The two-day, 17th edition of the International Knowledge Millennium Conference (IKMC) 2023, organized by IKP Knowledge Park (IKP), has commenced at HICC, Madhapur. This year’s conference is themed “Shaping the Possible: Making a Positive Impact in the Anthropocene.” The Anthropocene, the current geological epoch, signifies a new era in Earth’s history where human actions have emerged as the predominant force shaping the planet’s ecosystems and natural processes. Centuries of human activities, including agriculture, industrialization, transportation, urbanization, and more, have led to climate change, biodiversity loss, pollution, and unprecedented alterations to ecosystems. The concept of the Anthropocene underscores the significant responsibility humanity bears in acknowledging its impact on Earth and taking actions to create a sustainable future. IKP has chosen this theme due to the critical nature of climate change and related sustainability challenges, emphasizing the need for collective action.
The inaugural session featured speeches by Vinod Tahiliani, CFO of Reliance bp Mobility, discussing India’s energy transition toward its net-zero target, and Sharad Sharma, founder of iSpirt Foundation and a member of the UN advisory body on Artificial Intelligence, emphasizing the pivotal role of ecosystem players like IKP in India’s leadership in leveraging AI, particularly in healthcare. Subsequent plenary sessions explored three essential aspects of addressing global challenges in the Anthropocene: conceptualizing and creating impact for a better planet, recognizing constraints as sources of creativity, and emphasizing the importance of partnerships in finding scalable solutions to global issues. Following these sessions, two round table discussions centered on Biomanufacturing and One Health. Each discussion included the contributions of more than twenty experts. The day also marked a celebration of IKP’s long-term partnerships and the establishment of new collaborations. IKP acknowledged its enduring partners and champions in the innovation ecosystem, including BIRAC, JSS Academy of Education and Research, RICH, T-HUB, and TiE Hyderabad. Additionally, an MOU was initiated with Montgomery County, Maryland, USA, to facilitate the entry of IKP-affiliated companies and startups into the US market in areas such as regulatory processes, R&D, manufacturing, sales, and other activities.
The MOU also aims to facilitate collaboration between companies in Montgomery County and IKP-affiliated companies in India. The MOU was signed by Mark Elrich, County Executive of Montgomery County, and Ms. Deepanwita Chattopadhyay, Chairman and CEO of IKP Knowledge Park. The first day concluded with an awards ceremony presided over by Jayesh Ranjan, Principal Secretary of Industries, IT&C, Government of Telangana. Earlier in the day, a startup exhibition was inaugurated by Dr Jitendra Kumar, MD of BIRAC, and Dr. Uday Desai, former Director of IIT Hyderabad. Over a hundred startups across various sectors, including medical devices and digital health, industrial biotech and biopharma, agri-tech, and clean-tech, participated at various stages of their entrepreneurial journey.