Karnataka Deputy Chief Minister Dr. C N Ashwathnarayan inaugurates the “Centre of Excellence” and “Innovation Hub” at Sahyadri
24-Feb-2021
Dr. C N Ashwathnarayan, Deputy Chief Minister of Karnataka and Minister of Higher Education, Information Technology & Biotechnology and Science & Technology in the Government of Karnataka visited Sahyadri on 24th February 2021, along with
■ Mr. Nalin Kumar Kateel, Member of Parliament, Govt. of India
■ Dr. Bharath Shetty Y, MLA-Mangalore City North
■ Mr. Harikrishna Bantwal, Chairman-KEONICS
■ Ms. Champa E, General Manager, K-tech, Dept. of Electronics, IT, BT, S& T, Govt. of Karnataka
■ Mr. Uday Birje, Co-Founder & Director - Thinkstreet
■ Dr. Abhishek Vaish, IIIT Allahabad
■ Mr. Ranjan Bellarpady and Mr. Dilraj Alva from Ramakrishna Mutt, Mangaluru
For the Inauguration of:
• ‘Centre of Excellence’ funded by VGST, Department of Electronics, IT, BT, S&T, Government of Karnataka.
⋆ Centre of Excellence in Cyber security and Digital Forensics Intelligence.
⋆ Centre of Excellence in Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning.
• Centre of Excellence in Robotic Welding
• New Premises of the Research Design Lab (RDL), an IoT & Electronics related Company which is one of the winners at ELEVATE
• New Premises of NAIN, K-Tech Centre and
• The ‘Industry Hub’
An interactive meet was also arranged with the Faculty members and Student Entrepreneurs who are a part of the Start-up Ecosystem. Mr. Johnson Tellis, CEO of TCE presented the Achievements of Sahyadri and its potential to take up higher responsibilities and work hand in hand with the Government for its “Beyond Bengaluru” initiative. A proposal was also handed over by Principal Dr. Rajesha S in this regards.
Next, Mr. Manjunath Bhandary, Chairman in his speech, explained through anecdotes going back to 30 years where he was actively involved in politics and how through a Conference at Barcelona inspired him to start a Nursing College. He mentioned that Dr. Ashwathnarayan played a key role in fulfilling his dream to start a Nursing college and then an Engineering College too. He also acknowledged the support of Mr. Nalin Kumar Kateel and Mr. Prabhakar Bhat who stood by him when he wanted to start a Nursing college in Mangaluru. He also remembered the day when Dr. Ashwathnarayan approached him for suggestions on taking up the profile of Higher Education Minister.
Mr. Harikrishna Bantwal, while appreciating Mr. Manjunath Bhandary, referred to Swami Vivekananda’s preaching and said that one should leave a mark behind and Sahyadri is one such achievement. He also mentioned that there are many ministers he has come across, however Dr. Ashwathnarayan has shown what a true Minister is. He concluded his talk by saying that ‘Self-Belief’ is ultimate and will take you to greater heights.
Later, the key contributors to Sahyadri Start-Up Eco-system - Mr. Raghav Shetty from RDL Technologies Pvt Ltd, Mr. Sunder from Caliper; Mr. Rajesh Naidu from Aptra Technologies; Mr. Johnson Tellis, Mr. Gautham Nayak, Mr. Gouse Khan, Mr. Prajwal Shetty, Ms. Aysha Rasha and Ms. Krithika Shetty, Mr. Swastik and Ms. Aishwarya and finally the Team who topped the list in National Level Smart India Hackathon were felicitated by the Dy CM.
Dr. Ashwathnarayan was then felicitated for his vision and initiatives in taking the State of Karnataka to the top ranking in National Innovation and Start-Ups.
In his speech, Dr. Ashwathnarayan mentioned that Educational Institutions are the means through which societal concerns can be addressed. He acknowledged that inspite of huge challenges that one faces in order to start an institution, Mr. Manjunath Bhandary has started it, maintained it and offered it to the community. He called upon the Alumni of any institution to give it back to their Alma mater. In his concluding remarks the Dy CM appreciated Sahyadri for its Centre of Excellence in Emerging areas, Industry Hub, In-house companies and start-ups and said that Sahyadri is far ahead and as per NEP 2020, Engineering colleges have wider scope due to importance given to multi-disciplinary approach. He stimulated the audience to Skill Up, Be Industry Relevant, Be a job creator or a job seeker as per your choice, but remember to adapt pursuit of excellence in life and in whatever you do.
