International Conferences

“Innovating for Development and Sustainability” October 5 and 6, 2017 Navrachana University, Vadodara

The Navrachana University hosted its 2nd National Conference on “Innovating for Development and Sustainability” on October 5-6 in Vadodara. The Conference was visualized keeping in mind sustainable development issues identified by the United Nations’ adoption of Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) 2030, and the use of Innovation as a dynamic tool for development. A total of hundred presentations were made by participants from New Delhi, Pune, Mumbai, Ahmedabad, Vallabh Vidyanagar and Vadodara. A critical angle to the deliberations were offered by ‘student think’ in the form of poster presentation.

Participants presented the concepts and ideas they are working upon for sustainable alternatives and deliberate on the themes and sub-themes of the Conference, hopefully leading to the formation of a white paper for research and future use in academics.

In the Inaugural Function, a talk was delivered by Dr. Vinod Rao IAS, Municipal Commissioner, Vadodara on Innovative and Sustainable Initiatives for Vadodara: Smart City Mission.

Shri Sunil Shah, Chairman, Gujarat Innovation Society, whose address focussed on “Innovation and Individual”.

The Keynote Address was presented by Prof. H.C.Pradhan – President, Indian Association for Physics Teachers, Former, Senior Professor and Center Director, Homi Bhabha Centre for Science Education (HBCSE) who spoke on Innovations in Education for Sustainable Development

Prof. Raghavan Rangarajan from Physical Research Laboratory, Ahmedabad, who focussed on Cosmology – The Story of Our Universe.

Prof. Raghavan Rangarajan from Physical Research Laboratory, Ahmedabad, who focussed on Cosmology – The Story of Our Universe.

Shri. Kartikeya V. Sarabhai –Director, Cener for Environment Education, Ahmadabad spoke on Sustainable Development.

Dr. Ravikant Joshi – National Urban Livelihood Mission – Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs, Government of India, New Delhi deliberated upon Financing Strategies for achieving Sustainable Development Goals of Smart Cities – Is Smart Cities Mission a right approach?

In addition, more than 10 eminent experts from various fields including architecture and design, business, science, governance, and industry delivered talks on Nuclear Medicine, Social Innovation, Corporate Social Responsibility, Environmental Governance, Climate Change, Ground water contamination, Critical Thinking, Gender Roles towards an Inclusive Society, Sustainable Development in School Education, etc.

The National Conference thus explored the different facets of development, sustainability and innovation in interesting and exciting ways, structured around the sub-themes of Education, Science and Technology, Public Policy and Society, Cultural and Media, Economics and Business Management, and Environment and Design. There was a simultaneous Exhibition at the Conference venue that will display information and products on models of sustainability. Poster presentations by university students provided a glimpse of ‘student think’ on the theme.

On October 6th, the Valedictory Address was delivered by Dr.Isher Judge Ahluwalia from The Indian Council for Research on International Economic Relations (ICRIER).

Navrachana University’s Sixth Samvaad Lecture was delivered by Sri M, a spiritual guide, social reformer and an educationist.

The Lecture was in the form of a Conversation between Sri M, spiritual master and founder, Satsang Foundation, and eminent writer and thinker Padma Shri Gunvantbhai Shah. It centred around Sri M’s book, “The Journey Continues …” that was launched on the same evening by Rajmata Shubhanginiraje Gaekwad, Chancellor, M S University of Baroda. This book is available in its Gujarati translation by Rekha Udayan.

Sri M’s life has been a transformational journey from a young boy to a living yogi. He has several books to his credit, and his latest book, “The Journey Continues …” is a sequel to his very popular book, “Apprenticed to a Himalayan Master”. The book offers the essence of modern science which is struggling to pinpoint the abode of consciousness and the mystic world of Mind. It also focuses on the “Brain-Mind Complex” that can reform the bridge of Neuroscience, Quantum Physics and Spirituality. A few years back, he undertook an inspirational walk, Kashmir to Kanyakumari, called Walk of Hope, during which he had walked through Vadodara.

The Samvaad was held at the Conference Hall, Navrachana University, Vasna-Bhayli Road at 6.00 pm on Saturday, February 9, 2019.

The fifth in NUV Samvaad series was talk by, Padma Shri Geeta Chandran– Bharatnatyam Dancer, who delivered her lecture on “Endancing the Universe”

Geeta Chandran is Founder-President of Natya-Vriksha and Artistic Director of the Natya Vriksha Dance Company, known for the high aesthetic quality of its group presentations that showcase Geeta’s metier as a visualizer par excellence. Geeta has also created innumerable solo performances that spotlight her aesthetic persona as an eclectic classical choreographer.

Author of SO MANY JOURNEYS, an intensely personal collection of her writings narrating her engagement with Bharatanatyam, Geeta also writes an influential dance column in The New Indian Express/Sunday Standard. A rare combination of being both a luminary and a visionary, Geeta Chandran is a widely respected role model for the young generation. She guides reputed national cultural institutions and prestigious universities as their Board member, and she also serves on the Advisory Boards of several reputed schools and colleges.

