Many local users in rural areas come up with inventions that are not only innovative and useful but also less expensive than the usual solutions available in the market. Another important feature of grassroot innovations is that they are generally environment friendly and in sync with the given infrastructural conditions. Examples of such innovations include water-based cooling systems that do not require electricity. The idea of “grassroot innovations” has been popularized by untiring and inspiring efforts of Prof. Anil Gupta, called “Gandhi of Technology” by the reputed German magazine “Der Spiegel”.
The Institute of Technology and Innovation Management at Hamburg University of Technology, together with the Hamburg chapter of German-Indian Round Table (GIRT), will hold a symposium during the India Week Hamburg (on 20th October 2011) to explore and demonstrate the vast cooperation opportunities for German firms, especially small and medium-sized ones, to assist the inventors with technical and marketing know-how. Mutual benefit can be found, for instance, in the giant domestic Indian market as well as in international marketing of such products in other corresponding markets of Africa, Latin America and Asia. In some cases, e.g. herbal medicines, it might even be possible to introduce the products in Germany or other developed countries. Prof. Anil Gupta is scheduled to deliver a keynote address and to participate in a panel discussion. Other speakers at the event include Prof. Dr. Luc Soete (Founding Director, UNU-MERIT), Prof. Dr. Hugo Tschirky (ETH Zurich / Member of the Board of Directors of Canon Switzerland Ltd.), Dr. Klaus Gronwald (Mahindra Satyam), Aline Krämer (endeva), Klaus Sieg and Joerg Boethling (both from ‘agenda – photographers and journalists’, Anup Karath Nair (Strathclyde University Business School), and Dr. Stephan Buse and Rajnish Tiwari (Hamburg University of Technology / German-Indian Round Table Hamburg).
See: Agenda & Speakers (as on 23.09.2011).
Please register yourself by 14th October 2011:
Registration Form (send by e-mail: grassroot@tu-harburg.de / or by fax: +49 (0)40 428 78 2867)