Kerala IT Parks Impress Webinar Delegates at Japan’s Niigata BizExpo

KOZHIKODE:
Kerala IT Parks contributed ideas to an evolving global collaboration led by Japanese companies on digital solutions for a world after Covid-19, as the state government’s venture joined a webinar as part of Niigata BizExpo 2020 in the East Asian country through Adam Innovations.

Six out of the eight presentations at the online seminar were by member-companies of Kerala IT Parks. Each of them pitched digital solutions and answered questions at the platform that was virtual owing to the pandemic.

The webinar got an “overwhelming response” from Japanese companies and government officials, organisers said. It was an “eye-opener” for the participants, they added.

The event saw the participation of 300 members from four countries: US, Sri Lanka and India besides host Japan. Supported by Japanese interpretations, the webinar had its fifth company, too, from India (Pune-based Tech Mahindra) besides one from Sri Lanka.

The next step will be a series of business discussions and matching service between the companies in Niigata and Kerala.

The companies selected from Kerala IT Parks (Technopark Trivandrum, Infopark Kochi and Cyberpark Kozhikode) for the event were Zoondia, Gemini Software solutions, UL Technologies, EBS Business Solutions, Reflections Global and Neovibe Technologies. The webinar dealt with smart work allocation systems, factory of the future, data analytics in healthcare, intelligent property management system, business process automation and artificial intelligence in manufacturing sectors.

Conducted in collaboration with Adam Innovations (Adam-i), the webinar was held alongside Niigata BizExpo 2020. The coronavirus-imposed restrictions led the event at Niigata Industrial Promotions Centre in Chibu region of Honshu Island go online this October 15 and 16.

The event was attended also by the Confederation of Indian MSME, CII, IIMKLIVE, NIT Calicut, Manipal University and their start-up forums to understand more or Covid-time global technologies. Local companies, government officials and university students visited the virtual event.

Adam-i is a digital transformation company which promotes Global IT Park on a PPP model in collaboration with Niigata prefectural government, Minamiuonuma city council and the International University of Japan. Adam-i had replicated the Kerala IT model in Japan after a detailed study of Technopark, Infopark and Cyberpark models and their implication on society, with focus on the IT sector and job opportunities.

Niigata Biz Expo, as the largest business expo in Japan’s prefecture, features exhibitions, seminars and B2B meetings. It typically facilitates companies that are into manufacture, construction, retail and IT present their products and services. As the ongoing pandemic led the organisers to scale the event down, Adam Innovations, as an operating company of Global IT Park, conducted the webinar series in collaboration with Kerala IT Parks.

The key objective of Global IT Park is regional revitalization and provide support to Niigata company’s digital transformation.

Minamiuonuma City Mayor Hayashi Shigeru sent an appreciation note about the webinar. Adam-i President Kaushal Wawlagala, also the founder of 2016-launched Global IT Park, said Covid-19 has forced companies to move to digital much faster than expected. These kind of regular focused activities will broaden the scope for business opportunities for SMEs in Kerala.