Artificial Intelligence, Administrative Oversight & Reparation Claims

 Here is one viewpoint from a reader in response to the contents of an earlier post (dated 22 May 2020): 

Dear Prof. Kaushik....It's really interesting to note that the 80s of your time in the USA passed through the same melding of the physical world with the virtual world, as Corona has foisted on us now. Marx had presciently observed: History repeats itself first as a comedy, and then as a farce. We must not commit a comedy of errors now, by hustling through this process of synthesis, lest it becomes a farce later, with unintended consequences. 

With my limited experience of teaching, writing and research, I can not  agree with you any more, that learning should be voluntary in a congenial environment, where both teachers and students learn and evolve  and course correction is the only  constant.............Being a Keynesian by inclination I can only repeat  what he said at the end of the first world war in his rarely read master piece 'Economic Consequences of Peace and War' that, no reparation claim should be overly oppressive, and more importantly it's time to reflect, repose and ruminate. The lock down, hopefully will not slow us down our process of thinking clearly, unhurriedly and hopefully  encourage the 'Argumentative Indian' in all of us, in different measures. 

[The above response is from a senior colleague formerly with the Indian Economic Service.]

Here are my comments:

Sir, I would not say that there was exactly a "melding" of the virtual with the physical world of the 1980s in USA. Actually, the design automation projects initiated during that period were all part of a journey from the mass production era to the mass customization era around sustainable growth challenges which had already been initiated earlier [The shift from "Taylorism to Tailorism" is important here].  These were partly influenced by the noted economist Herbert A. Simon's "Sciences of the Artificial'' (1969) with one of his quotes "The proper study of mankind is the science of design" giving us the necessary impetus to apply Artificial Intelligence in Design and Manufacturing. Various Architectures for capturing Domain Independent Expertise were being proffered in the form of prospectives around product life cycles for the "supply chains of the future" (all during late 1980s to early 1990s). The aim of our research was to leverage the power of technology for common good with design thinking guiding action.

The University of Massachusetts (Amherst) where I did my doctoral studies, also exposed me to the views of civil rights activists. Like all other students, though I am not sure of the latest position, I had the privilege of accessing the world's tallest university library (@UMASS). http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/W._E._B._Du_Bois_Library 

"According to scribd.com (retrieved 16 Sep 2014), ........it is the 2nd tallest library in the world, and it is the tallest university library in the world.^[2]" Named after a prominent civil rights activist W.E.B. Du Bois - an advocate for intellectual freedom and civil equality. [in respect for Du Bois's life-long commitment to the cause of social and racial justice.] The United States' Civil Rights Act, embodying many of the reforms for which Du Bois had campaigned his entire life, was enacted a year after his death.

UMass also had close ties with Nelson Mandela and his quest for freedom and democracy. In 1978, UMass Amherst became the second American public university to divest its holdings in apartheid South Africa.

It was quite ironic for me when I returned to India in 1992. [....it made me think of the "internal apartheid" in our country.] No wonder, therefore, post-liberalized India hardly made any progress in terms of freedom and democracy.

After returning to India, various interim developments took place from 1992 to 2018 [such as, launching of the SCM course or establishing the Computer-Aided Product and Process Development lab, Soliciting industry support for the CSMRP lab precursor to the ERP Center, VDIS for SMEs (Upto 2000), Manufacturing Management, e-Governance related articulations (2001 to 2005, Design Thinking & PLM initiatives (2005 to 2015); CBCPLM for MSMEs (2014 to 2018) etc. in Odisha] all along championing the need for virtual platforms for the Indian context. But the physical world around was slow in embracing these ideas because of the already "hardened organization structures" adopted from the mass production era (recall: "division of labor and its exploitation under capitalism" or one may say, "the division of labor with its intoxicating effects on capitalism"). So it was painfully slow in the Indian context. DRDO's CAIR was a relatively new set up under your former department's purview around the early 1990s (if I am not wrong). And you must be knowing best why productive resources were being held back on Indian soil. Hence, the delay in the virtual world working synchronously with the physical world for realizing the true value of  technology for the Indian purpose in domestic supply chains. This delay makes it all the more difficult for the physical world to catch up with the virtual world now when India needs it the most. 

