As top IT hubs across the country are bursting at the seams for want of better infrastructural facilities, Kozhikode is set to showcase Malabar's potential as an innovation and IT hub, with the Kerala Technology Expo (KTX) starting this month-end.
The February 29-March 2 KTX being organized at the Calicut Trade Centre will bring in more than 6,000 delegates, 200-plus stalls and 100 speakers of international repute. The three-day event is being hosted by a society named CITI 2.0 (Calicut Innovation and Technology Initiative) that comprises nine leading academic and industrial institutions, including Kozhikode Cyberpark.
KTX is being organized to boost the potential of Kozhikode as an ideal IT destination with the industrial support the city is receiving amid its pursuit for stronger development.
As tier-2 and 3 cities in the country are gaining increasing prominence of late, the Malabar region up the state is emerging important for information technology, according to Kerala IT Secretary Shri Rathan U. Kelkar. "The industry has begun moving away from the traditional notion of considering just the metropolises as IT centres. Kozhikode, as a city with less cost and high quality, is set to find its place as a digital and innovation hub on the global map," he noted.
Technopark, Thiruvananthapuram CEO Col (retd) Sanjeev Nair said nine institutions have come together as CITI 2.0 for the conduct of KTX, conceived with the idea of IT development in Malabar. The event at Kozhikode, with more than 6,000 delegates, deserves special appreciation, he remarked. "Besides to startups, KTX will give emphasis to IT, machine learning, AR/VR metaverse and robotics along with allied state-of-the-art technological advances."
Susanth Kurunthil, who is CEO of Kozhikode Cyberpark and Kochi Infopark, said KTX 2024 will mark a new start to the cooperation among the IT sectors of Kerala and the Gulf region. "Much beyond as a traditional expo, KTX will enable giving a comprehensive idea about Malabar and establishing Kozhikode as evolving into a global insight hub for IT industry," he pointed out. "KTX will hopefully work as a platform that reveals rich details about the business and technological entities across Malabar."
CITI 2.0, which is spearheaded by Malabar Chamber of Commerce, comprises leading governmental and private initiatives such as IIM-Kozhikode, NIT-Calicut, Kerala State Information Technology Infrastructure Ltd, CREDAI (Confederation of Real Estate Developers Association of India), Calicut Management Assocation, UL Cyberpark, ULCC (Kozhikode) and Government Cyberpark Kozhikode.
Among the speakers at at KTX will be top executives from Siemens, Tata Elxsi, Uber, Amazon Pay, Open Financial Technologies, Trustonic India, Zafin, Terumo Penpol, Vonnue, IIM-Kozhikode, Technology Business Incubator - NIT Kozhikode, KSUM, Kerala Knowledge Mission and Malabar Angels Network. |
