Fraunhofer organises 5th Innovation and Technology platform, Digitalization - The Game Changer

Fraunhofer, Europe's largest application-oriented research organization organised their 5th Fraunhofer Innovation and Technology (FIT) Platform on Wednesday in India.

Various international technology experts deliberated on and showcased cutting edge technologies, innovation and solutions. The event focused on Digitalization spanning the sectors such as Manufacturing, Energy, Buildings, E-mobility, Space, Smart Cities and Cultural Heritage, all seen as fundamental growth drivers in world markets.

The symposium witnessed participation from leading CEOs, CTOs, senior policy makers and innovation experts representing the Government, Industry and the Research fraternity who are also stakeholders and decision makers in the implementation of various Government programs. Some of the dignitaries included:

Dr. Gunther Grathwohl - Head of International Digital Dialogue, German Federal Ministry of Economic Affairs and Energy (BMWi)

Shri. Anshu Prakash, Additional Secretary, Department of Telecommunications, Ministry of Communications, Govt. of India*

Smt. Sukriti Likhi, Joint Secretary, Department of Heavy Industry, Ministry of Heavy Industries and Public Enterprises, Govt. of India

Shri. Gaurav Gupta, Principal Secretary to the Govt., Dept. of Information Technology, Biotechnology and Science & Technology, Govt. of Karnataka

Mr. Vinnie Mehta, Director General, Automotive Components Manufacturers Association (ACMA)*

Mr. K S Viswanathan, Vice President - Industry Initiatives, National Association of Software and Services Companies (NASSCOM)

Prof. Dr. Thomas Magedanz, Director, Business Unit Software-based Networks, Fraunhofer Institute for Open Communication Systems FOKUS, Berlin

Dr. Gopichand Katragadda - Group CTO, TATA Sons Ltd.

Participants included over a dozen Fraunhofer experts from the fields of ICT, Energy, Efficient Building Technologies and Production Technologies etc. Included participation from top Indian and German companies as well as International organisations such as Asia Productivity Organisation (APO).

Fraunhofer has been active in India for over 10 years, initially with a Fraunhofer Senior Advisor and since 2012 with a Fraunhofer Representative Office supporting the activities of the Fraunhofer Institutes.

With this event it will look to commemorate this milestone in the presence of industry leaders and key stakeholders from the government and industry. The 5th Fraunhofer Innovation and Technology Platform held in the morning was followed by a high-level panel discussion on 'Innovation - the Fulcrum of a Global Industry', featuring marquee industry leaders discussing successful innovation ecosystems across leading nations, the India scenario - challenges and opportunities, trends and ways to scale up the Indian innovation ecosystem.

"Fraunhofer has been involved in India for 10 years now, and it has been such an exciting journey. Our institutes have been a long time trusted innovation partner in India, collaborating with some of the major players in the field of Material Science, Energy, Environment, Automotive, Electro-mobility, Production Technology and Smart Cities, while working with Industry, Government and Public Sector. Our Industry clients have grown tremendously over the last few years and we look forward to another successful decade of meaningful partnerships between the two great nations," said Prof. Frank Treppe, Managing Director Political & International Affairs and Associate Board Member, Fraunhofer Gesellschaft.

"While our international footprint is growing steadily, our growth in India has been equally exciting, as Fraunhofer moves into a more strategic and long term partnership with its clients and partners. A great amount of goodwill, contracts and successes were achieved along the way. Fraunhofer is the Technology Resource Partner for Manufacturing in India (MoU with Dept. of Heavy Industry, Govt. of India), the Technology Partner for the Ministry of New and Renewable Energy (MNRE) and the International Solar Alliance (ISA), and in the process of setting up two Smart City Innovation Labs in India among others," said Anandi Iyer, Director, Fraunhofer Office India.

Anandi Iyer further adds, "I am very excited with our prospects in India going by our track record in a short period of time. Complementing this, the Fraunhofer Institutes have many exciting projects in the pipeline which will be announced periodically in the months to come. This is testimony to the successful collaboration between the government, the industry and our research fraternity that is focussed on outcome based partnerships.