Science and Technology Park at Pune University to Establish 3 New Centers of Excellence
PUNE: The Science and Technology Park (STP) at Pune University is set to launch three new Centers of Excellence in the near future. This announcement was made during a special event organized on Sunday at the Pune International Centre to mark the completion of STP’s 40 years of operations.These initiatives include a Center of Excellence in Innovation and Technology Management, a Center of Excellence in Policy Research, a Center of Excellence in Geoinformatics, and a Global Capability Centre. During the event, a coffee-table book celebrating STP’s four decades of innovative excellence was also released.Distinguished dignitaries present on the occasion included Padmashri Ashutosh Sharma (Former Secretary, Department of Science and Technology, Government of India), Rajendra Jagdale (Director General, STP), Dilip Band (President, STP), Pratap Pawar (Chairman, Sakal Media Group and Vice President, STP), as well as Ajay Srivastava, Nalin Kohli, Anita Gupta, Ashok Saraf, Anil Wali, Dipanwita Chattopadhyay, Prasad Menon, Anil Hatkar, Sujit Banerjee, S.M. Karupanchetty, Pranay Gupta, and former civil services officers Chandrakant Dalvi and Prabhakar Deshmukh, among others. Reviewing STP’s performance over the past four decades, Dr. Rajendra Jagdale stated that, to date, the organization has provided incubation services to a remarkable 1,372 startups. Furthermore, it has successfully secured funding ranging from ?10 lakhs to ?1 crore for 260 of these startups. Significantly, none of this funding went to waste; the respective startups utilized the resources effectively and have since progressed successfully in their respective fields.Dr. Jagdale informed that, through the STP (Science and Technology Park), a total of 659 projects across various sectors have been successfully completed across all states of the country. Furthermore, significant success has been achieved in developing 26 innovative products through the STP and successfully bringing them to market.“I have been associated with this organization for the past 40 years. The institution has been consistently working in the fields of innovation and technology,” stated Advocate Raghavendra Ponkshe, an Intellectual Property Consultant, on this occasion. He added that, in the near future, a ‘Center of Excellence in Innovation and Technology’ will be established here by the Science and Technology Park to provide assistance to new entrepreneurs and experts. This initiative will facilitate the strengthening of India’s technological landscape alongside the advancement of new research. He further remarked that the younger generation stands to benefit significantly from this endeavor.Yogesh Pawar observed that the Science and Technology Park serves as an excellent bridge connecting India with the rest of the world, noting that extensive work has been undertaken here across a wide spectrum of subjects. He highlighted that numerous opportunities have become available to startup companies within this ecosystem. Furthermore, with substantial new investments flowing into India, he noted that there are abundant opportunities available here for pioneering research.Padma Shri Ashutosh Sharma, former Secretary of the Union Department of Science and Technology, expressed the view that policy research for startups constitutes a crucial movement. He emphasized that the acquisition of high-quality knowledge naturally leads to financial returns; therefore, we need to devote greater attention to this aspect. Noting that we are currently living in the era of Artificial Intelligence (AI), he stressed the necessity of embracing change even as we acquire new knowledge. He also took the opportunity to commend the work accomplished by the Science and Technology Park over the past 40 years.During the event, Selina Huang (President, AABI) and Dr. Vadim Kotelnikov (Russia; Founder, Inompics; former Director, APCTT) joined via video call from abroad to share their sentiments regarding the Science and Technology Park.The program was anchored by Jagdish Patankar. Dr. Rajendra Jagdale proposed the vote of thanks.
