Surathkal July 31, 2010: The Fifth International Conference on Industrial and Information Systems was opened today at NITK which has been organised by Division of Electrical, Electronics and Computing Systems of NITK Surathkal as part of the Golden Jubilee Celebrations of the Institute.

The Theme of the Conference is Energy Security through Information Systems and Advanced Communication. The Conference is fifth in the series, ICIIS 2006, 2007 & 2009 were organised at  University of Peradeniya, Sri Lanka and ICIIS  2008 at IIT Kharagpur. The Conference over the years has evolved as a major technical conference in the SAARC region.

The Chief Guest of the function was Shri Shivayogi C. Kalasad, Director (Admin & HR), KPTCL and Shri Surya P Sethi, Former Principal Adviser (Power & Energy) delivered the keynote address. Shri Kalsad in his inaugural address opined that the theme of the Conference was very apt and hoped that such conferences will help evolve policies that would lead to Energy Security in the country.

He also highlighted efforts of KPTCL in incorporating IT and modern technology in the transmission sector in Karnataka. Shri  Surya P Sethi said that food and water security concerns are as critical as energy security. India has been growing at a rate of 8% but its energy consumption has grown by only 4%. To fulfill the energy demands of the growing economy of the country innovative technological breakthroughs in Energy sector are essential. Prof Sandeep Sancheti, Director, NITK Surathkal presided over the function. Prof Sancheti, in his presidential remarks said that this International Conference is yet another feather in the cap of the golden jubilee celebrations of the Institute.

The highlights of the Conference are tutorials, plenary talks and technical sessions spread over three days. Apart from delegates from premier academic institutes in the country, delegates from Srilanka, Japan, USA and Canada are also attending the Conference.

Prof Udaykumar R. Yaragatti, General Chair, ICIIS 2010 welcomed the gathering and gave a brief report of how NITK was chosen as the venue for hosting the conference during the golden jubilee year. Prof Sumam David, Organising Chair, ICIIS 2010, gave a brief outline of the Conference and informed that it received overwhelming response with more than 300 technical contributions. Dr Govindaraj, Registrar, NITK Surathkal introduced the guests. Dr G.S. Punekar convener of ICIIS 2010 proposed vote of thanks and Mrs Soumya Hegde was compering the program.

Our Correspondent