Karnataka celebrates 'Innovation and Impact' at the Bengaluru Tech Summit 2018
The 21 st edition of Bengaluru Tech Summit was inaugurated on Thursday at the Bengaluru Palace by Karnataka Chief Minister HD Kumaraswamy.
Bengaluru Tech Summit is Karnataka’s flagship IT and biotechnology event. It is organised by the Department of Information Technology and Biotechnology, Government of Karnataka, in association with Software Technology Parks of India (STPI) Bengaluru, with the support of associations like Nasscom, ISEA, TIE, ABAI, etc.
The three-day event will have global participants, industry captains, futurists and innovators showcasing innovation and celebrating the success of technology and startup ecosystem of the state. The event would include keynote talks, conference sessions, B2B tradeshows, startup zone, Thought Leaders Conclave, IT export awards, product launches, Bengaluru tech exchange and 'Global Innovation Zone'.
The inaugural event State government ministers sharing the dais with delegates from countries like Australia, Estonia and France.
‘Innovation and Impact’ being the focal theme of the Bengaluru Tech Summit this year, the event will have the convergence of technologies such as artificial intelligence, IoT, robotics, blockchain and cybersecurity, which help in providing solutions for the challenges faced in sectors like health, education, agriculture, energy, etc.
“Bengaluru Tech Summit 2018 is a unique platform provided by the Karnataka State government for deliberating on innovation and its impact on industry and society at large. It is indeed an auspicious occasion as the event is seeing participation by a large number of companies engaged in innovation, from both India and abroad,” Kumaraswamy said.
He added that while the big players have an advantage, it is the SMEs and startups that need encouragement. To this end, the government, through its startup policy, intends to support and encourage startups in providing solutions to several challenges. The Grand Challenges scheme under its startup policy provides opportunities for social innovation having wide-ranging beneficial impact on the quality of life.
Kumaraswamy also unveiled Innovate Bengaluru- an augmented reality embedded book. This edition of the book will have 30 stories of innovators in deep science, manufacturing, agritech, biotech, space, education, e-commerce, investors, incubators and enablers etc along with AR videos.
The 20 winners for the virtual Global Hackathon or ‘Human Code’ were also announced. The 25-day virtual global hackathon was conducted in collaboration with global innovation alliance partners and startup innovation hubs to create solutions that address local/global societal needs.
