Global innovators gather at VIT Chennai

The two-day technoVIT’26, the flagship international technical festival of Vellore Institute of Technology (VIT), Chennai, began on September 3, bringing together more than 15,000 participants from India and 14 countries. Held on September 3 and 4, the festival features more than 140 events and has “Inclusive Innovations” as its theme. Aleksandr Fomin, Deputy Consul General, Consulate General of the Russian Federation in Chennai, was the chief guest, while Arulselvam Harikrishnan, Vice-President–Operations & Logistics, Daimler India Commercial Vehicles, was the guest of honour. VIT Founder and Chancellor Dr G Viswanathan presided over the inaugural function. Participants from Uzbekistan, the Philippines, Singapore, Indonesia, South Korea, Malaysia, Japan, France, Norway, Russia, Australia, Tanzania, the UAE and North America are taking part. Fomin said technoVIT brings together students and young professionals from fields including engineering, robotics, coding and design. “Innovation should not belong to a small circle of specialists. It should be open to people from different disciplines and backgrounds,” he said, stressing that innovation becomes meaningful when it improves people’s lives. He said technology should help address challenges such as energy security, healthcare, environmental sustainability, transportation, food security and access to education. Harikrishnan said innovation must have a clear purpose centred on humanity to bring about meaningful transformation.