Sir, you may be knowing more about Marx since you presented a paper: "Was Marx  a precursor to Keynes?". I am, therefore puzzled with your reference to "Marx observing history as a comedy"; from what I gathered, please read this excerpt: 

History Repeats Itself? 

Marx never believed that “history repeats itself,” but in a famous quote he said:

“Hegel remarks somewhere that all great world-historic facts and personages appear, so to speak, twice. He forgot to add: the first time as tragedy, the second time as farce.” [Marx, 18th Brumaire of Louis Bonapatre, Chapter 1.] 

[Source:https://www.marxists.org/glossary/terms/h/i.htm#history-repeats, 1852]

It is "tragedy" and not "comedy" as quoted in your email. In any case, I could not figure out if you were alluding to something or someone when you mentioned "farce". Since it is part of the paragraph on virtual processes, to me it does not look like repetition of history but it seems more like continuous development of technology (in this case as related to Artificial Intelligence) over time in service of humanity. The scary part now is that it may go out of control in the hands of people who don't want to use it for benevolent purposes (possibilities and possible perils of AI by Bernard Marr) or worse in the hands of unscrupulous people who do not believe in process integrity and transparency. Just like workers becoming extensions of "physical machines" during the mass production era, it is quite possible to envision a scenario where the "knowledge worker" now may become a mere appendage of the "virtual machine". 

Marx, as you know, had wanted an end to division of labor and alienation of the worker from the means of production along with the other types of alienation that weaken the workers. Here is an excerpt from one Policy Review Article by Ronald W. Dworkin (Feb 2012)

"Indeed, a story is unfolding in the West about the future of capitalism, one with two main characters, Karl Marx and medical science. Marx believed capitalism’s days were numbered. He might have been right, had medical science not been there to rescue it." 

Read this one: Retirement and the Social Contract | Hoover Institution    

Even though it is from 2012, it is very much significant even now with the world facing this Coronavirus pandemic. Also see my blog post titled "Holistic solution" (Monday, August 13, 2007) commenting on the Health Sector related Supply Chains of Odisha.

Sir, your being Keynesian by inclination worries me when you say "no reparation claim should be overly oppressive". I am sure you know that Keynes was leading the eugenics movement which Britain is now trying hard to forget. Meanwhile, you may like to note that, "Keynes' grandchildren have become Marxists." [Read this article from MIT Technology Review: Keynes' was wrong Gen-Z will have it worse.] by Malcolm Harris December 16, 2019. Here is an excerpt:

In a famous essay from the early 1930s called “Economic Possibilities for Our Grandchildren,” Keynes imagined the world 100 years in the future. He spotted phenomena like job automation (which he called “technological unemployment”) coming, but those changes, he believed, augured progress: progress toward a better society, progress toward collective liberation from work.  

[Do go through the article to see how supply chains exploit workers using technology.]

Finally How Does All This Connect Here (i.e., Higher Education in Odisha):

Rapid Response to Reparation Claims - Hallmark of a virtuous entity/society/civilization in an empathetic state.

Sir, your stated position regarding reparation claims cannot be generalized. It certainly does not absolve the administrative functionaries from their administrative responsibilities in promptly forwarding files related to post-retirement benefits/compensation claims of employees. I state this from my own experience relating to reparation claims where I have seen hapless victims not having the might to exercise overly oppressive influence on administrative functionaries. 

Similarly, I was hoping to see some response regarding the concerns I had raised on the MBA syllabus:

1. Plagiarism related concerns
2. Lack  of transparency on revisions related to the syllabus (which is not a personal property).
3. Unsubstantiated statements by the Coordinators.
4. Concerns regarding the online engagement of students.

