Paul for new ideas for technological growth

Tribune News Service

Dehradun, November 25

Governor KK Paul today stressed the need for innovation and out-of-the-box thinking in order to achieve advances in technological development.

He was speaking as the chief guest at Indian Institute of Technology (IIT), Roorkee, at the Alumni Day celebrations. The Governor said, “In this cyber age, as we move towards a knowledge economy, we have to recognise that, howsoever hard we may try, we cannot have an invention every now and then. We have to use our knowledge, intellect, the felt need, and then improvise. Sometimes, an improvisation can make the original product much better,” he said.

He said since inven-tions were not always possible, innovation was necessary and significant in today’s world.

He said IITs were the only institutions, besides the IISC (Bengaluru), which figured in the list of top Indian universities. “Brand IIT evokes great respect and honour all over the world,” he said.

The Governor congratulated the IIT fraternity on the occasion and said a raising day was an opportunity for stocktaking and chalking out future plans. He called upon students to learn to create opportunities for themselves rather than waiting for these to fall in their laps. “As the top technologists of the country, you are amply equipped to indulge in some out-of-the-box thinking and focus on innovative ways and means of harnessing technology. Different thinking can sometimes make those projects work which were hitherto unworkable,” he said.

The Governor also highlighted the need for harnessing more energy from non-conventional resources. He spoke about the efforts underway at a Seattle-based company (Oscilla) to utilise energy from ocean waves.

He talked about the Prime Minister’s digital India and smart cities projects and said innovations would be required to harness technology to make these projects succeed. “I am glad to see that our government has joined hands with IT giants like Intel and academic institutions like the IIM, Ahmedabad, to crowd source ideas, incubate, fund and mentor them to make them workable and replicable. Bright ideas may come from a single source, but to see them fructify into action is our collective responsibility.”

He said from among the traditional components of production, namely capital, labour, land and technology, it was technology which was today the driving force behind production and made the system more effective and efficient.

He told the students that the country looked up to them for the mission of nation building. “Today, you form the bridge between the past and the future. Your education here does not end with the degree, of course, Brand IIT is very important, but how you think and apply yourself is even more important for the country,” he said.

The Governor inaugurated the Himalayan Study Centre on the IIT campus. IIT Director Pradipto Banerjee, Dean of IIT, several guests and former students of IIT were present on the occasion.