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About the Speaker

Abhay Egoor is the Chief Technology Officer & Co-founder of Dhruva Space, where he leads the Engineering teams spanning Avionics, Mechanical, Space Mission Analysis & Design, Spacecraft Power Solutions, Assembly, Integration & Testing, and Manufacturing & Commissioning. He is leading Dhruva Space's vision to become an Indian OEM and a Tier-1 supplier to global Space primes. Under his leadership, the company became the first private firm to launch a satellite authorised by the Government of India, and is currently building 15+ satellites for customers while establishing South Asia's largest spacecraft manufacturing facility in Hyderabad. An expert in building products around sensors and sensor interfaces, Abhay brings more than a decade of experience across multiple hardware development programmes. Prior to co-founding Dhruva Space, he was part of the Embedded Team at ams AG, a VLSI sensor technology company based in Austria, and Thybolt, an electronic design laboratory based in Hyderabad. Abhay holds a Bachelor's degree in Electrical and Electronics Engineering from BITS Pilani. He has been recognised for his contributions to India's Space programme with the Young Achiever Award (YAA) from BITS Pilani. He was also featured in Fortune India's 40 Under 40 (2022) and Forbes India DGEMS 200 (2023).

About the Speaker

Jainul Abedin is the Founder & CEO of Abyom SpaceTech & Defence, a full-stack Space & Defence startup building next-generation reusable rockets, advanced space infrastructure, and dual-use technologies. At the age of 16, he envisioned India’s first reusable rocket mission and founded Abyom in 2020 at 19. Abyom has since established India’s first commercial rocket engine testing facility and developed reusable rocket engine technologies focused on sustainable access to space. Jainul has authored 5+ research papers, holds 3 patents, and has been recognized with prestigious accolades, including Forbes 30 Under 30 Asia & India, the Chief Minister’s Award (UP), the Karmaveer Chakra by the United Nations, the Aegis Graham Bell Excellence Award, and recognition as a TEDx Speaker. Under his leadership, Abyom has gained global recognition as one of the Top 20 Global SpaceTech Startups, winner of Boeing BUILD 2024, a Forbes Select 200 company with global business potential, and also invited and hosted by Hon’ble Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi alongside H.E. President Emmanuel Macron of the French Republic during their interaction with innovators and entrepreneurs.

About the Speaker

Prof. Sankar Ganesh Palani is a Research Track Professor of Environmental Biotechnology at BITS Pilani, Hyderabad Campus. He has over 28 years of sandwich experience in academia and industry across Europe, the SAARC region, and the Middle East. Prof. Ganesh leads the BITS Environmental Science & Technology (BEST) Lab, which advances sustainable environmental technologies through interdisciplinary research and innovation. He holds 14 patents, 2 trademarks, has authored 5 books, 34 book chapters, and has published 258 research papers in reputable international and national journals and conference proceedings. Prof. Ganesh is a “Faculty-preneur” and the Co-Director of Almac ProTech, a startup company that has emerged from his thermophilic anaerobic digestion research.

About the Speaker

Prof. Perumal Yogeeswari is a renowned academic and researcher, a Senior Professor at the Department of Pharmacy, BITS Pilani, Hyderabad Campus previously who served previously as Dean of Administration . With a Ph.D. in Medicinal Chemistry from Banaras Hindu University, she has over two decades of expertise in drug discovery, focusing on neurological disorders like Alzheimer s and autism, as well as infectious diseases such as tuberculosis and hepatitis C. She has authored over 339 publications with more than 13,000 citations and an h-index of 56, reflecting her significant impact on pharmaceutical sciences. Prof. Yogeeswari has led numerous Ph.D. scholars, secured over ₹30 million in sponsored projects, and collaborated with interdisciplinary research groups from countries like Sweden, Brazil, the UK, and France. Honored as the Shri B.K. Birla and Shrimati Sarala Birla Chair Professor, she continues to drive innovation in pharmaceutical research and education globally.

About the Speaker

Pankaj has an MBA in Operations Management from IIM, Mumbai. He is also a gold medallist in B.E. Mechanical Engineering. He has 30+ years of experience in digital/business transformation and ERP implementations as an industry/supply chain management specialist. He has successfully led digital and business transformation initiatives for global organisations spread across a variety of industries (manufacturing, automotive, engineering, consumer goods, life sciences, retail, logistics, etc.). He is a specialist in all aspects of the supply chain: product lifecycle management (PLM), demand and supply planning, manufacturing, engineering, procurement, inventory, maintenance, order management, quality management, and logistics—distribution, warehousing, and transportation. Earlier, he was in leadership roles in global IT services organisations in the area of enterprise business consulting and ERP applications.