In academic institutions (be it research or teaching) these are all important points to be given top priority. Since these are matters very much under the administrative oversight of senior functionaries, I was expecting a response on the content of deliberations more than the form. I hope these issues will be addressed soon.

Learning is any change in a system that produces a more or less permanent change in its capacity for adapting to its environment.  (Herbert A. Simon) 

Strengthen Academic Teams by Developing the Weak Links

We often see people making observations about teams. Like in the industry, educational institutes also need teams to design, develop and deliver courses. Here is one comment from an Administrator supervising a team of faculty in an educational set up that had to adopt the virtual mode of learning during the pandemic in March 2020:

"I do not have competence to comment on the issues relating to the SCM course content, but I have no hesitation in observing that  the group, comprising of  Prof U, Prof. V, Prof. W and Prof. Z is possibly the most promising academic group I have seen, in this school: quiet, competent and committed. 

The Chinese say : Feel the stones, while crossing the river. In this new academic virtual journey that we are all part of, I am sure, the Quartet would do everything to  ferry the students to a new, and promising destination." 

[Note: A somewhat positive comment/perception regarding the team where the members were facing an enquiry on teaching-learning matters]

Recalling my own experience with the curriculum design of Operations & Supply Chain Management courses in various Institutions of the state and one open University of the country, here are my remarks and response to the above comments/observations.

Proactive supply chains leverage on "informating" to improve supply chain performances on a continual basis. Teams in educational setups are no different when it comes to the development of learner centric curriculum. In line with my earlier views on "subject matter experts", one also does not need to be an expert to understand that a "chain is as strong as the weakest link". A supply chain is similar. Hence, it is a basic precept to be kept in mind while handling SCM related challenges. Without developing the weakest link it will be foolish to expect world class standards. In one board meeting on curriculum design, concerns were raised regarding "plagiarism and the poor quality of work" that was presented before the external subject matter experts (by the above internal team). Proper information sharing within the internal team may have averted this embarrassing situation. Such unhealthy practices need to be nipped in the bud - otherwise they become a habit and then keep on weakening the chain. One needs to keep in mind how to overcome such weaknesses by continually introspecting and improving so as to strengthen the team. A Japanese proverb: "Karma and shadows follow one everywhere". 

As the convenor of the board meetings, the Administrator also had a crucial role in getting the syllabus ready as per the desired quality standards. Even though a document titled "[Copyright Violations] A Suggestion for the Detailed Course Guidelines for proposed structural changes in course curriculum" was made available, the suggestions were not adopted and the embarrassing situation could not be avoided. The suggestions are valid  even now.  It is worth recalling Dr. Deming's quote: "Learning is not compulsory. It's voluntary. Improvement is not compulsory. It's voluntary. But to survive, we must learn." 

I have been a strong advocate of the virtual world complementing the real world and my journey had started as a part of the Project Pilgrim (that followed on the heels of Project Athena of MIT) during the late 80s aimed at improving operating system transparency in a distributed computing environment as was quite common in Universities. The supply chain becomes even stronger when the virtual chain complements the physical chain. Now if the virtual chain is not in sync with the physical chain (or vice-versa) then there is bound to be some form of disruption. Currently, the world is going through a crisis and there is an urgent need to slow down till these are in sync. 

Now my remarks on the Chinese proverb and perceptions. While the Deng Xiaoping quote is valid for cautious reforms, one must be careful when it comes to team formation. Teams being solo, duo, trio, quartet etc. is as much a matter of perception as are the human traits such as "quiet, competent and committed". Sometimes this perception makes us feel that it is a quartet when in fact it is a trio or a duo or even a solo doing the hard work - thus resulting in a dysfunctional that fails to add value on a continual basis.

