Signify Launches India’s First Tailor-Made 3D Printed Luminaires For A Circular Economy

* Company sets up 3D printing facility in Vadodara and a Design lab in Noida

* On-demand tailor-your-luminaire online service launched for consumers

* 47% lower carbon footprint than a traditionally built metal luminaire

* Innovative designs with infinite choice in colours, textures and shapes

Signify (Euronext: LIGHT), the world leader in lighting, today launched India’s first tailor-made 3D printed luminaires. This highly flexible and more sustainable form of manufacturing, using a 100% recyclable polycarbonate material, enables the company to produce luminaires that have bespoke designs or are tailored to customer’s exact needs and recycled at the end of their life, supporting a circular economy.

Currently, Signify is the only major lighting manufacturer to be producing 3D-printed lighting products on an industrial and commercial scale in India. In alignment with the Indian government’s agenda of ‘Make in India’ and ‘Atmanirbhar Bharat’, the company has set up a 3D printing manufacturing facility at its existing lighting factory in Vadodara, in addition to a design lab at its R&D center in Noida where interior designers, architects and lighting designers can experience the technology first-hand and see their luminaire being printed in front of their eyes. They can also work together with Signify’s design experts to create a truly bespoke design that meets their specific requirements.

Signify’s investment in 3D printing further illustrates the company’s commitment to better serving its customers while reducing their, and its own, carbon footprint and to responsible consumption and production (SDG12) with products that can be reprinted, refurbished, reused or recycled. It is a key element of Signify’s commitment to doubling its circular revenues to 32% in 2025, as part of the Brighter Lives, Better World 2025 program launched in September 2020. 3D Printing is a Triple Bottom Line Technology – its good for the climate, consumers and companies.

Consumers can design and order their 3D printed luminaires online on the company’s website or visit their nearest Philips Smart Light Hub to place their order. The combinations of materials and textures offered by 3D printing is countless and only limited by one’s imagination. Customers can choose their colour, finish and texture for a truly unique and bespoke design. Professional customers can design their luminaire on https://www.tailored.lighting.philips.com/en/in/  and get in touch with the sales team to place their order.

A 3D printed luminaire is also good for our planet as it has a 47% lower carbon footprint than a traditionally manufactured metal luminaire, excluding electronics and optics. The final product is also two-thirds in weight compared to a conventional luminaire, which ultimately translates to a 35% carbon emission reduction during shipping. Nearly every component of these luminaires may be reused or recycled at end of life and repurposed into new designs, thereby supporting the concept of a circular economy. 

Switching to 3D printing of luminaires can also help companies meet their sustainability goals and allows them the flexibility to co-create their lighting products with endless options for customization. Moreover, customers can also refresh their lighting design by returning their luminaires to have them recycled and reprinted in newer designs, enabling them to stay current and topical. As these luminaires are printed on-demand and as per specific requirements of the customer, there are no additional costs incurred for any adjustments or ceiling modifications during installation.

Commenting on the launch, Sumit Joshi, Vice Chairman and Managing Director, Signify Innovations India Limited said, “We are proud to be the first lighting manufacturer to produce 3D printed luminaires in India on an industrial scale in alignment with the Indian government’s agenda of a self-reliant India. It also reinforces our position at the forefront of lighting and sustainable innovation. Printing luminaires provides a more flexible, fast and environmentally friendly way to manufacture as we can create new, or customize existing designs, that fulfill customer needs quickly without huge investments and long development cycles. Customers can have their ideas brought to life in a matter of days rather than months and printing requires less energy.”

Signify has also set up 3D printing facilities in other parts of the world including United States, Belgium, the Netherlands and Indonesia. The company has already secured several customers like Marks and Spencer (M&S), Albert Heijn, SAS, Total and Praxis for these products..

upGrad Strengthens Foothold In The North America With Appointment Of Karan Raturi As The General Manager

* With learners doubling in this geography, this move solidifies the edtech major’s commitment to enhance its reach in North America

upGrad, India's largest online higher education company, today announced the appointment of Karan Raturi as the General Manager for North America. Responding to the staggering growth in the international learners, all of which happened organically, upGrad saw the scope for a focused and targeted approach to bolster this growth. With the right leadership at the helm to steer the company’s growth in this region, the edtech is looking to scale their international operations and expand upGrad’s presence and penetration in the US market.

