MDG refers to the 8 goals set up United Nations that respond to the world's main development challenges and are to be achieved by 2015. The objective of the Conference was to bring together all the stakeholders and people involved in these areas for an exchange of ideas and for charting future course of action.

Dr. Srikanta K. Panigrahi said “We are now at the mid-point between the adoption of MDGs and the 2015 target date. So far, our collective record has not been great. Even today, 1.1 billion people do not have access to clean drinking water and 30,000 children die every day of preventable causes. One in four children born today will not reach the age of five,”. According to him, rural areas of developing countries hold the key to attainment of the goals.

He emphasized that Information and Communication Technologies (ICTs) and clean energy technologies can play a crucial role through facets such as e-governance, rural banking, safe drinking water and disaster mitigation. “Engineering students must understand that education is not about bookish and theoretical knowledge. They must help create real change in society.”

Dr. P. Mannar Jawahar, said that technology must be used as a leverage to improve the quality of life of people at the bottom of the pyramid. “The time has come to remind our scientists and engineers, especially our students, of their responsibility towards ensuring the achievement of MDGs, with the vast resources and opportunities that science and technology has put in their hands,” he said.

Mr. A. Srinivasan, Vice President, Tata Consultancy Services (TCS), the Guest of Honor spoke about the role of ICT and other appropriate technologies in addressing the MDGs and how the industries are contributing towards addressing these issues. He said that all the Tata Group companies are following a Model called Tata Business Excellence Model (TBEM) which lays down key importance first and foremost to Corporate Sustainability (CS) of how the company contributes towards the communities. So all Tata group companies are contributing significantly towards community development and addressing social issues using their respective areas of expertise. He emphasized the role of youth in joining this mission of addressing the MDGs through their knowledge and expertise in technology.

Mr. R.S.Munirathinam, founder and chairman, RMK Group of Institutions, Mr.R.M.Kishore, Vice Chairman and Mr. Yalamanchi Pradeep, Secretary spoke.

Other dignitaries who spoke in the Inaugural function included Dr. V. Ramachandran, Vice Chancellor, Anna University, Trichy, Dr. M. S. Palanichamy, Former Vice Chancellor, Tamilnadu Open University and Advisor to RMKEC, Dr. Sadiq, Former Vice Chancellor, Madras University and Visiting Professor RMKEC, Dr. Daniel Chandran, University of Technology, Sydney, Australia. And Mr. A.K.Pattabiraman of TCS.

Dr. Daniel Chandran, University of Technology, Sydney, Australia, Co-chair of the Conference made a presentation on the Millennium Development Goals and the theme of the Conference.

Dr. K. Chandrasekaran, Dean of RMKEC and Conference Plenary Sessions Chair briefed on the background of the conference and about the Invited and special lectures planned. Dr. A. Jagadeesh , Head of R&D, RMKEC and Conference Co-chairman and Prof. M. Somasundaram , Conference Organizing Secretary briefed about the technical sessions planned. Prof.. K. A. Mohamed Junaid, Vice Principal, gave a vote of thanks.

Exhibition : Exhibition stalls had been set up wherein organizations like Tata Consultancy Services, M S Swaminathan Research Foundation (MSSRF), DHAN Foundation, National Agro Foundation, Rotary Foundation etc showcased how they have used technology to address social development applications like Village Knowledge Centers using computers and satellite communications, Computer based Literacy Programs, Mobile applications for farmers and fishermen, Low cost water purifier etc.

Students Contests : In connection with the conference, essay competitions had been held earlier for college students on the topic of ‘Innovative Solutions for addressing MDGs’, and for school students on the topic of ‘How can I contribute as an individual towards addressing MDGs’. 20 winners were given awards in the inaugural function. The students had set up poster displays of their winning ideas in the exhibition stalls.

Other invited dignitaries who made technical paper presentations were :

Valedictory Function : Dr.H.K.Suhas, Member-Technical, E-Committee, Deputy Director General-NIC (Retd.), was the Chief Guest who participated in the valedictory function and gave a key note address. Delegates and speakers from abroad were honored in the function. Organizations which had set up exhibition stalls were honored and certificates were distributed to them by the Chief Guest.

Conclusion :  The discussions and knowledge sharing among the stakeholders were very useful and many key participants had suggested to organize this event regularly to effectively address MDGs jointly.   The conference was a good platform for creating awareness and interest to students who have initiated joint technology development projects with some of the organizations who participated.