An industry-leading symposium that converges innovation and technology through collaboration
With an aim to foster a culture of collaboration between innovation and technology, Tata Chemicals Innovation Centres (ICs) launched iNNCOTECH (an acronym for innovation, collaboration and technology). It is an industry-leading annual symposium that aims to spark off conversations, thought and action in multiple fields of science and technology. iNNCOTECH provides a unique platform to researchers and business teams to come together, learn from and be motivated by some of the most distinguished scientists of our times. Based on the theme each year, eminent experts from industry and academia are invited to share their thoughts and insights.
The theme of iNNCOTECH 2021 was ’Leveraging science for a clean, green and sustainable future’. The symposium was blessed by the virtual presence of eminent scientists, Padma Shri Dr S Sivaram, honorary professor and INSA honorary scientist, IISER Pune; Padma Shri Dr GD Yadav, emeritus professor of eminence, Institute of Chemical Technology, Mumbai; K Ananth Krishnan, executive vice president and chief technology officer, Tata Consultancy Services; Dr KJ Divakar, director, InnovaSMART LLP; and Vinod Kumar, managing director, String Bio.
R Mukundan, managing director and chief executive officer, and the senior leadership of Tata Chemicals were present virtually.
The symposium saw five distinguished speakers from academia and industry putting forth their thoughts and inspiring the participants.
The first speaker, Padma Shri Dr S Sivaram, spoke on ‘Sustainable science: Embedding systems thinking in research and innovation’. “We know that energy and materials, ecology and environment, and equity constitute the three pillars on which rest the future of a sustainable civilization. A new paradigm for the practice of chemistry is needed. If chemistry increasingly directs its strengths to contributing to a sustainable civilization, it will become more interesting and compelling to people, and may lose its ‘dark and toxic’ image. It will become more worthy of public support and spawn exciting economic enterprises that nurture sustainability,” stated Dr S Sivaram.
The second speaker was Padma Shri Dr GD Yadav who shared his insights on ‘The hydrogen economy: Climate change and sustainable development’.
A fireside chat was organised between Dr Richard Lobo, head, Innovation and CQH, and K Ananth Krishnan. Mr Ananth Krishnan shared success stories, in particular those that had a significant impact in the field of chemistry and biological science and the making of TCS into one of the world’s most innovative companies. He shared his views on science as a fulcrum for a clean, green and sustainable future and on the importance of innovations in the digital world that deliver green manufacturing better.
Vinod Kumar shared his thoughts on ‘Leveraging biology to build sustainable, cost-effective and high-performance value chains’. He shared his views on redefining manufacturing and bringing high-performance products to market that are better for land, water and environment. Key products shared were alternative proteins for human and animal nutrition, as well as ingredients for agriculture, personal care and chemical markets.
Dr KJ Divakar spoke on ‘Chemistry and sustainability’. He shared his views on ideas to render discovery and manufacturing processes less harmful to the environment, both in crop protection chemistry and pharmaceutical chemistry including formulation science, and to embrace green principles. Views on using chemistry principles in the areas of energy generation and storage were expressed. He shared that it is important for practicing chemists to apply their skills to deliver greener, cleaner and more sustainable technologies.
Mr Mukundan addressed the distinguished speakers and the participants.
A lively poster session for new ideas was conducted in two sessions. Interdisciplinary teams from IC Pune, IC Mambattu, RICH and Rallis Seeds Division presented innovative ideas in the broad areas of materials sciences, nutritional sciences, energy sciences and agro sciences, which were aligned to the theme of the symposium.
During the first poster presentation session on January 22, 2021, the jury panel consisting of Dr Supriya Kummamuru, principal innovation evangelist, TCS, and Dr Sumant Sood, head, Innovation, Titan Company, evaluated all posters based on parameters which included innovative and original ideas, out-of-the-box thinking and bringing newer perspectives to businesses. The top 10 posters were selected for final presentation on January 23, 2021. The jury panel for the second day consisted of Shohab Rais, chief operating officer, Performance Materials, Tata Chemicals, and Dr Sumitesh Das, chief, Graphene Business, Tata Steel.
The winners with the best ideas and thoughts on the way forward were announced during the second round of the poster session.
Winners of the poster competition are as follows:
Initiated in the year 2015, ICs have successfully conducted seven iNNCOTECH events so far, with varied themes ranging from material sciences and food and nutritional sciences to energy sciences and agro sciences. ICs will continue to spread the passion of science and innovation in the years that follow.