About the Speaker

Dr. M. Rama Manohara Babu is a distinguished aerospace and strategic systems scientist with nearly four decades of exceptional contributions to Indian national security. A former Distinguished Scientist and Director of the Advanced Systems Laboratory (ASL, DRDO), he served as the Programme Director for the prestigious AGNI missile systems, overseeing the development of next-generation strategic technologies like the AGNI-5 Canisterized System and Hypersonic Glide Vehicles. Dr. Babu holds a Ph.D. from Andhra University and is a recipient of numerous accolades, including multiple DRDO AGNI Awards for Excellence in Self-Reliance. After an illustrious career dedicated to Indian technological self-reliance, he currently serves as a Professor of Practice at BITS Pilani, Hyderabad, and is the Founder Head of the Center for Research Excellence in National Security (CRENS), where he fosters cutting-edge innovation and collaboration across academia, industry, and defense forces.

About the Speaker

Lalit Saraswat is the Founder and CEO of Sancoale Technologies, a digital marketing firm delivering results for clients across three continents since 1998. He also has business interests in hospitality and distribution. A BE Mechanical (Honours) graduate from NIT Jaipur, with executive programmes at IIM Ahmedabad and IIM Bangalore, he brings over 25 years of experience in digital strategy, performance marketing, brand-building and go-to-market execution. As Past Chairman of CII Goa, member of the CII Western Region Council, and member of the GCCI Managing Committee, Lalit works closely with business leaders and institutions on entrepreneurship, digital transformation and industry development. He is on the governing councils of two schools and mentors startups, students and educational institutions. A Paul Harris Fellow and former Rotarian, he has long been active in civic and community life. Lalit has appeared twice on ET Now Leaders of Tomorrow. He speaks regularly at BITS Pilani, Goa Institute of Management, professional colleges and corporate forums on digital marketing, AI in marketing, go-to-market strategy and personal branding for business leaders. Outside business, he is committed to education, women financial independence and student innovation. He contributes to under-resourced schools and donates books through proceeds from his artwork. He launched Sancoale Daksh, a digital enablement initiative. Lalit paints in acrylics and sketches stories drawn from Indian history, mythology and lived experience.

About the Speaker

Founder and visionary, Ujjawal Aggarwal, is the driving force behind WCB Robotics. He holds an Engineering degree from BITS Pilani Hyderabad Campus, graduating in 2018. His passion for Engineering, coupled with proficiency in Electronics, Mechanics, and Fluid Mechanics, has been evident since his college days. It was during his second year in college that he embarked on the ambitious quest to create robots capable of safely and effectively cleaning high-rise skyscrapers, ultimately giving rise to the innovative venture, WCB Robotics. This idea came into his mind while watching a documentary on Burj Khalifa. That is when he saw that the facades of this iconic and tallest building in the world were being cleaned by humans. Upon further research, he found out that there are about 100 billion sq ft of glass facades in the world, and more than 99.9% are cleaned by humans. The risk involved in cleaning them is very high, as the people have to climb on the buildings with the help of a rope and pulley, which is totally unsafe. There are only a few robotic solutions available in the market, but nobody uses them. All these solutions are bulky, get blown away by strong winds, and do not clean well. We have spent about 3 years in R&D to come up with ELMO, Extremely Lightweight Mobile Operator. ELMO weighs just under 12 kilos which is in sharp contrast to the 100 to 500 kg weight machines that are available in the market. ELMO is also tested in winds up to 80 km/hr. WCB Robotics is the only company in the world to have built a rope-less façade cleaning robot for exterior facades. ELMO sticks to the glass facade, climbs, and cleans it. We have been granted a patent by the USPTO for our suction technology. Our special suction technology enables very high reliability using contactless suction with the surface. This proprietary suction system also uses only a small amount of electricity enabling battery-operated operation. We have also applied for patents on the cleaning system. In total, ELMO has 5 patented/patent pending solutions in it. A number of companies from UAE, Singapore, Poland, and India have been following up with us for over a year. They are all very interested in using ELMO and have thoroughly researched the market only to find that ELMO is probably the only possible solution for their problems. A number of companies from UAE, Singapore, Poland, and India have been following up with us for over a year. They are all very interested in using ELMO and have thoroughly researched the market only to find that ELMO is probably the only possible solution for their problems. Our mission is not just to push the frontiers of engineering and create game-changing technologies but also to solve real human problems and Make Robots for What Humans Shouldn’t Do!

About the Speaker

After completing his doctoral training at Indian Institute of Science, Bengaluru, and postdoctoral research at ETH Zurich and University of Pennsylvania, Prof. Sounak Roy joined BITS Pilani Hyderabad Campus. He currently serves as a Professor in the Department of Chemistry and Dean of Research and Innovation at BITS Pilani. Prof. Roy’s research focuses on solid-state catalytic materials for sustainable energy and environmental applications. His work spans diverse areas, including CO₂ capture and catalytic conversion into value-added fuels, electrocatalytic renewable energy generation, automotive exhaust catalysis, and biomass valorization. A central theme of his research is understanding the structure and surface properties of solid materials to enable the rational design of advanced catalysts for energy and environmental sustainability.