In her lecture ENDANCING THE UNIVERSE, renowned classical dancer (Padmashri) Geeta Chandran shared her journey to becoming one of India’s foremost performing artists and how she synthesised the knowledge she received from her stalwart Gurus to imprint Bharatanatyam with her personal vision of the dance, imprinting her art form with abstract notions of Joy, Beauty, Values, Aspirations, Myth and Spirituality.

The fourth in NUV Samvaad series was a talk by Shri Ashoke Chatterjee, Ex-Director, National Institute of Design, on April 11, 2014 at Jyoti Gardens. The topic was “The Rural University: Past, Present and Future”. Prof. Ashoke Chatterjee is former executive director of National Institute of Design (NID) from 1975-85. In 1975, NID was invited to be involved with the Rural University, a new concept in education and rural development initiated by Professor Ravi Matthai, first director of the Indian Institute of Management (IIM), Ahmedabad. Ashoke Chatterjee became part of the Rural University team that worked with people of the Jawaja block, which included about 200 villages with a population of approximately 80,000 people in a drought-prone district of Rajasthan. Shri Chatterjee received Sir Misha Black Award in 1985 for his achievements in design education and management. Awarded annually to only one person, Shri Chatterjee is one of the two Indians to have received this coveted British Award given to people who have made a difference through design, internationally.

Ashoke Chatterjee presented a four-decade journey for the Rural University from a community of artisans living in the desert region that was drought-prone, deforested, devoid of industrial infrastructure and crushed by social and political oppression, to now the Artisans Alliance of Jawaja (AAJ) and the Jawaja brand that has develop a reputation that extends to every craft market in India and to some of the most competitive markets overseas. The compelling story of business enterprise, social entrepreneurship, collective education, community work and the power of design and management in creating new markets for the new majority was the crux of the talk. An interesting interaction followed the talk. The audience also interacted with the artisans themselves and got a bird’s eye view of the Jawaja story and the challenges that the Jawaja artisans have faced and are still facing. The lecture and interaction was an inspiring one and instilled in the listeners a will to take up new challenges and to work towards bringing out innovations in all areas and particularly in education – “A spirit to march together towards a better future”.

The third NUV Samvaad was held on 1st December 2012 Saturday at 6:00 pm at Jyoti Gardens, Vadodara. This year’s NUV Samvad was hosted by Navrachana University in association with Baroda Management Association (BMA). Shri. R. Gopalakrishnan, Director Tata Sons Ltd, as invited to deliver a talk for the NUV Samvaad Series. R. Gopalakrishnan is a professional manager with over 45 years of experience. He had served in Jeddah as Chairman of Unilever Arabia, in Bangalore as Managing Director of Brooke Bond Lipton India, and finally as Vice Chairman of Hindustan Lever. Currently, he is Director, Tata Sons Ltd. He is the chairman of Tata Auto-Component Systems and Rallis India, the vice chairman of Tata Chemicals, and is a director of Tata Power and Tata Technologies. He is an independent director on the boards of Akzo Nobel India and Castrol India. He has authored Three books: “The Case of the Bonsai Manager: Lessons for Managers on Intuition ”, “When the Penny Drops: Learning What is Not Taught”, What The CEO Really Wants From You: The 4 A’ s for Managerial Success”. Shri Gopalakrishnan Spoke on the topic, ‘Decision Making: Why we lead our lives through intuition but pretend to live through rationality.’ Shri Gopalakrishnan made a very influential presentation on the subject of ‘intuition in decision making’. On this same platform, Shri Gopalakrishnan released his latest book ‘What the CEO really wants from you: the 4 A’s of Managerial Success’ published by Harper Collns India.

The second lecture in The NUV Samvaad Series was held in August 2011. Prof. Viviene Baumfield, an internationally renowned Educationist, Researcher and Professor of Pedagogy Policy at University of Glassgow, U.K, was invited by the University to conduct the lecture. Prof. Baumfield’s current research area is ‘Innovation in Pedagogy and Teacher Education’ and she spoke on a topic that reflected her interest in the field – “Teacher’s for 21st Century: Challenges and Opportunities for Professional Learning”.

The first NUV Samvaad was held in February 2011. The invited dignitary was the eminent Designer, author and speaker Prof. John Thackara. Prof. Thackara is a much-renowned writer, Speaker and an event organizer. He is more popularly known for his books ‘Design after Modernism’, ‘Lost in Space: A Traveler’s Tale’ and ‘Winners! How Successful Companies Innovate by Design’. Also, he is the director of ‘Doors of Perception’ and is involved with the ‘Doors of Perception blog’ and ‘Newsletter’ since 2002.Prof. Thackara spoke on the topic “Life’s Work: Opportunities in the Restorative Economy”.