systems (NM-ICPS) by 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”, as part of IIT Ropar’s SAMRIDHI Ideathon initiative.
This workshop empowered faculty and student innovators by providing hands-on exposure to Cyber-Physical Systems (CPS), advanced manufacturing technologies, and startup-building strategies. GBPIET was selected under the Ideathon initiative to receive a grant for CPS training. Notably, Dr. Amit Kumar (PI) and student Rohit Kandwal secured an additional grant of ₹2.5 lakhs for developing water treatment technologies, supporting sustainability and tech-led solutions for clean water access.
The event was inaugurated by Dr. Dhananjay Singh, Director, GBPIET, Prof. K.K.S. Mer, Head of Department, Prof. Sanjeev Naithani, Dean R&D, Dr. Mukesh Kestwal, Chief Innovation Officer, iHub AWaDH – IIT Ropar, Dr. Amit Kumar, PI, Co-PIs – Dr. Ashutosh Gupta and Dr. Himanshu Prasad Raturi
Dr. Mukesh Kestwal delivered a keynote on ANNAM.AI – the AI Centre of Excellence for Agriculture at IIT Ropar, highlighting the importance of integrating CPS in agriculture, AI, and smart manufacturing. He also emphasized the need for sustainable innovation, sharing insights from the UPG Sustainability Leadership Batch 2025, and reaffirmed that embedding sustainability at the heart of tech innovation is critical to addressing global challenges. These efforts contribute directly to SDG 6 (Clean Water), SDG 9 (Innovation & Infrastructure), and SDG 13 (Climate Action).
The workshop also featured expert technical sessions by Dr. Pawan Rakesh (NIT Uttarakhand) – Additive Manufacturing, Dr. I.D. Singh (IIT Roorkee) – Unconventional Machining, Prof. Ritunesh Kumar (IIT Indore) – Surface Modification, Dr. R.S. Mulik (IIT Roorkee) – Opportunities in the Manufacturing Startup Ecosystem. The workshop concluded with certificate distribution and enthusiastic participation from faculty and students.
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