U.B. Desai, director of Indian Institute of Technology, Hyderabad (IIT-H), has urged Japanese companies to establish a lab at the Research Park on the institute premises.
Addressing a gathering of representatives from various Japan companies as well as students on the occasion of ‘Japan Day’ on Tuesday, Prof. Desai said over 100 students of IIT-H are presently pursuing higher education at Japanese institutes, and that has been made possible because of Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) programme.
“Japan is trying to connect with the youth of India. One of our students, Gopi Raju, who graduated in Japan, was posted at Silicon Valley by Toyata. We are aspiring for joint research and development with Japan industry. They are showing interest to collaborate with startups,” said Prof. Desai.
Participating in the programme, Takashi Suzuki, director of Japan External Trade Organisation (JETRO), Bangalore, said, “More Japanese companies are taking note of your country and culture; India has one of the major human resources. We are [all] for co-invention and co-creation with Indians,” said Mr. Suzuki, adding that they are planning to hold Japanese Academic Fair later this week at IIT-H.
About 10 companies from Japan, some of them already having branches in India, including Toshiba, Panasonic and Toyata Research Institute, participated in the programme and explained their line of activity and employment opportunities available with them. Dr. Kotaro Kataoka, JICA in-charge, also took part in the celebrations.
Coordinator Dr. Pradeep Kumar Yemula, Assistant Professor, Department of Electrical Engineering, who coordinated the event, said the twin objectives of the programme are to explore technology and research collaborations with Japanese companies, including Japanese investments in Indian startups, and to increase career and internship opportunities for IITH students with Japanese industry.