A Wharton School alumnus, Karan has held a number of leadership roles throughout his career. He joins upGrad from Wayfair (NYSE: W), where he was the Head of Business Planning. Before Wayfair, Karan has worked as a consultant and advisor in corporate strategy, operations, private equity, venture capital, corporate development, and corporate finance with companies like IBM, Kurt Salmon, Novartis Venture Funds, and GTS. Karan's appointment to grow upGrad's business in the North American market is driven by the company’s ambition to expand across geographies and put India on the global edtech map.  

On welcoming Karan to his new role, Arjun Mohan, CEO, upGrad India, said, “Excited to have Karan join us as the General Manager for North America. He will be leading the P&L and will be responsible for driving revenue, along with scaling the business operations in the region. With a doubling of learners in this area organically, we are confident about the region’s prospects and certain that Karan’s skills, intellect, and leadership will help us grow as a world–class team to achieve our vision.”

Karan Raturi, General Manager - North America, upGrad, further added, “I am thrilled to be part of such a robust and renowned team who have built a proven and trusted edtech brand in India. I look forward to deepening the brand’s presence in the region, and supporting learners across the US and Canada to build and accelerate their future careers.”

Over this fiscal year, the edtech major has noticed a remarkable spike in student enrolment from over 50 countries with the second largest chunk coming from the United States of America. The number of paid learners stood at 26% largely coming from the US and Canada markets. Additionally, the intent to know more about the various programs by international learners has grown 100% in the last one year. Collaboration with top-notch global universities like Liverpool John Moores University (UK), Deakin Business School (Australia), Duke Corporate Education (US), Michigan State University (US), Swiss School of Business Management, Geneva has been the catalyst for the international growth.

upGrad has been expanding its global presence by leaps and bounds. One can expect many other such exciting hires as company sources can confirm there is another leadership offer in the US market, this time reaffirming the edtech’s international university alliances.  It had recently announced the CEO for the APAC region followed by the country head for Indonesia and the four-member board comprising of distinguished leaders for its UK operations. 

Bisleri Pledges To Safeguard The Environment And Encourages To Use Recycled Products

* A model that appeals to the masses to use and dispose off plastic responsibly

On the occasion of Global Recycling Day, Bottles for Change, an initiative by Bisleri International Pvt. Ltd., takes an oath towards a clean and healthy environment by creating awareness about the importance of recycling plastic in our lives. This programme aims to bring about a habit change in the society by cleaning the plastic after its use, segregating and sending it for recycling. Treating plastic as a waste is not the solution; if used and disposed off responsibly, plastic is not harmful to the environment. The plastic collected by Bottles for Change is crushed into fine flakes, which are then used to create non-edible products such as furniture, cloth fabric, shoes, t-shirts, handbags, and many more. This initiative's motive is to ‘Be the Change You Want to See’ and become an example by disposing the plastic responsibly, which leads to a cleaner environment. Each individual should take a step forward and do its best to make India a better place to live in.

THE PROCESS TO RECYCLE PLASTIC

STEP 1: After consumption, clean the used plastic

STEP 2: Keep Plastic separate from the wet and dry waste

STEP 3: Handover the Plastic to plastic agents (Kabadiwala)

WHY RECYCLE?

Did you know? It is a myth that all plastic is lying in the dump yard because plastic is recycled in India. India is the only country in the world that recycles 60% of the plastic that it produces. India has a segment of society that is unorganized and unrecognized but is beautifully managing the current recycling system in India. There are 4.5 million ragpickers, 1.5 million kabadiwala’s/raddiwala’s and 8000 recycling units in our country. However, the remaining 40% that gets recycled is because it is disposed off dirty and uncleaned.

India has the opportunity to recycle 100% of its plastic only if, as consumers, we become responsible by not treating plastic as waste. Plastic is a valuable resource as it fetches approximately INR 10/Kg to a ragpicker who scavenges plastic from waste, and this value only increases if the plactic is disposed off clean.  The entire plastic handling chain from housekeeping/ragpickers to kabadiwala to a recycler is a sustainable chain.

If followed correctly, this model also helps green agents (ragpickers) collect large amounts of clean plastics at a time, which fetches them a good income. It would also provide them with a hygienic working condition, respectable life, and support for educating their children through our NGO partners.

Bottles for Change model of handling plastic has been receiving support from the government bodies such as NDMC (North Delhi Municipal Corporation), EDMC (East Delhi Municipal Corporation), SDMC (South Delhi Municipal Corporation), Panvel Municipal Corporation, Thane Municipal Corporation, Navi Mumbai Municipal Corporation, Vasai Virar Municipal Corporation and from Chennai NSS (National Service Scheme). 

