THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: N P Rajive, vice chairman of National Innovation Foundation, will lead the Indian delegation attending the PUSPIPTEK innovation festival at Jakarta, Indonesia, from September 27 to 30. Dr Vipin Kumar, director of the National Innovation Foundation, will also be part of the team, which includes innovators, social entrepreneurs and academicians.
The festival is likely to be inaugurated by the President of Indonesia Joko Vidodo. There will be a seminar on grass root innovation, grass root innovation competition and an exhibition of grass root innovation.
Seminar on grass root innovation will be held on September 27 consisting of an opening ceremony, keynote speech sessions and panel sessions. Participants will be from the host country and ASEAN member countries. Representatives from the government and leading institutions, representatives from local self-government, research institutions, universities, technology service post and grass root innovators will be part of the event.
Keynote speakers will be Anil Kumar Gupta who is a globally renowned scholar in the area of grass root innovations. He is the founder of Honey Bee Network and has been a professor of the Indian Institute of Management, Ahmedabad. A fellow of the World Academy of Art and Science, he was awarded the Padmasri in 2004 for his contributions in the field of management education.
The other speaker is Adamas Belva Syah Devara, the CEO and co-founder of Ruangguru, the largest education technology startup in Indonesia. He has an MPA degree from Harvard and an MBA from Stanford University on full merit scholarships.
Rajive was selected as the main jury. The ten participants, five public innovators and five students who pass the selection will be invited to PUSPIPTEK to present their work before the jury on September 28.The prizes will be sponsored by the ASEAN-India Science and Technology Development Fund. First prize will be USD 1,500, the second prize will be USD 1,000 and the third prize is USD 500.
Grass root innovation exhibition will provide a platform to the innovators for building the linkages with potential stake holders whose support can improve their prospects in coming years for the larger social good. Around 110 participants will take part in grass root innovation competition. The exhibition is expected to have 200 participants. Some outstanding innovators from India will also showcase technological innovations.