New Delhi, 14 December 2017: Next Tech Lab from SRM Institute of Science and Technology (earlier known as SRM University) won a Silver Prize at the Reimagine education awards 2018 organised by Quacquarelli Symonds and Wharton School of Business, University of Pennsylvania. The conference and awards took place at the Philadelphia Marriott Downtown in Pennsylvania, USA and the biggest names in education were in attendance. Quacquarelli Symonds, better known as QS is famous for its annual publication of international university rankings. SRM University (Now SRM Institute of Science and Technology) currently holds a 4 star rating from QS.
Next Tech Lab was founded by Anshuman Pandey and Aditthya Ramakrishnan who spent a semester at MIT, Cambridge on a scholarship. Intrigued by the anti-disciplinary research culture of the MIT Media Lab, they decided to start a lab at their own university.
When contacted, Dr. R.P. Sathyanarayanan, President SRM said, “Our students have made us proud once again, by being awarded with this prestigious award. SRM has always encouraged novelty & out of box thinking which has helped us maintain ourselves as front runners in technology. While Next Tech doesn’t just ape the Media Lab framework like in Richard Feynman’s anecdotes about “Cargo-Cult Science”, its policies are built to foster innovation and disruptive thinking. Researchers work on Deep Learning/Artificial Intelligence, Computational Biology, Electrical Systems, Mixed Reality, Blockchains/Decentralisation & Internet of Things.”
The lab has advisors from MIT, CMU, Cambridge University and silicon-valley start-ups. Members of the lab often bag top research and industry internships, win international Hackathons and present their research at prestigious conferences. Next Tech Lab has locations in Kattankulathur, Tamil Nadu and Amaravati, Andhra Pradesh.
NextTech Lab AP recently finished a project using Augmented Reality to redefine the learning paradigmfor elementary school children. The apps are being deployed in schools to supplement regular classes. The conference was sponsored by Google, Microsoft, IBM, Amazon among other tech giants heavily invested in the education industry. The judging panel included executives/CEOs and professors/ chancellors from Amazon, IBM, Wharton, QS, MIT, Columbia, and LSE.
