NITKonnect 2025

Engineer for the World

22nd February, Taj Yeshwantpur, Bengaluru

8:30AM to 9:30AM Registration, Networking & Table Mentor Sessions

9:40AM to 10AM Plenary Session: Director’s Address
Prof. B. Ravi, Director, NITK
10AM to 10:20AM Plenary Session: Keynote Talk
Sahil Barua, Co Founder & CEO, Delhivery
10:30AM to10:40AM Announcements & Felicitations
10:50AM to 11:35AM Plenary Session CXO Panel: Engineer for the World

Panelists:
●​ Arvind Kamath, Chairperson & Director, JNK India
●​ Harsha Upadhyaya, CIO, Kotak Mahindra AMC
●​ Pratibha Priyadarshini, CHRO, Shell India
●​ Srini Vudayagiri, President, The Times of India and Head, Brand Capital

In an era where technology knows no boundaries, Indian professionals are at the

forefront of solving global challenges. This distinguished panel brings together
CXOs from diverse fields to explore how India's technical and business talent is
shaping worldwide innovation, leading digital transformation, and building solutions
impacting 7 billion users. Join us to understand how Indians are engineering for the
world!
11.35AM to 12:15PM Networking Tea & Booth Darshan

12:15PM to 1PM Beyond Cost Arbitrage: How India's GCCs are Driving Global Innovation

Panelists:
●​ Rudramuni B, Ex Country Head, Dell
●​ Ajay Mehta, VP Engineering, Shell
●​ Yatish Shivaprasad, MD, Societe Generale
●​ Kaustubh Patkar, Sr. Director, Western Digital

India's Global Capability Centers have evolved far beyond their cost-saving origins.
Today, they're powerhouses of innovation, developing cutting-edge solutions for
global enterprises. This panel explores how GCCs are transforming from service
centers to strategic innovation hubs, leveraging India's deep technical talent pool
and entrepreneurial mindset to drive next-generation product development and
technological breakthroughs.
12:15PM to 1PM GenAI: Why India Could Engineer the Next Wave of AI-led Solutions

Panelists
●​ Lingraju Sawkar, President, Kyndryl India
●​ Shashank ND, Founder & CEO, Practo
●​ Prashant Kaddi, Partner, Deloitte
●​ Deepak Dhar, Cofounder, Repute Network
 As Generative AI reshapes the enterprise landscape, India stands uniquely
positioned to lead its evolution. With its vast technical talent pool, deep domain
expertise, and enterprise software experience, India is becoming the crucible for AI
innovation. Our experts discuss why India's ecosystem is perfectly primed to build
and scale the next generation of enterprise AI solutions.

12:15PM to 1PM Manufacturing Tomorrow: Crafting India's Global Industrial Leadership

Panelists:
●​ Kapil Mantri, President - Jindal Steel & Power Group
●​ K. Srinivas Reddy, MD, Veera Vahana
●​ Vasanth Kamath, President, Brose India Automotive
●​ Rajiv Nambiar, President & COO, Paradeep Phospates
●​ Neetika Ahuja, Connected Services Portfolio, Volvo

India's manufacturing sector is undergoing a revolutionary transformation, powered

by automation, IoT, and smart technologies. This session explores how Indian
engineers are building world-class manufacturing capabilities, and positioning India
as a global manufacturing hub. Learn how technology and innovation are driving
India's journey from local production to global industrial leadership.
12:15PM to 1PM Startup Stalls, Crawls & Falls:
A Masterclass on Business Building

Speaker: Padmanand Warrier, Founder, Warrier H.E.A.R.T. & Startup Investor

Startup success is harder than ever - but failure isn't inevitable. In this masterclass,
ex-Microsoft leader and startup advisor Padmanand Warrier breaks down the
"death spiral" of product crawls, investor stalls, and financial falls that doom
promising ventures. Learn battle-tested strategies to spot warning signs early and
keep your startup off this perilous path. Critical insights for founders and aspiring
entrepreneurs.