Since its inception, the 'Bottles for Change' program has conducted over 600 plastic recycling awareness events and workshops in corporate offices, housing societies, schools, and colleges. Over 6,500 Tonnes of Plastic has been recycled by Bisleri's 'Bottles For Change' Programme. Over 6,00,000 Citizens, 800 housing societies, 500 corporates, 500 Hotels and restaurants, 400 schools and colleges have been successfully engaged with the program. More than 3,00,000 students have actively supported and joined the initiative.

Additionally, Bottles for Change has introduced a Mobile App for Mumbai citizens, which aims to bring the citizens and the Plastic Collecting Agents (Kabadiwallahs/NGOs) under one roof. The app provides a hassle-free option to the citizens to search & approach a nearby plastic agent to handover the clean plastic..

Anahad Brings To You Authentic Folk Music From Heartlands Of India In Dolby Atmos

Anahad Foundation brings Dolby Atmos to the folk musicians of India. With this Anahad aims at empowering the underprivileged musicians through technology giving listeners a true experience of folk music from the comfort of their home. Anahad aims to produce over 1000 rural and tribal folk musicians this year for free at their doorsteps.

Folk music exists primarily in verbal format due to which it is heavily depended on live shows and tourism. Post lockdown, with the closure of the tourism industry, the majority of folk musicians became jobless and had no means of earning. BackPack Studio, the flagship program of Anahad Foundation aims to create livelihoods for musicians through the recording sector. Partnership with Dolby will further enhance the output of BackPack Studio as it will help to mix the recorded tracks in a format that will preserve the dynamic and surround nature of folk music!

Anahad’s mission is to bring music to the world for everyone to feel. Through this collaboration, Dolby Atmos Music will intimately connect listeners with the folk artist’s vision so they can experience the music without any limitations. Abhinav Agrawal (Director, Anahad Foundation) says, “Anahad mission to ‘empower folk musicians through production technology’ gets a boost with Dolby Atmos as it enables the listeners to experience music as it would have been performed live! This technology will bring musicians closer to listeners as they will be able to experience these art forms in the most authentic way possible.”

The first album to be released with this partnership is ‘Colours of Braj’ and is scheduled for launch on 26th March. Centered around the festival Holi, the album will consist of 10 tracks featuring 10 different folk art forms of Braj (the region around Mathura) like Rasiya, Holi Faag, Haveli Sangeet, Charkula Dance, etc. Along with the album, the organisation will release a 20 min documentary on its YouTube channel showing how these tracks were recorded.

About Anahad Foundation: Anahad Foundation is a New Delhi based not for profit organisation that works towards generating employment and creating sustainable livelihood for the folk musicians of the country. Anahad empowers artists by creating a digital presence for them that works like a portfolio and enables them to get more shows. Anahad provides doorstep production facilities to the underprivileged artists for free and creates two music videos and a web-page per folk group. Any royalties generated are put back in the project and are used to empower new artists or provide them with basic necessities in case of any calamity. Since its inception, Anahad has worked with over 6000 musicians and most of them have seen an income increase of up to seven times.

About Dolby Atmos: Dolby Atmos Music lets listeners connect with music at its fullest capacity and creative potential – not the way most people hear music today, but a version that pulls you into a song to reveal what was lost with traditional recordings. Listeners can discover hidden details and subtleties with unparalleled clarity. Whether it’s a complex harmony of instruments placed around a listener, the unleashing of a legendary guitar solo, a massive bass drop that washes over you, or the subtle breath a singer takes, Dolby Atmos gives music more space and the freedom to unleash every detail and emotion as the artist intended..

Edtech Lead Makes Senior-Level Appointments As It Eyes Growth

* Arpit Mundra appointed as Chief Financial Officer and Vipul Redey takes charge as Chief Excellence Officer

LEAD, a major EdTech player in India’s K-12 education segment, has strengthened its senior leadership team by appointing Arpit Mundra as Chief Financial Officer and Vipul Redey as Chief Excellence Officer. The announcement comes after the appointment of former Disney+ Hotstar SVP & Head Sales Anupam Gurani as Chief Marketing Officer.

With an aim to keep growing in this rapidly evolving Edtech ecosystem, Sumeet Mehta, Cofounder & CEO, LEAD said, “As LEAD embarks on a new chapter of growth and innovation, it will be crucial to have an experienced and dynamic leadership team in place which can deliver value to our customers, partners and employees. Both Arpit and Vipul bring impressive depth of knowledge and experience in their respective fields which will greatly support LEAD’s next phase of growth and expansion.”

