The Instrumentation Experts Club was founded in 2002
Published on : Monday 30-11--0001
The Instrumentation Experts Club (IEC) completed 15 years of existence in India and celebrated the occasion with a Grand Event from 5th to 8th October 2017, with an International Symposium and Exhibition, held at Westin Hotel, Goregaon, Mumbai, India. The event concluded with profound fervour and drew more than 300 attendees to explore solutions to the varied challenges facing process measurement and control professionals in Oil & Gas, chemical and petrochemical, energy control and other process industry sectors.
The Instrumentation Experts Club – a unique club founded in the year 2002 – is a leading, Indian non-profit organisation that is setting the standards for industrial automation by helping Corporate Members and other instrumentation professionals to remain at the forefront of knowledge in this highly competitive society while enhancing their leadership and personal career capabilities. The IEC was started with an objective of bringing the doyens of Industrial Instrumentation and Automation on a platform where they can continuously add value to the Indian instrumentation engineering domain. With a bouquet of corporate and individual members together, the IEC has become a platform of meaningful interaction and information exchange where the professionals from around the globe come closer to introduce innovations in the field of Automation, Controls and Instrumentation and at the same time share the much needed experience in this dynamically growing domain.
Picking up from the international technology trends in Automation and Controls, the IEC decided to host an event in order to provide a unique perspective into the most practical future of uniting the Information Technology and Operational Technology in the process industry. During this grand IEC event, the global automation perspectives from various countries including India, Japan, US, Singapore, Germany, etc., were shared among the delegates that spanned from various parts of the country including the representatives of many end user companies from different industry segments. Apart from the three outstanding keynote addresses on IIoT and its practical implementation, the perspectives of more than 20 process automation industry experts were the highlight of the three day affair. Interactive Q&A sessions, networking discussions and technical quiz contests enthralled the participants. A wide range of vendor demonstrations and exhibits from more than 25 national and international companies were the other value-packed activities.
Under the able leadership of Dr B R Mehta – the founder of IEC, the Crystal Event encompassing exhibition cum conference became a premier Automation show based on the tremendous positive response from the industry in India and beyond. It has shaped into a future driven, practically focused platform for the automation industry in India. Attending engineers, technicians and plant managers gave a positive feedback on the latest insights, news and trends shared on this platform.
An excellent opportunity to hear from the CEOs
A CEOs Conclave was the trigger to the show that not only set the tone but also touched the roots of the much needed technology platform for India. The theme of IIoT was the core topic which got the desired perspective from the stalwarts of Indian Automation industry including Dr Gunther Kegel (Pepperl+Fuchs GmbH), Mr Suhas Bhide (Emerson Process), Mr Madhav Vemuri (ABB), Mr Ashish Gaikwad (Honeywell), Mr Rajat Kishore (Schneider Electric), Mr Nand Kumar (Chemtrols), Mr Pramod Kaushik (GE), and Mr Ajay Bhargava (Rittal).
It was through the candid views and insightful presentations of all the CEOs that the confidence of the audience was boosted on the IIoT readiness of automation professionals in India. With prudent case studies and pragmatic track records within the Indian industry segments, the CEOs were able to transmit their conviction that the IIoT is the mainstay of future automation technology in India. The combined presence and unanimous inclination of the CEOs many of whom otherwise are competitors in the market, was an enthralling sight for the various delegates attending the show.
A world-class technical program and vendor exhibition
The symposium’s expert-led technical program covered the critical issues in IIoT, Control and Instrumentation, Safety, Cyber-security, Wireless Communications and Control systems. Among the wide-ranging topics, they included:
- Perspectives on IIoT, its practical implementation and future
- Internet of Things, Services and People
- Applications of Wireless Technology and Pervasive Sensing in Control systems
- Role of automation in Green Energy
- Virtual reality in Control Room Technology
- Cyber-security compliances for Industrial Systems
- Innovations in Level Monitoring, Flow Measurements, Gas Detection and Emission Monitoring
- Process Optimisation, and
- Control System Strategies with Advanced Integration.
An exhibits showcase featured the latest product and service information at engaging vendor and supplier exhibits. Daily luncheons and nightly receptions allowed for ample networking and socialising. The Cultural night was the highlight of the event where the delegates and the guests of honour participated in the show of Indian dance and music.
Honours and Awards to Instrumentation & Automation Professionals
IEC expressed its appreciation to more than 30 automation professionals across India and felicitated key persons in Indian automation fraternity who have done great contributions towards the growth of Automation Industry, Academia and IEC at large.
The leading industrial personalities and professionals as well as budding entrepreneurs were honoured under the following categories including:
- Mr Vithal Magar and Mr N Venkat Raghavan – “Emerging Leadership Award”.
- Mr Kishore Degwekar and Mr Suhas Bhide – “Excellence in Leadership Award”
- Dr Kiranbir Singh Kohli and Mr G Rajabaskaran – “Excellence in Technical Innovation Award”
- Dr Madhusudan Bichu and Mr G P Thirumurugan – Outstanding Entrepreneur Award”
- Mrs Agilandeswari Karunakaran, Mr Neeraj Agarwal and Mr R Vanamali –“Distinguished Automation Professional Award”
- Dr K Nandakumar and Mr Premchand Golia – “Life Time Achievement Award”
Many of the renowned professionals of national and international repute believe that this kind of recognition to individuals who have contributed in promoting the important aspects of automation in the country will reflect the desired alignment of instrumentation automation technology and the industrial domains in India that are keen to reap the benefits technology, and address the needs of many organisations in terms of safety requirements, workforce capabilities, business objectives and efficient infrastructure.
Also, IEC is the first of its kind of body of instrumentation professionals, which has collaborated with the European Continental University for Doctorate, Masters and International Golden Excellence Awards to honour various achievers who have added value as entrepreneurs in their respective fields with respect to the Instrumentation & Automation. This is a unique association which has been created for the first time in India to highlight the achievements of many of the professional experts in India who have contributed in very unique way towards the Instrumentation & Automation in industry which has created a positive mark in the society.
The Awards Function that was held in conjunction with the symposium enabled the visiting family members of IEC professionals to understand the uniqueness of contributions being made by IEC members in their own ways towards spreading the importance of instrumentation and controls in the today’s industrial world.
In short through this grand event of IEC the automation professionals were able to, meet and talk with vendors, interface with industry end-users, interact with professional representatives of various fields, thereby gaining insights and motivation from each other regarding the future role and growth opportunities of instrumentation and automation technology.
Captions:
Photo1: Dr B R Mehta, Sr Vice President – Reliance Industries Limited and founder, IEC, felicitating Dr Gunther Kegel, Chief Executive Officer, Pepperl + Fuchs GmbH, Germany, the Keynote Speaker.
Photo2: Lighting the Lamp (L-R) – Mr Hitesh Doshi, Mr Suhas Bhide, Dr B R Mehta, Mr Rajat Kishore, Dr Gunther Kegel, Mr Ajay Bhargava and Mr Nand Kumar.