About the Speaker

Abhishek is an ecosystem builder and technology practitioner specialising in designing and executing startup incubation frameworks. As the Incubation Manager at AIC-GIM (supported by AIM, NITI Aayog), he works closely with founders and institutional stakeholders to turn early-stage ideas into scalable ventures. He brings over a decade of cross-sector experience spanning software development, IoT, and entrepreneurship, having founded a custom software and RPA venture in 2012. Today, his work focuses on curating impactful entrepreneurship programs, aligning institutional innovation with measurable outcomes, and supporting climate and sustainability-focused startups.

About the Speaker

Pranjal is the Founder and CEO of Mitti Sanjeevani, a deep-tech agricultural startup developing dual-shell controlled-release fertilizers to improve nutrient-use efficiency and reduce India's dependence on conventional fertilizer inputs. Mitti Sanjeevani is pre-incubated at TBI BITS Pilani and IIT Kharagpur, with active R&D at IIT Delhi, and has secured committed funding. Entrepreneurship is not new to Pranjal. His previous ventures, Medicinator and CAMEA, earned him recognition as builder of India's Top 10 High School ventures (2021) at IIT Delhi by MEPSC, and also in a separate event by Vivo and Hindustan Times. Now a B.Tech (ECE) student at BITS Pilani, Hyderabad Campus, Pranjal continues to build at the intersection of science and impact, driven by the belief that India's most pressing challenges are its greatest entrepreneurial opportunities, and believes in the importance of giving back to the society.

About the Speaker

Dr. Sandeep Raut holds a PhD in Biological Sciences from the Indian Institute of Science Education and Research (IISER) Bhopal, with the research focused on "Role of Molecular Chaperones in RNA splicing and Neurodegeneration". He has spent the last eight-plus years at the intersection of Science, Innovation, and Entrepreneurship while leading incubation centres at the prestigious institutes of the country like BITS Pilani Hyderabad campus, IISER Pune and IISER Bhopal. He has nurtured over 60 startups and 80+ student prestartups along the way. He currently serves as Chief Operating Officer of STPI FinGlobe-CoE - A FinTech Centre of Entrepreneurship at GIFT City, Gandhinagar, where he continues to shape the next generation of FinTech and Deep-Tech startups. Dr. Raut has personally spearheaded fundraising efforts securing grants for incubators and as well has metored startups fundraising through various funding schemes like BIRAC-BIG, NIDHI-PRAYAS, SISFS, MeitY TIDE 2.0, and Innovation challenges like NBEC, Imergent Ventures, Together-20221, etc. He has served as a mentor at prestigious Acceleration Programs including the iGEM-EPIC, Mission-10X, AIM PRIME and Women in FinTech. He has represented organizations and affiliated startups at the Regional, National and Global fora, notably at the events such as Agile Entrepreneurship Bootcamp - Hiroshima University, Global Bio-India, BioAsia and IKMC.

About the Speaker

Dr. Ramesh Pennamareddy is a managing director of Masuu Global Solutions, and leading a team of experts in providing end-to-end regulatory services and life cycle management for a variety of pharmaceutical products, including DMF, IND, NDA, 505(B)2, ANDA, Medical Devices and OTC. Being a successful entrepreneur in the healthcare industry, the core competencies of Dr. Ramesh comprise regulatory strategy, project management, quality compliance, and sterile product development. Dr. Ramesh have filed and obtained approval for over 100+ ANDAs and 50+ sterile and non-sterile DMFs for the USFDA, EDQM, TGA and Health Canada, and handled multiple post-approval change submissions and quality audits. Dr. Ramesh mission is to leverage this expertise and leadership skills to help Masuu Global Solutions grow and excel in the competitive and dynamic pharmaceutical sector.

About the Speaker

Ms. Kanan Panchal is a dynamic young formulation scientist, and entrepreneur who bridges the gap between academia and real-world healthcare innovation. After securing the first rank during her Master’s degree at BITS Pilani – Hyderabad Campus, Kanan fast-tracked her research career through a transfer into the Ph.D. program. Her passion for work led her to co-found the pharmaceutical start-up, AtreVes Healthcare, alongside her supervisor, Prof. Akash Chaurasiya, where they focus on developing complex healthcare products to revolutionize disease treatment. An innovator at heart, Kanan holds co-inventorship in multiple patents and has contributed significantly to scientific literature through numerous research articles, reviews, and book chapters. Her work has been recognized and awarded at various prestigious national and international forums. Beyond the lab and the boardroom, Kanan is a trained Kathak and folk dancer with a deep passion for the arts—proving that scientific precision and creative expression can beautifully coexist.