Workshops
Workshop: Shaping Advanced Frugal Innovation: The creation of resource- and cost-efficient high-tech innovations in Tamil Nadu
On September 10th, IIT Madras and Leibniz University Hannover (LUH), Germany, hosted a one-day workshop event at IIT Madras Research Park, Raman Hall. In a well organised setting, members of academia, industry, and regional politics came together to learn about the potential of Advanced Frugal Innovation (AFI) and discuss its possible impact for start-ups and large companies in Tamil Nadu and around the world.
The event was inaugurated by chief guests Thomas Dose (Managing Director, BMW Plant Chennai), Prof. Shankar Ram (Associate Dean, ICSR at IITM), and Iwan Siemens (Consular Attaché, German Consulate General in Chennai), alongside Prof. Balkrishna C. Rao (Engineering Design, IITM) and Prof. Ingo Liefner (Institute of Economic and Cultural Geography, LUH). In his opening speech, Mr. Thomas Dose impressively painted a picture of how to successfully combine German and Indian business culture and engineering know-how to achieve optimal innovative outcomes, without creating ever more bureaucratic hurdles and resource savvy processes.
During the morning session, Prof. Balkrishna C. Rao introduced the participants to the concept of Frugal Engineering and AFI. Attendees learned about the tremendous potential of the AFI approach to reduce costs and resource consumption, without compromising on the quality of the product or technology. This coverage of the engineering perspective of AFI was then augmented by Steffen Bauerochse (LUH), who presented recent research results from Tamil Nadu, showcasing the applicability of the concept in practice and its significant potential for companies and the state of Tamil Nadu to position itself on the forefront of sustainable, yet affordable technological development. The morning session was rounded up by Prof. Ingo Liefner, who reminded participants of the challenges but also the opportunities that come with the implementation of AFI on a systemic level.
After a networking lunch, the afternoon saw a high-level panel discussion on the current ability of the Tamil Nadu innovation ecosystem to support AFI, its future development potential and the importance of the AFI approach for innovators from Tamil Nadu moving forward. Mallikarjuna Shivasharanappa (Head, Indo-German Chamber of Commerce Chennai) guided the discussion between Dr. Oshin Behl (Head of Carl Zeiss Innovation Hub at IITM Research Park), Venkatesh Seshadri (Head of Supply Chain Consulting, CII), Nixon Joseph Raj (Vice President IT, ITeS & Emerging Tech, TIDCO), Prof. em. Muraleedharan VR (Coordinator, Centre for Technology and Policy, IITM), Raj Subramaniam (CTO, IITM Research Park), and Pradeepkumar Sundarraj (Founder & CEO, Kelvin6k). All participants pointed out the significant chance AFI presents for Tamil Nadu and that the underlying approach has great potential to become mainstream within the next decade. To access this potential, increased collaboration between actors and institutions from academia, industry, and government is a major necessity.
The event was a great success that saw many insightful discussions within and outside of the sessions and will lead the way for further Indo-German collaboration in the field of AFI and Frugal Engineering. The organisers thank all participants for their interest and contribution!
Workshop: Frugal Engineering of Advanced Frugal Innovations
What is frugal engineering, how does it lead to the creation of advanced frugal innovations, and what role do society and systemic actors play in their development? The workshop Frugal Engineering of Advanced Frugal Innovations addressed these issues. On February 9, presentations and discussions were heard with about 30 representatives of well-known Indo-German companies at the Indian Institute of Technology Madras. Among the main contributions were the presentations of Prof. Balkrishna Rao who spoke on Advanced Frugal Innovations and Frugal Engineering, and Julian Barnikol on Systemic Conditions for Advanced Frugal Innovations. As a result, participants were left with a clearer understanding of the development, necessary conditions and potentials of and for Advanced Frugal Innovations.
We would like to thank the Indian Institute of Technology Madras for their hospitality and the Indo-German Chamber of Commerce for their support in advance. We thank for the participation and the constructive discussion.
1. International Workshop about Advanced Frugal Innovation
The first workshop on Advanced Frugal Innovation was held in Hannover from 28.09. to 29.09.2022 and was hosted by Prof. Ingo Liefner and ICCR Chair for Indian Studies Prof. Balkrishna Rao. The workshop took place in the premises of the Werkhof near Schneiderberg. Internationally leading scientists in the field of Frugal Innovation from Germany and the Netherlands, and representatives from the Faculties of Economic Geography, Mechanical and Civil Engineering, and Geodesy at LUH discussed the status and future of the research field.
Different perspectives and new findings on Advanced Frugal Innovations and Frugal Innovations were presented and then constructively discussed. Bringing together these diverse disciplines of social sciences and engineering had a positive impact on the whole research field and beyond. Based on this workshop, further workshops to intensify the cooperation between the LUH and the IITM in particular and to advance the research field are planned.
The workshop is an essential result of Prof. Balkrishna Rao's stay at the LUH, where he worked as ICCR Professor for Indian Studies at the Institute of Economic and Cultural Geography since June 2022. In addition to the workshop, his stay included various lectures, visits to companies, and the development of new research topics. In October 2022, he returned to the Indian Institute of Technology Madras in Chennai. We would like to thank for the support of the ICCR and Prof. Rao’s commitment, productive discussions, and joint research and learning.