Jammu, April 27: The School of Mechanical Engineering at Shri Mata Vaishno Devi University (SMVDU), in collaboration with the Institution’s Innovation Council (IIC), Saturday organised a two-day workshop on “Innovations in Tribology and Robotics” on April 21 and April 22.
In the age of smart manufacturing and intelligent systems, the fields of tribology and robotics are playing a transformative role across diverse sectors, including automotive, aerospace, biomedical engineering, and industrial automation. The event featured two distinguished experts — Shakti K. Gupta and Manjesh Kumar — from the Department of Mechanical Engineering, Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Kanpur. Gupta delivered an engaging session on Robotics and Industrial Applications, while Kumar spoke on the material and tribological aspects of robotics. Both sessions were followed by interactive Q&A segments, sparking lively discussions among participants, including faculty members, research scholars, and students. A panel discussion, moderated by Ankush Raina, explored the future of Robotics and Artificial Intelligence. The discussion saw active participation from Yatheshth Anand (Head, School of Mechanical Engineering), Shashi B. Kotwal and Swastik Gupta (School of Electronics and Communication Engineering), Prabhu Omar (School of Electrical Engineering), and Vipal Sharma (School of Computer Science and Engineering). The panel emphasised emerging AI trends, the integration of intelligent systems within robotics, and the critical importance of cross-disciplinary collaboration. The workshop was jointly coordinated by Mir Irfan Ul Haq (Associate Professor, SME) and Ankush Raina (Assistant Professor, SME), and witnessed enthusiastic participation from undergraduate, postgraduate, and doctoral students across various schools. Pradeep Singh (Assistant Professor, SME) also contributed significantly to the discussions. The organisers expressed their gratitude to the SMVDU administration and Vice-Chancellor Pragati Kumar for their unwavering support in facilitating the event. Notably, SMVDU announced that starting from the upcoming academic year, the university will offer a B.Tech. programme in Robotics and Artificial Intelligence. This new undergraduate course aims to equip students with cutting-edge knowledge and skills in the rapidly advancing fields of robotics and AI, thereby opening up vast career opportunities across high-technology sectors.