Here is another Japanese Proverb: "If one can Do, You can Do. If no one can Do, You must Do." .....And sadly the Indian version: "If one can Do, Let him Do. If no one can Do, What can I Do?" [Source: Google Search]

The reality, however, is different from perception; at times it is a stone where we often stumble while crossing the river. Anyway, such experiences have given me opportunities to develop my own views regarding the areas and groups in most educational setups: it appears there are more silos within the areas or groups now than it was at anytime during my long association with Academics since 1986 (1992 and then in 2005) and such silos are unhealthy for the educational institutions where we develop manpower for all types of supply chains around us. 

A more responsive stance is required on all the teaching-learning related concerns that I have raised in the past. Recently, my concerns are also mostly linked with the need to go slow when the world is going through a crisis.

The old world order is ebbing and a new one is rising on the horizon.

Hence it is time to slow down and reflect. 

[Slow down to see this video clip] 

video forwarded as received from one egroup 

A Lesson for All: "Introspect, Restrain, Meditate & Listen to the Voices of Nature"

I hope stakeholders of the educational enterprise will be able to create this space for each individual entity so that they can participate constructively in building a learning community where the mind is without fear and the head is held high. 

[Teaching-Learning] Listen to the Voices of Nature

‘Thought-Phobia’ maybe inhibiting Design Thinking

Here is an excerpt from the interesting article by Michel Danino titled “Was India’s Knowledge Elitist?” [TNIE dated 31.12.2018, Monday]:

[Quote] In 1920, Sri Aurobindo wrote to his younger brother, “I believe that the main cause of India’s weakness is not subjection, nor poverty, nor a lack of spirituality or Dharma, but a diminution of thought-power, the spread of ignorance in the motherland of Knowledge. Everywhere I see an inability or unwillingness to think—incapacity of thought or ‘thought-phobia’.” [Unquote]

“Thought-Phobia” – This indeed may be a possible reason why design thinking is not quite well supported in the Indian education system. As a result many facilitators of the Teaching-Learning process shy away from encouraging “Thought Questions” in the classrooms. It is time to overcome such inhibitions and participate actively in the process of developing the Indian Knowledge Systems (IKS).

Design Thinking for Product Lifecycle Management [DTPLM]

Here is one proposed course that integrates “Design Thinking” with “PLM Thinking”. It is developed based on an earlier experience of introducing Design Thinking concepts in the form of few workshops in the "Fundamentals of PLM (FPLM)" course.

This workshop-cum-laboratory-based course will expose students to the concepts of design thinking (DT) and product lifecycle management (PLM) as modern approaches for fostering innovation. Design thinking provides a framework for dealing with ill-structured problems through purposeful application of creativity throughout the process of innovation [1-3]. It can be seen both as a mindset and an approach [4]. Similarly, PLM can be seen both as a concept and a technology that accelerates business process innovations throughout the lifecycle of a product, process or service. This course draws on experience from the earlier course titled “Fundamentals of PLM” [5-7].  Being a practical course, students will be urged to work on real life problems faced by businesses as related to product development, production process development and service process development initiatives. Accordingly they will be required to focus on the beginning-of-life, middle-of-life and end-of-life issues of products and services in supply chains of their choice [5].

Students will be able to apply the design thinking approach to problems relating to a wide range of areas. As cited in literature, design thinking practices have been applied to the following areas: Product innovation, Business strategy, Organizational change, Healthcare, Community services and Social innovation, Innovative ways of reducing healthcare cost, Design of a dream home for people fifty and above, Innovation projects in on-campus locations (such as, Library, Health services, Book store), Developing a plan for a new business to address consumers whose needs are not fully met by mainstream products, Developing a new shopping cart design in five days, Developing new ways to improve grocery customers' shopping experiences and Developing a product or service that meets the needs of an aging population. Hence, even though there have been numerous applications of design thinking, participants will be required to understand that finding a design challenge will itself be a challenge. Hence they must develop the soft skills needed to start the design thinking process with empathy [1,8].

