Bridging the Gap between Research & Societal Impact

In my talk, I will discuss two important and related issues drawing on examples and evidence from the Indian context.

Policy makers often seek evidence of tangible contributions made by research institutions in order to justify continued funding. Ideally, they would like to see the work of research institutions directly addressing national challenges and priorities. Is this a reasonable expectation? Can research institutions have broader impact without diluting their core mission? 

The absence of strong links between academia and industry is often identified as one of the major reasons why we don’t see significant technological innovation in India. How can this gap be bridged?

About the Speaker:
Prof. Rishikesha Krishnan is an author, columnist, and professor of management who focuses on strategy, innovation, and education. He is listed in the Thinkers50 India list of most influential management thinkers from India. 

Prof. Krishnan’s book 8 Steps to Innovation: Going from Jugaad to Excellence (co-authored with Vinay Dabholkar) won the Best Book Award for 2013-14 from the Indian Society for Training & Development. His earlier book, From Jugaad to Systematic Innovation: The Challenge for India, proposed a blueprint for how India can enhance its innovation output. 

Prof. Krishnan is currently the Director of the Indian Institute of Management (IIM) Indore. From 1996 to 2013, he was on the faculty at IIM Bangalore, where he held the Jamuna Raghavan Chair in Entrepreneurship from 2007 to 2010. He was educated at IIT Kanpur (5-year Integrated M.Sc. in Physics), Stanford University, and IIM Ahmedabad.