Arpit Mundra brings 18 years of extensive and rich experience in Accounting & Reporting, Financial Planning & Analysis, M&A, and Treasury and Taxation. He is a CA from Institute of Chartered Accountants of India and has previously worked with RIVIGO as a Chief Financial Officer.

In his role as CFO at LEAD, Arpit will be responsible for financial stewardship, managing governance and controls, analyzing the company's financials, besides working closely with the senior management on strategy and creating value for stakeholders.

Arpit Mundra, Chief Financial Officer, LEAD said, “I am very excited to be a part of LEAD, a company which has significantly grown in last few years. As we pivot to lead in a rapidly evolving edtech space, finance plays an even more strategic role and I look forward to working closely with Sumeet and the LEAD team in our journey to further strengthen relationships with our stakeholders.”

A respected educationist with over 25 years of industry experience, Vipul Redey most recently served Khan Academy as Head-School Enablement. One of 30 innovators worldwide, he is selected to join the TED community. He is an alumnus of the Edtech Master’s Program at the Stanford Graduate School of Education.

Vipul Redey, Chief Excellence Officer, LEAD said, “I am thrilled to join LEAD as I have seen the company grow rapidly in the last one year. I hope to make significant contribution to enhance LEAD’s high performance academic system and build innovative learning solutions to help students in these unprecedented times.”

As Chief Excellence Officer, Vipul will play a key role in strengthening LEAD’s pedagogical systems and processes and lead the excellence team towards excellent student performance, unmistakable teacher empowerment and active parent engagement to deliver quality education.

About LEAD:

LEAD (formerly known as LEAD School) is promoted by Leadership Boulevard, one of the fastest growing EdTech companies in India. It combines technology, curriculum and pedagogy into an integrated system of teaching and learning, thus improving student learning and teacher performance in schools across the country. LEAD School partners with 1700+ schools with an estimated 6 lakh+ students in more than 400 cities, including tier 2 to tier 4 cities, in 20 States.

The Hong Kong University Of Science And Technology invites “Applications For The Academic Session Of 2021”

The Hong Kong University of Science and Technology (HKUST), ranked No. 1 in Times Higher Education’s Young University Rankings 2020 and featured among the top 30 global universities in the QS World University Rankings 2021, is inviting applications for the 2021-2022 academic session. Applications invited cover some of the university’s most popular courses across Engineering, Science, Humanities and Business streams that are designed to help students with ingenuity, entrepreneurship and leadership skills required for 21st century job market. 

The student body at HKUST comes from around 90 countries - with Indian comprising the third largest international student community.  They study under the guidance of one of the world’s most qualified faculty staff – among whom 142 were recently rated by Stanford University as the world’s top 2% scientists.  Applications will be accepted on a rolling basis to allow Indian students with more flexibility amid the pandemic this year. Students are encouraged to submit applications at https://join.ust.hk/apply and visit https://join.ust.hk/updates for admissions related updates. 

HKUST has a proven track record in its graduates’ employment and promoting entrepreneurship culture among students. Many Indian students have been successfully placed in organisations like Deloitte, EY, Goldman Sachs, IBM, JP Morgan, Morgan Stanley, and PwC, despite a downturn in global economy and the job market. 

Eligibility Criteria for all courses:  

Students who wish to apply must fulfil the General Admission, School/Program-Specific and English Language requirements. The university reviews each application holistically, considering both academic performance and non-academic achievements. For students using Indian Boards exams, the requirements are “Pass Certificates obtained on completion of Standard XII (State and National boards)” and reference score of previous students admitted to HKUST is “Overall average of 85% or above”.            

Note: Applicants are also expected to submit the Standard X (State and National Boards) results. 

More details are listed at https://join.ust.hk/admissions/international-qualifications/  

Scholarship Criteria at The Hong Kong University of Science and Technology 

The university awards academic scholarships to outstanding students on competitive merit basis. These awards may be one-off or renewable, full, or partial tuition waivers.  

All applicants will be considered, and no separate application is required. The highest amount of scholarship is equivalent to Full Tuition Fee plus an allowance of HK$55,000 (INR ₹ 5 lakh 13 thousand approx.) per academic year - renewable for the normal duration of study subject to satisfactory academic performance. For more details about HKUST’s Admissions Scholarship Scheme for IB Diploma Holders & GCEAL/ International AL Qualification Holders, please visit https://join.ust.hk/fees-and-scholarships . For other qualifications, the university awards scholarships on a case-by-case basis.  

