Indian JSPS Alumni Association Holds Its First Symposium

On 10 May, the Indian JSPS Alumni Association held its first symposium at the Indian Institute of Technology Delhi (IIT Delhi) in New Delhi. Its theme “Recent Advances and Future Directions in Science and Technology” attracted some 120 people, including graduate and undergraduate students as well as alumni members, from around India to the event.

Lighting of the lamp

The symposium opened with greetings from the alumni association’s general secretary Dr. Pravin D. Kunte, followed by a message from Mr. Masashi Mizukami, Chargé d’Affaires, Embassy of Japan in India. Then, a traditional “lighting of the lamp” ceremony was conducted with sober solemnity to pray for the success of the symposium, after which the association’s chair Prof. D. Sakthi Kumar, Toyo University, delivered opening remarks. He was followed by IIT Delhi deputy director Prof. M. Balakrishnan and Dr. Yozo Fujino, professor, University of Tokyo, and senior program officer, JSPS Research Center for Science Systems, who offered congratulatory messages.

On the topic “Background and Bases of Manufacturing in Japan,” Dr. Manabu Kiuchi, emeritus professor, University of Tokyo, delivered a keynote address, followed by lectures on various aspects of the symposium’s theme by Dr. Yoshio Bando, chief operating officer, International Center for Materials Nanoarchitectonics (MANA), Professors B.R. Mehta and Joby Joseph of IIT Delhi, and Prof. A. Misra of Intellectual Ventures.

Innovations made in the design of the symposium gave it an added dimension. Besides the lecture hall, the foyer was occupied as a space for former JSPS postdoctoral fellows to introduce their host institutions in Japan to IIT students, giving them an informed opportunity to consider studying or researching in Japan.

On the day following the symposium, the Indian JSPS Alumni Association held its first general meeting.

- Overseas Fellowship Division