Efforts to bring everyone together for research will pay off: Isro ex-chief

As chief guest at the 19th convocation of Dhirubhai Ambani University he asked graduating students to understand the importance of collaboration and look at the big picture

Former Indian Space Research Organisation chairman S Somanath on Saturday said initiatives to bring industry, academia and government together for research and innovation will definitely bring results.

As chief guest at the 19th convocation of Dhirubhai Ambani University here, formerly known as Dhirubhai Ambani Institute of Information and Communication Technology, he asked graduating students to understand the importance of collaboration and look at the big picture in whichever organisation they work for.  He was particularly fortunate to work at Isro that was focussed on the use of space technology to find solutions to the problems of people and society, he noted.  "Not far from now, Bharat should become a technology-powered nation, where homegrown innovations will create new opportunities in industries, product development, business and economic progress. The initiatives of our government to have the industry-academia-government support system for research and innovation through creation of ANRF (Anusandhan National Research Foundation) and other models will definitely bring results," he said. "I can tell you that you need to work with people and much better than you work with your knowledge and technology," he advised the students.

Science, engineering and other allied fields are forecast to witness high growth in the coming years, Somnath noted. "Technology disruptions will change everything we see today. One of the qualities you need to develop is to be a student," he said.