The conclusion of the India Global Innovation Connect (IGIC) 2024 in Bengaluru on Friday highlighted the urgent necessity for India to strengthen its skill development initiatives, especially in the areas of artificial intelligence (AI) and related fields.
Amitabh Kant, G20 Sherpa for India, has stressed the urgent need to bridge the gap between industry demands and the existing talent pool. Kant highlighted the importance of a strategic overhaul of engineering education to meet current demands in AI, machine learning, data science, and cybersecurity. The 3rd Edition of the India Global Innovation Connect (IGIC) 2024 concluded in Bengaluru on Saturday, charting a path for transformative changes in technology, skilling, and innovation.
Kant said, “There is an urgent need to bridge the gap between industry demands and the available talent pool and ramp-up the skilled engineers pool in India, particularly in areas where there is a high demand, such as artificial intelligence, machine learning, data science, and cybersecurity.”
He added, “The curriculum of many of these engineering colleges and our IITs needs to be totally reoriented and restructured to align with the demands of today, to address the supply chain issue. The next 5 years of the Government will focus will on skilling and apprenticeship to create a vast number of new jobs.”
Claude Smadja, Chairman of Smadja & Smadja Strategic Advisory, praised the successful conclusion of IGIC 2024 as a significant milestone in fostering global collaboration within digital and startup ecosystems.
Smadja said, “The successful conclusion of the 3rd Edition of the India Global Innovation Connect (IGIC) 2024 signifies a major milestone in promoting global collaboration among emerging nations within the digital and startup ecosystems.”
He added, “Over the past two days, we have seen experts from across several countries deliberate in an exchange of ideas and insights on technology trends, biotech, deep tech, innovation, the startup ecosystem and AI, among other topics. Given the enthusiastic response, we are confident that we will continue to build on this momentum for IGIC 2025.”
Soumitra Dutta, Dean and Professor of Management at Said Business School, Oxford University, highlighted India’s favorable economic policies and the renewed enthusiasm for technology and entrepreneurship among students and youth.
Dutta emphasises, “In India, we are currently at a fortunate moment where the country is benefiting from several years of favourable economic policies. Among students and youth, we are seeing a renewed enthusiasm for technology, innovation, and entrepreneurship and there is energy and hunger around entrepreneurship.”
He further added, “The brand of India has changed today and there is a significant transformation in India’s image and is now being recognized for its software programmers and genius talent pool.”
The objective of IGIC is to promote technology and business collaborations between India and global counterparts, discover new opportunities in disruptive technologies, and foster business partnerships. IGIC 2024, building on the achievements of previous editions, was organized by Smadja & Smadja Strategic Advisory, with the Karnataka Digital Economy Mission as a key partner.
The event received official support from government and business entities like Swissnex, JETRO, German Entrepreneurship, French Tech India, Business France, and Enterprise Singapore. Global and domestic industry leaders gathered to highlight these focus areas as crucial for the growth of Government, Industry, and Startups.
With over 400 attendees, the event featured insightful discussions and presentations by leaders on various industry topics. The second day witnessed a mix of industry leaders, startup founders, venture capitalists, and government dignitaries engaging in keynote addresses and panel discussions on themes including technology trends, biotech, managing challenges in the tech ecosystem, scaling up strategies, and VC/startup ecosystems.
IGIC 2024 had notable partners such as Tata Digital Private Limited, Axilor Ventures, WizFreight, Covington & Burling, and Swissnex, along with organizations like JETRO, Start2 Group, Enterprise Singapore, French Tech India, and Business France.
