SUBHASH MISHRA
Dhanbad, May 5: A five-day national seminar on “Smart and Sustainable Manufacturing: Industry 4.0 and Beyond” commenced at BIT Sindri on Monday. The event is being organized by the Department of Production and Industrial Engineering and is being conducted in hybrid mode—both online and offline.
The seminar was inaugurated by Gautam Manjhi, Head of the HURL Sindri plant, who attended as the chief guest. Sunil Kumar, Director of Technical Education, Jharkhand, and Prof. D.K. Singh, Vice Chancellor of Jharkhand University of Technology (JUT), were the guests of honour.
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Focus on Industry-Academia Collaboration and Sustainability
Speaking at the event, Gautam Manjhi highlighted the growing relevance of smart and green manufacturing practices and stressed the need to bridge the gap between academia and industry. Sunil Kumar praised the seminar’s focus on reducing carbon footprints, embracing automation, and fostering sustainable industrial development.
Prof. D.K. Singh, along with BIT Sindri Director Dr. Pankaj Rai and BITSAA International President Praful Kumar, also addressed the gathering, sharing perspectives on the future of manufacturing.
Industry 4.0 and Innovation in Focus
Prof. Prakash Kumar emphasized that modern manufacturing is unimaginable without the adoption of Industry 4.0 technologies such as Cyber-Physical Systems, IoT, and Autonomous Production. He underlined the seminar’s objective to promote meaningful dialogue between industry professionals and academia.
The inaugural day included three technical sessions. In the first, Deepak Jain from SAIL Ranchi discussed the digital transformation within the steel industry.
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The second session featured Prof. Somnath Chattopadhyay from IIT (ISM) Dhanbad, who compared Electric Vehicles (EVs) and Internal Combustion Engines (ICEs), illustrating the impact of smart manufacturing on the EV sector. He encouraged students to cultivate innovation and sharpen technical skills.
The third session was led by Ujwal Mitra, Director of Print Worldwide, who elaborated on the transformative role of 3D printing in contemporary manufacturing.
Senior faculty including Head of Department Prof. Prakash Kumar, Prof. D.K. Tanti (Dean Academics), Prof. Ghanshyam (Training and Placement Officer), Dr. B.D. Yadav (Administrative Officer), Dr. R.K. Verma (General Warden), and others were present at the event. The seminar coordinator, Dr. Sumanto Mukherjee, delivered the vote of thanks, marking the close of a productive opening day.
