I’ve had the special invitation and opportunity of representing Movate as a guest speaker in the Industry-Academia Conclave at a SDNB Vaishnav College for Women in Chennai, India on 29th January 2025.
The theme: Future Skills and Workforce Development. With a total of 4 sessions, the conclave witnessed top speakers and delegates across from the market and academia.
A little bit about the event
The Industry-Academia Conclave aims to discuss the role of technology in workforce training with the skills required to adapt to technological advancements, societal shifts and global challenges. The conclave addressed how education, training, research and innovation can lead to employment opportunities, particularly for younger generations.
The technical panel discussions in the conclave are intended to explore ways to bridge the gap between industry and academic with insights on technology trends, industry-academia collaboration models, skill development strategies and the impact of technology on skills and the workforce.
My specific segment of the panel discussion was on the topic: “Innovation-Driven Leadership.”
I addressed key themes around the role of innovation and best practices and how Movate fits into the big picture. More importantly, how aspiring young innovators need navigate the evolving landscape.
I’d like to share 3 specific questions we’ve deliberated on during the panel talk and my views on those topics:
Moderator: How do corporate leaders encourage innovation within their organizations? Can you share a specific strategy or program your company has implemented successfully?
My Point of View: Corporate leaders encourage innovation within their organizations through various means: promoting open communication and a culture of idea sharing across teams, developing novel out-of-the-box thinking and solutions to solve today’s clients’ pressing problems and empowering employees. Digital literacy and fluency matters. Being part of the L&D team at Movate, our Movate Academy encourages employees at every grade to reskill and upskill themselves amidst the tech disruption in today’s AI economy.
Movate AI (Movate.AI) is part of the overall enterprise strategy that we’ve successfully launched. Movate AI is a holistic AI-powered suite for enterprise reinvention at scale to transform businesses and customer journeys. Our solutions cut across industries and domains.
Talking about AI, Movate Academy, the centralized Learning & Development function of Movate Technologies is empowering employees and helping enterprises stay future-ready. We offer a portfolio of programs such as iResolve, iAccelerate and more, where we use AI-driven content development tools.
Moderator: What skills or qualities do you look for in young entrepreneurs or fresh graduates who aspire to innovate?
My POV: Young entrepreneurs and recent graduates who are aspiring to innovate should possess a diverse set of skills and qualities. These include problem solving (looking at client problems from different perspectives) networking skills, technical skills, research, critical thinking, adaptability to change, effective communication, and resilience to accept difficulties of being an entrepreneur and moving on despite the hardships. Discipline and time management are indispensable for aspiring innovators.
Moderator: What are the top emerging business trends or technologies that entrepreneurs should focus on in the next 5 years?
My POV: Entrepreneurs today have set their sights on AI solutions and platforms. Many of the applications which we use today involve AI. Tech companies are deploying AI-powered platform to reimagine Customer Experiences (CX).
At Movate, we have specific platforms to drive CX transformation, manage complex IT infrastructures, gig customer experience, and empathetic conversations for clients.
Technology has played a crucial role in enabling the rise of unicorns by fostering innovation, facilitating rapid business In tech-driven sectors such as healthcare, finance, and commerce, technology has played a key role in their rapid rise over the years and they too have hopped on the innovation wagon thanks to their disruptive digitization, innovative solutions, investments and funding, global scale, and attracting significant investments.
During the event, discussions also centered around key technology trends, challenges and opportunities for women in industries and insights on fostering entrepreneurship and innovation in the workforce. All in all, I believe the discussions from the conclave will pave for seamless industry-academia collaboration, technology driven skills upgradation, innovation and entrepreneurship to create a sustainable future workforce development. I thank the college and Movate for the wonderful opportunity.
About the college
Shrimathi Devkunvar Nanalal Bhatt Vaishnav College for Women was started in 1968 with the generous donation of 10 acres of land by our Late Founder Chairman Shri Nanalal Bhatt and 6 lakhs donated by Cork Industries Charities Trust. The College is named after the Late Founder Chairman’s wife Smt. Devkunvar. This college is the first women’s college in the then Kancheepuram District, Tamil Nadu. For more info, visit sdnbvc.edu.in
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About the author
Senior Associate Director, Campus & Institutional Alliances, Movate
Thought leader with over 29 years of experience with 9 years in CSR driven Skilling Centers and Institutional Skilling across various organizations. Excellent reputation in ideation, conceptualization, strategy and execution of programs. Expert in driving great team success, improving student satisfaction, and driving overall operational improvements. LinkedIn.