How does the average person attempt to inspire people to think about global change?
This was the ambitious mission faced by 10 Emory students three years ago. Taking the challenge to guide India’s image as a global player in the modern world, the Emory India Summit is an event jointly hosted by the Claus M. Halle Institute for Global Learning at Emory University and the Student Executive Committee. Over the past three years it has blossomed into a “who’s who” of academics and professionals involved with developing relationships between India and the rest of the world. Every year a different goal is created to shed light on a specific area of India’s progress. This year, innovation was the headlining theme, with specific focus on medicine, social diplomacy, aerospace technology and financial services.
The conference opened with an address by Dr. Holli Semetko, Director of the Claus M. Halle Institute for Global Learning and Shreya Adiraju, president of the Student Committee.
The first panel focused on the emerging field of medical tourism. Dr. Devi Shetty, founder of a revolutionary low-cost, high efficiency hospital model in India, was the featured “Skype” speaker. The next panel, directed by Emory’s Dr. K.M Venkat Narayan, professor of Global Health and Epidemiology, was on the current state of public health. Dr. Benn Konsynski, Goizueta Professor of Information Systems & Operations Management and Tarun Wadhwa, a technology innovator, hosted the Technology, Identity and Privacy panel which focused on analyzing the national identity program being implemented in India.
The hall was packed to capacity when Sir Salman Rushdie, in conversation with Deepika Bahri, associate professor of English and curator of the Salman Rushdie archive at Emory, delved into the proliferation of India’s arts into other societies around the modern world.
The keynote address was an honor to both Emory and Atlanta. Ambassador of India to the United States, Nirupama Rao, discussed the value of India’s innovation and co-development with other countries in energy, education, healthand agriculture.
The second day was business-focused with C-suite executives and academics in finance, technology and urban development.
The first panel focused on challenges and opportunities associated with moving U.S.-based companies to India. A hot topic in recent years, more companies are outsourcing high-level work to India. The next panel addressed business strategies that Indian companies deploy to maximize success.
Representatives from Lockheed Martin, Tata, Novelis, IMC, UPS and Equifax took part in the panel discussions.
– Shreya Adiraju, BBA12, President of the Student Executive Committee
– Atish Chhabria, BBA13, was the Treasurer of the Summit