1:00PM to 2:15PM Networking Lunch

2.15PM to 2:55PM Personal Finance for Bharat: From Saving to Investing

●​ Panelists:​
Deepak Shenoy, Founder & CEO Capitalmind
●​ Lovaii Navlakhi MD & CEO, International Money Matters

India has leapfrogged its financial inclusion story through technology. Next
generation Indians are quickly graduating from saving to investing. Join this expert
panel as they delve into this interesting topic of Personal Finance for a billion
Indians. What are the trends, asset classes and investing patterns that will emerge
in the future. How should young Indians joining the work force manage their
personal finances balancing consumption while securing a great future.

2.15PM to 2:55PM Beyond Borders: Mastering Sales & Marketing for Global Markets

Panelists:
●​ Manoj Shetty, CEO, Infinit-O & Advisory Board, HDFC Credila
●​ Jayant Deshpande, President, Samsotech International
●​ Srinivas Bharathy, MD & CEO, Adrenalin eSystems Limited
●​ Naganand K, Marketing Head- Scotch Portfolio, Diageo
●​ Rahm Shastry, Cofounder & Chairman, DriveU

Indian companies are increasingly making their mark in global markets. This
discussion focuses on strategies for breaking into international markets, building
 global brands, and creating world-class sales organizations. Learn from leaders
who have successfully scaled Indian businesses globally and understand the
playbook for international market expansion.

2.15PM to 2:55PM Deeptech Horizons: From India's Labs to Global Markets

Panelists:
●​ Arjun Rao, Founder & GP, Speciale Invest
●​ Ramanagouda Nadagouda, Deputy Director, URSC-ISRO
●​ Kalyan Sivam, Co-Founder, 5C Network,
●​ Dipankar Sarma, Ex-Distinguished Engineer, Linux Technology Center,
IBM

India's deeptech ecosystem is creating breakthrough technologies with global

impact. This panel explores how Indian professionals, entrepreneurs and
researchers are commercializing cutting-edge innovations in frontier technologies.
Discover how collaboration amongst stakeholders is helping translate laboratory
innovations into market-ready solutions for global challenges.

2.30PM to 4:30PM Career Accelerator

Where NITK Talent meets Opportunity!

Company Pitches by:

a) Junglee Games - Kapil Rathee, Co Founder & President; Deepika Goel, Senior
Talent Acquisition Manager
b) Blue Tokai - Shivam Shahi, Cofounder & CEO
c) Kreditbee - Sidharth V, CRO & Santosh Hiredesai
d) Captain Fresh

Talk on Career Transitions:

a) Youngster to Leader with Murlidhar Rao, Founder and CEO, Setconnect
b) Professional to Entrepreneur by Murlidhar Surya, Founder Lodestar and
Ex-CEO & Founder Meritrac
3:10PM to 3:50PM Sector Huddles

a) Applications of GenAI
b) Manufacturing & Industry 4.0
c) Engineers for Impact
d) Campus-Alumni Engagement: Brainstorming with Director & Chapter Presidents

4PM to 4:30PM NITKonnect Top 5 Showcase

Launch of NITKonnect Angels

4:30PM to 5PM Networking Tea Over Mini Huddles
5PM to 5:10PM NITKonnect Awards

5:10PM to 5:25PM Evening Plenary: Keynote Talk

Madhusudan E, Cofounder & CEO, Kreditbee

5:25PM to 6:05PM Founders’ Panel: Zero to One to Global

●​ Shivam Shahi, Co-Founder & COO, Blue Tokai

●​ Shesh Rao Paplikar, Founder & CEO, BHIVE
●​ Utham Gowda, Founder & CEO, Captain Fresh
●​ Kapil Rathee, Co-Founder & President, Junglee Games
●​ Aprameya Radhakrishna, Co-Founder, Taxi4Sure & Koo
 From humble beginnings to global enterprises, these visionary founders have built
category-defining companies that are reshaping global sectors. This panel brings
together entrepreneurs who have scaled their ventures from zero to one to global
scale impact. Join us as they share their remarkable journeys of thinking big,
building world-class organizations, and transforming their early aspirations into
businesses that are changing the world.
6:05PM to 7PM Speed Networking
7PM onwards Entertainment