Visvesvaraya Technological University (VTU) Vice-Chancellor S. Vidyashankar on Friday said that the university will soon launch a Research Promotion Scheme to encourage its faculty members to focus on product-oriented research.

Mr. Vidyashankar was speaking after inaugurating an International Conference on Communication, Computer, and Information Technology (IC3IT-2025) at the Mysuru Royal Institute of Technology (MRIT) in Srirangapatna. The conference was co-sponsored by the IEEE Bengaluru chapter and IEEE Mysuru.

The Vice-Chancellor said that India was among the largest producers of engineers, and the country's talent was making immense contribution across the globe. "But when it comes to research, it is confined to just publishing papers and efforts should be made to translate or convert research into products that improve lives, especially of the poor," he added.

The challenge, Mr. Vidyashankar said, lies in ensuring research outcomes reach the grassroot.

"Today, much of our research remains confined to journals. The real question every researcher must ask is -- what is the societal impact of my work?", the Vice-Chancellor added.

Mr. Vidyashankar referred to the advancement in the field of communication technology and said that despite such advances, remote parts of India still struggle with basic internet access.

"During the pandemic, students had to climb trees to get internet access and attend online classes. We must innovate technologies that can bridge such gaps," he said.

In all, 180 technical papers were presented during the day-long conference. The accepted papers will be published in the IEEE Xplore Digital Library, providing global visibility to the authors and their affiliated institutions, according to the organisers.

The conference is aimed at fostering collaboration between academia, research, and industry and IC3IT-2025 served as a platform for academicians, research scholars, and professionals to exchange innovative ideas and discuss the latest advancements in communication, Computer Science, and Information Technology.

Ravichandra Kulkarni, Chair, IEEE Mysuru, and Dean (Research), MIT Mysuru; K.S.Abhinandhan, principal, MRIT; and N. Nakul, vice-principal, MRIT; were among those present.

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