IIM Kashipur hosts AVINYA 2.0: A conclave on innovation, AI, and sustainable impact
The Indian Institute of Management Kashipur, through its Design & Innovation Centre (Navaashay), organised AVINYA 2.0, its flagship annual conclave, on the theme “From Idea to Impact: Designing, Building, and Scaling Sustainable Products in the Age of Artificial Intelligence.” The conclave brought together industry leaders, academicians, innovators, and students to deliberate on how design thinking, artificial intelligence, and sustainability can be integrated to create responsible, scalable, and human-centric innovation in today’s rapidly evolving technological landscape.
Delivering the welcome address, Prof. Kunal Ganguly, Dean (Development), IIM Kashipur, emphasised that innovation must be viewed as a leadership capability rather than a standalone function. He noted, “In an age where technology evolves faster than organisations, the real challenge lies in designing systems that are not only intelligent but also ethical, inclusive, and sustainable. Institutions must prepare leaders who can translate ideas into impact while remaining deeply conscious of their social and environmental responsibilities.”
Sharing his perspective, Prof. Saptarshi Kolay, joint faculty at the Department of Design, IIT Roorkee, observed, “Design has always been the bridge between intent and impact. From the Renaissance to artificial intelligence, progress happens when technology reduces cognitive load without losing the human touch.”
Highlighting enterprise decision-making, Utsab Chakraborty, Data Science & AI Leader, VISA, remarked, “AI does not create value by predicting outcomes alone; it creates value by enabling better decisions. When AI systems are built with customer centricity, human judgement, and responsible guardrails, they become a foundation of trust.”
Speaking on large-scale AI deployment, Parth Sangnani, Principal Product Manager, Microsoft 365 Copilot, noted, “In today’s world, supply is no longer the constraint; quality and judgement are. While AI systems can generate information at scale, responsibility and decision-making must always remain with humans.”
Adding an industry perspective, Anshuman Mansingh, Vice President & Asia Pacific Lead, Google, stated, “AI systems must be built thoughtfully, with developers remaining accountable for outcomes. India is no longer at the back of global AI operations, and sustainability today is as much a data challenge as it is a technological one.”
Concluding the event, IIM Kashipur reiterated its commitment to fostering responsible innovation and strong industry–academia collaboration. AVINYA 2.0 provided a platform for meaningful dialogue on the future of design, artificial intelligence, and sustainability, equipping students with practical insights into how ideas can be transformed into real-world impact.