The course also aims to familiarize students with the technology supporting PLM. Students will be required to develop hands-on practice in using the application software available in the PLM Center. They will be able to appreciate the use of technology supporting a product throughout its lifecycle – from inception to delivery and beyond. Accordingly, they will be able to align the objectives of the course with those of other courses in Manufacturing, Technology and Operations Management, such as, Product Design & Development, Digital Manufacturing & Virtual Factory, Supply Chain Management, Enterprise Resource Planning, Customer Response to Manufactured Products, Project Management and Total Quality Management. They will be able to use the concepts in other functional areas of business as well.

Contact kaushiksahu@gmail.com for the references cited above and for any other details. Also feel free to send suggestions.

[How Do I Learn?] Design Thinking & Six Sigma Management Attitude

This post is for learners in my TQM course interested in design thinking and quality management in a dynamic-learning environment:

As you are trying to understand Dr. Deming's System of Profound Knowledge, here is an article titled "Using Tools to Support Design Thinking in the Classroom" by Barbara Cleary. It will be useful to you at this juncture of TQM problem solving where you are trying to "Design" your own answer to the question: "How do I learn best?" (Remember: each student has his/her own learning style).

In doing so recall Dr. Deming's Views on Performance Evaluation (see the source document cited below for details):

Here are some excerpts from the above article.....

 

NOW

Similarly, if you recall, even sales performance....

Hence, do read the above articles before moving forward with your work on "Cost of Quality Glossary" & small "Six Sigma Projects" related to your own learning environment. I hope you will be able to design your own answer to the question "How do I learn best?"

Best wishes......K. Sahu

Six Sigma Management Attitude

This post is for learners@KIIT interested in quality management around a dynamic-learning environment:

As you are trying to understand the teachings of the Quality Gurus, this post is to help you improve your learning outcomes. If possible, read "An Afterword on Six Sigma" in Robert Barry's book "Nan - A Six Sigma Mystery".  It will help you to pursue your “Triple-role Continuous Improvement Values” by developing a Six Sigma management attitude. 

This is my 13^th year at KIIT and it has taken me as many years to bring this article to the notice of the stakeholders. Some of them may be your mentors, teachers, administrators and other important process owners and they (in their capacity) are helping you to be part of the system in which you are taking a lead role (in your own capacity) as the process owner of several learning processes. Each one of these processes offer you scope to develop the six sigma management attitude (i.e., Face it, Find it and Fix it).

Having developed this attitude you will be in a better position to handle even greater responsibilities. There is a lot of scope around you where you can apply these concepts (see the above article for ideas). Also, our PM is promoting the ZED program - which has set even loftier goals in terms of “Zero Effect (on the environment) due to Zero Defects”. If you train yourself well then you will be able to find greater satisfaction in any project where you get involved to drive improvement initiatives.

See the figures below and recall what you are supposed to do.....

[Now with a Six Sigma management attitude]

Best wishes...........K. Sahu

[HR Conclave 2017] "Practical Knowledge" AND "Book Knowledge"

In the recently concluded conclave, sitting in the last row during the inaugural session, I was trying to get a student's/learner's perspective on what the speakers were articulating.

Some (in the audience) may have perceived: 

.......that "book knowledge" is irrelevant and "practical knowledge" is everything.

.......that "success" comes to those who do not adhere to books.

.......that whatever is being taught is, therefore, not so important.

.......and so on

And then the questions:

.......why are we then paying for the books?

.......what is then the need for having a library?

.......why waste time in classrooms?

.......why have Universities at all?

While these perspectives may differ, it is important to drive home one point:

.......that theory and practice go hand-in-hand. 

Note: 

"Practice without theory is blind and theory without practice is lame."

“He who loves practice without theory is like the sailor who boards ship without a rudder and compass and never knows where he may cast.”―Leonardo da Vinci

Remember what one speaker in the second session (Track-2) had said:"Future may not be an extrapolation of the present"

So, it is the books which will be remaining as your friend when you leave school for your career pursuits. 