Webinar next week  

HKUST is organizing a special free webinar on March 24, 2021 for interested students and parents. The university’s representatives will walk through its popular programs while Indian students and graduates will share their study and work experiences in Hong Kong. Registration for this free webinar can be done through the following link:  

https://us02web.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_PVAazMIPRJOmGGe_pxyJdQ  

Study Shows Future Of Healthcare Is Shaped By Hybrid Cloud

 

* Healthcare Organizations Expect to Increase Hybrid Cloud Deployments by 32 Points Over the Next Five Years

Nutanix (NASDAQ: NTNX), a leader in private cloud, hybrid and multicloud computing, today announced the healthcare industry findings of its third annual Enterprise Cloud Index Report, measuring healthcare organizations’ plans for adopting private, hybrid and public clouds. The findings point to a growing trend within the sector: with more than two-thirds (70%) of respondents reporting that COVID-19 has caused IT to be viewed more strategically within their organizations and the pandemic has accelerated digital transformation that is likely to shape the future of healthcare.

As COVID-19 hit, healthcare organizations looked for ways to effectively support the skyrocketing technology demands of the COVID-19 pandemicーfrom enabling remote work, to implementing telehealth practices, to supporting an increasing patient load. As a result, they sought out IT solutions that could support their organizations’ growing needs and support their digital transformation. With digital transformation top of mind, the healthcare industry is more bullish than any other sector about adopting a hybrid IT model, with 95% of respondents agreeing that hybrid is their ideal choice.

Today, more than half of healthcare respondents have increased their public cloud (56%) and hybrid cloud (51%) use and nearly half (46%) have invested more in private cloud environments in an effort to quickly provide new work-from-home employees with access to IT resources. While 77% of healthcare respondents previously had some employees working remotely one year ago, that percentage has increased to 93% this year since the onset of the pandemic.

“Cloud has been a critical support for India’s healthcare organizations as they rapidly adapted to changing patient needs during the pandemic- healthcare providers were able to fast track their telehealth plans when Covid-19 struck, so vulnerable patients could stay at home and still receive treatment. The advancement of healthcare in India remains bright, supported by secure and agile technologies like hybrid cloud,”said Faiz Shakir, Director and Country Head of Enterprise & Commercial Business, India and SAARC, Nutanix.

Other key findings of this year’s report include:

The future of healthcare is dependent on decommissioning of legacy architecture: Currently, more healthcare companies run exclusively traditional, non-cloud-enabled datacenters (27%) than any other industry, compared to 18% globally. Over the next five years, however, healthcare organizations plan to shrink that gap with an expected 21-percentage-point drop in legacy datacenter installations and a corresponding 32-point increase in hybrid cloud deployments.

Healthcare organizations look to hyperconverged infrastructure to support IT modernization and pave the way to hybrid cloud: Hyperconverged infrastructure is often seen as the basis for a hybrid cloud infrastructure, the HCI of the next decade, as it helps accelerate cloud adoption by sharply reducing the time it takes to build the software-defined infrastructure necessary to support private cloud, while also providing the scalability of cloud technology. About 64% of healthcare respondents say they’ve either fully deployed HCI or are in the process of doing so, significantly outpacing the approximately 50% of global respondents who are using or deploying hyperconverged infrastructure.

Security, privacy and compliance pose a significant challenge to the industry's digital transformation: 58% of healthcare respondents described security as a significant challenge, compared to 51% of global respondents. Healthcare respondents also ranked cost control (45%) and business continuity (45%) more often as significant challenges than any other industry.

As the healthcare industry evolves, cost advantages will be the main gating factor for IT infrastructure deployments: All industries, including healthcare, indicated that security, privacy, and compliance solution strengths were highly important to infrastructure decision-making.

“Healthcare organizations are in a critical phase of expediting their digital transformations to better meet patient and healthcare worker needs, all this jump started by COVID-19,” said Cheryl Rodenfels, Healthcare Strategist at Nutanix. “While IT leaders agree that hybrid cloud is a key enabler of this transformation, healthcare organizations need to identify IT solutions to help them on this journey, from investing in HCI-powered private clouds, to finding ways to effectively bridge their private and public cloud environments while keeping security and cost top of mind.”

The respondent base spanned multiple industries, business sizes, and the following geographies: the Americas; Europe, the Middle East, and Africa (EMEA); and the Asia-Pacific (APJ) region..