Fraunhofer, Europe's largest application-oriented research organization organised their 5th Fraunhofer Innovation and Technology (FIT) Platform on Wednesday, December 5th in Bengaluru, India, where various international technology experts deliberated on and showcased cutting edge technologies, innovation and solutions. The event this year focusses on Digitalization spanning the sectors such as Manufacturing, Energy, Buildings, E-mobility, Space, Smart Cities and Cultural Heritage, all seen as fundamental growth drivers in world markets.

Ms. Anandi Iyer, Director, Fraunhofer Office India lighting the inaugural lamp with other delegates

The symposium witnessed participation from leading CEOs, CTOs, senior policy makers and innovation experts representing the Government, Industry and the Research fraternity who are also stakeholders and decision makers in the implementation of various Government programs. Some of the dignitaries included:

• Dr. Gunther Grathwohl – Head of International Digital Dialogue, German Federal Ministry of Economic Affairs and Energy (BMWi)

• Shri. Anshu Prakash, Additional Secretary, Department of Telecommunications, Ministry of Communications, Govt. of India*

• Smt. Sukriti Likhi, Joint Secretary, Department of Heavy Industry, Ministry of Heavy Industries and Public Enterprises, Govt. of India

• Shri. Gaurav Gupta, Principal Secretary to the Govt., Dept. of Information Technology, Biotechnology and Science & Technology, Govt. of Karnataka

• Mr. Vinnie Mehta, Director General, Automotive Components Manufacturers Association (ACMA)*

• Mr. K S Viswanathan, Vice President – Industry Initiatives, National Association of Software and Services Companies (NASSCOM)

• Prof. Dr. Thomas Magedanz, Director, Business Unit Software-based Networks, Fraunhofer Institute for Open Communication Systems FOKUS, Berlin

• Dr. Gopichand Katragadda – Group CTO, TATA Sons Ltd.

Participants included over a dozen Fraunhofer experts from the fields of ICT, Energy, Efficient Building Technologies and Production Technologies etc. Included participation from top Indian and German companies as well as International organisations such as Asia Productivity Organisation (APO).

Fraunhofer has been active in India for over 10 years, initially with a Fraunhofer Senior Advisor and since 2012 with a Fraunhofer Representative Office supporting the activities of the Fraunhofer Institutes. With this event it will look to commemorate this milestone in the presence of industry leaders and key stakeholders from the government and industry. The 5th Fraunhofer Innovation and Technology Platform held in the morning was followed by a high-level panel discussion on ‘Innovation – the Fulcrum of a Global Industry’, featuring marquee industry leaders discussing successful innovation ecosystems across leading nations, the India scenario – challenges and opportunities, trends and ways to scale up the Indian innovation ecosystem.

“Fraunhofer has been involved in India for 10 years now, and it has been such an exciting journey. Our institutes have been a long time trusted innovation partner in India, collaborating with some of the major players in the field of Material Science, Energy, Environment, Automotive, Electro-mobility, Production Technology and Smart Cities, while working with Industry, Government and Public Sector. Our Industry clients have grown tremendously over the last few years and we look forward to another successful decade of meaningful partnerships between the two great nations.” − Prof. Frank Treppe, Managing Director Political & International Affairs and Associate Board Member, Fraunhofer Gesellschaft.

“While our international footprint is growing steadily, our growth in India has been equally exciting, as Fraunhofer moves into a more strategic and long term partnership with its clients and partners. A great amount of goodwill, contracts and successes were achieved along the way. Fraunhofer is the Technology Resource Partner for Manufacturing in India (MoU with Dept. of Heavy Industry, Govt. of India), the Technology Partner for the Ministry of New and Renewable Energy (MNRE) and the International Solar Alliance (ISA), and in the process of setting up two Smart City Innovation Labs in India among others.” − Ms. Anandi Iyer, Director, Fraunhofer Office India.

Ms. Anandi Iyer further adds, “I am very excited with our prospects in India going by our track record in a short period of time. Complementing this, the Fraunhofer Institutes have many exciting projects in the pipeline which will be announced periodically in the months to come. This is testimony to the successful collaboration between the government, the industry and our research fraternity that is focussed on outcome based partnerships.”

About Fraunhofer

Founded in 1949, Fraunhofer-Gesellschaft is the leading organization for applied research in Europe. Its research activities are conducted by 72 Institutes and Research units across locations in Germany. The Fraunhofer-Gesellschaft employs a staff of 25,000, who are qualified scientists and engineers working with an annual research budget totalling more than 2.3 billion Euros. Around 70 percent of the Fraunhofer-Gesellschaft’s contract research revenue is derived from contracts with industry and from publicly financed research projects. Our global footprint is very strong with offices and research centres in the USA, Europe and Asia. International collaborations with excellent research partners and innovative companies around the world ensure direct access to regions of the greatest importance to present and future scientific progress and economic development. Some of our renowned innovations are the MP3 audio format, the white LED, record for best solar cell efficiency and the smallest solar thermal camera.

Fraunhofer has been active in India since the past several years, bringing innovative technologies and research competence to India. Fraunhofer offers applied R&D services in various fields such as technology, textiles and new materials, aviation, food technology, aerospace and ICT. Fraunhofer is the chosen R&D and innovation partner of some of the giant players in the field of Material Science, Energy, Environment, Automotive, Electro-mobility, Production Technology and Smart Cities of Government and Private Organisations.