If you look at Dr. Deming's 14 points written in his book Out of Crisis, it is Point# 9 which says:

"Break down barriers between departments. People in research, design, sales, and production must work as a team, to foresee problems of production and in use that may be encountered with the product or service." (click on the hyperlink)

It was written in the last century and is quite aligned with this year's conclave theme "Beyond HR: Transcending Functional Boundaries" (i.e., "Book Knowledge" of last several decades yet to be imbibed by many in the world of practice.)

Also, taking cues from the workshop titled "Virtual Workplace: Role of HR in Building and Engaging a Virtual Workforce", let us all look forward to creating the future workplace which adopts Dr. Deming's Point# 8:

   

"Drive out fear, so that everyone may work effectively for the company." (click on the hyperlink)

"Fear invites wrong figures. Bearers of bad news fare badly. To keep his job, anyone may present to his boss only good news." .....W. Edwards Deming, page 94, The New Economics ("This book, according to Deming, is a textbook for engineering, economics and business students, to be used to prepare students for the future". Here is another link on the "Management and Accounting Web" that may be useful in the practical world.)

Feel free to ask as many questions as you can relating to these concepts. We will try to find an answer based on the principles propounded by the Gurus. (The TQM students paying attention to the course contents will be able to explain some of these concepts to you as time progresses.) 

While taking this pledge for a new India.....

As we take this pledge for a New India, the struggle against these evils continues. 

I invite attention to the following posts from my archives (with some posts written before I joined KIIT):

• Ensuring Transparency in the Private Sector [Fri, Jan 16, 2004]
• There is no such thing as a free lunch [Fri, Nov 30,2007]
• On "Tolerating" Tolerance [Tue, Oct 2, 2012]

These posts highlight some aspect of the pledge taken by the nation today - be it the right to information, fight against corruption, inclusive growth challenges or just overcoming fear around the teaching-learning processes. 

As rightly said by the Hon'ble Prime Minister, "we have to live for our nation and take it to new heights of progress."

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Sankalp Se Siddhi 

(New India Movement 2017-2022) 

New India Pledge 

Let us together pledge for a New India. 

In 1942 our freedom fighters took a pledge of ‘Quit India’ and in 1947 India achieved Independence. 

Let us together pledge that by 2022 we build a New India. 

Let us together pledge towards a Clean India.

Let us together pledge towards a Poverty free India. 

Let us together pledge towards a Corruption free India. 

Let us together pledge towards a Terrorism free India. 

Let Us together pledge towards a Communalism free India. 

Let us together pledge towards a Casteism free India. 

Together let us strive whole heartedly to accomplish this pledge for a New India. 

Pledge by Individual/Institution: Dr. Kaushik Sahu, KIIT Deemed to be University

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Operations & Supply Chain Management governed by Design Thinking

This post refers to my above titled invited talk at the OSCM Symposium organized by the Department of Business Administration, Sambalpur University on 20 March 2016 (Sunday). The talk started by introducing the learners to the concept of intelligent products coming out of a transformative process in the automotive supply chain (something akin to the smart product in the movie "Tarzan - The  Wonder Car" - a smart car which can also think and act). A concept much like students coming out of a transformative process in the education system which takes care to see the students from two perspectives: both as (a) products and also as (b) customers. As in the movie, it is important in supply chains to harness the power of design. The abstract of the talk follows:

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Abstract: To realize the benefits of competitiveness, Indian companies need to improve domestic performance. They have to be strongly rooted in the needs and wants of the domestic customers. Therefore, they need to first overcome the local challenges before going global. If we look closely, most of the answers to the challenges faced by our manufacturing industry can be traced back to the design stage. Therefore, design plays a prominent role in enhancing both efficiency and responsiveness of these domestic supply chains. Our research indicates that there is a certain firm-level design deficit that inhibits our manufacturing performance. Hence, there is a need for harnessing the power of design thinking which promotes the adoption of improved design methods for fostering firm-level competitiveness. Design thinking provides the guiding principles for aligning design with various supply chain initiatives. There is a huge potential yet to be tapped – be it with regard to “design for supply chains” or “design of supply chains”. Design thinking which starts with empathy holds the promise for developing viable domestic supply chains in support of the recent initiatives of the Govt. of India – be it for ‘Make-in-India’, ‘Skill India’ or ‘Digital India’. These programs will all start well if we put design upfront in our endeavors.

To support the needs of the industry it is also important to bring changes in the professional higher education sector of India. There is a need for business school programs to overhaul their courses by establishing innovation labs for supporting the learning environment. We will discuss our experience in adopting design thinking for supporting various operations and supply chain management courses while looking for synergies in the approaches related to product lifecycle management (PLM), total quality management (TQM), enterprise resource planning (ERP), supply chain management (SCM) and customer relationship management (CRM).

Keywords – Design thinking, design deficit, competitiveness, manufacturing challenges, industry-driven curriculum

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[See attachment]
Related links:
Promoting Design Thinking in Indian Professional Higher Education
Under design thinking label 

EMPATHY – one of the 5Es for leading change

One of the 5E's articulated by our Prime Minister at the 103rd Indian Science Congress is "Empathy" (the very first step in Design Thinking).(Click)  He seemed to be echoing what Harvard Business School is doing right now – i.e., focusing on design thinking in its leadership teaching courses. According to Prof. Anthony Mayo, it requires a different kind of leadership skills for driving change -  "What it requires is empathy...and so you have to put yourself in the shoes of the customer and that can be difficult for leaders because it requires humility. It requires vulnerability, it requires you to be comfortable saying I don't know," said Mayo. [Click here]

Indian establishments need a lot of that to stimulate "Make in India" in its true sense. See an earlier post titled “[PLMSS-2015] Design Thinking for Steering PLM Implementation @DRDO [Sat, 26 Dec 2015]”

As part of cooperative federalism and global collaboration, it is worthwhile to note the NITI Ayog’s suggestion for Research in India through various “Make in Universities” programs.  All these require the leadership in our scientific, research and industrial establishments to partner with Universities for pursuing transformational changes rather than transactional changes.  Some may find this news report useful: 'Research in India', Contracted Foreign Defence Firms Told [Tue, 29 Dec 2015, TNIE]. Here is an excerpt: [Quote] With the aim of promoting universities as hubs of research, the committee on 'innovation and entrepreneurship' has recommended steps like encouraging professors to be stakeholders or partners in entrepreneurial and incubation ecosystems in universities by offering 'faculty entrepreneurial fellowships' [Unquote]. These developments also support the ideas in my previous posts on University-Industry research-interactions around the PLM Centers of KIIT University and other similar establishments elsewhere in the country.

Here is a related post w.r.t Indian Science Congress-2010 carrying the former PM's message on similar lines: Design Thinking in the Upcoming IITs, IIMs, NITs.

Also, here is one excerpt from this editorial titled “Stop The Circus, Stick to Science” [Sat, 9 Jan 2016, TNIE]. “Disbanding the Indian Science Congress would be like throwing the baby with the bathwater. Instead, they should refocus on the core purpose and stick to it.”

When Harvard has not yet given up on Intelligent Design, it is strange to see controversies still brewing around science and religion. (Read: Nobel laureate V Ramakrishnan calls Indian Science Congress a circus. Do you agree?). Here I assume that “Intelligent Design” is not necessarily limited to promoting the views of one particular religion. By adhering to the tenets of a pluralistic society, why can’t we look up and, as DT proponents advocate, consider taking the “Leaps of Faith”? Related link:  Intelligent cause for academic freedom [Wed, Feb 13, 2008].