Dedicated to establishing a global forum where academics, researchers, and scientists can delve into the dynamic landscape of emerging technologies in engineering and its allied branches, this year’s edition of PiCET solidified its position as a premier platform for academic exchange and innovation in the field of engineering and technology organized by the Faculty of Engineering and Technology in collaboration with the prestigious Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE). The PU International Conference on Engineering and Technology, a conference featuring distinguished keynote speakers, presentations of original research papers, engaging poster sessions, and in-depth technical discussions, brought together experts and researchers from various parts of the globe. PiCET-2024 offered an invaluable platform for over 600 participants including budding students, faculties, industry experts and researchers to directly interact with subject matter experts, facilitating knowledge exchange, collaboration and mentorship opportunities. As the Chief Guest of the conference, Lt. Col. Harikirat Singh Virk, retd. (Head Cyber Security—Product Tech & Innovation, Adani Group), & Dr. Unnikrishnan Nair, Director of the Vikram Sarabhai Space Center (VSSC), graced the occasion and inaugurated the event. At the same time, Dr. Gaurav Sharma (University of Rochester, USA) was the keynote speaker, diving into the fundamentals of research publications. Dr. Kiran Amin, esteemed Guest of Honour, further added to the event's prestige with insightful remarks during the inauguration ceremony.

In addition to academic discourse, the conference also opened doors for industries and institutions to exhibit their cutting-edge products, services, innovations, and research findings. At the recently held PiCET conference, prominent speakers were there from the fields of electrical and computer engineering, business analytics, artificial intelligence, information systems, political sciences, and computer and design. Some of the experts in attendance include Dr Manjeevan Singh Seera (Monash University, Australia), Dr Björn W. Schuller (Imperial College London), Dr JingTao Yao (University of Regina, Canada), Dr Kostas Karpouzis (Panteion) University, Greece), and Dr Yue Zhang (Westlake University, China). Several industrial partners sponsored the PiCET conference, showing their commitment to fostering quality research in various thrust areas of engineering and technology.

Lt. Col. (retd.) Virk spoke in his speech about the innovative collaborations that are driving academic and economic growth in India today. He expressed his admiration for PU's efforts to support this growth by providing a wide range of courses. He also puts light on - ATAL NEW INDIA CHALLENGE, which is a flagship program of the Atal Innovation Mission, NITI Aayog. The program aims to seek, select, support, and nurture technology- based innovations that solve sectoral challenges of national importance and societal relevance. Talking about research papers, the Lieutenant Colonel emphasised bringing out the value of what one has written, “Only quality and quality people,” which highlights the importance of excellence in any field.

The sessions were interactive and engaging, which opened doors to several discussions about the fields and topics covered by the speakers at the conference, and the students were willing to delve into and gain this much-needed information. Later in the conference, Dr Gaurav Sharma, during his session titled “Authoring a Paper,” emphasized the importance of reading the paper before starting to write it by saying, “You don’t like to wait until you write an Einstein- like paper, so to know what is right, one should start reading first.”. He went on to quote Mark Twain, "I would have written you a shorter letter, but I did not have the time," highlighting the value of concise content in the paper.

This year, over 820 papers were received, out of which 271 were selected for presentation across five distinct tracks on smart and sustainable development in Engineering and Technology. In addition to the main conference sessions, PICET-2024 also featured pre- conference workshops covering 15 diverse themes which attracted over 540 enthusiastic learners, providing them with invaluable opportunities for hands-on learning and professional development. Thanking the partners & volunteers for such support, Dr. Vipul Vekariya, Dean of the Faculty of Engineering and Technology, at Parul University said, “PICET is where global minds converge, shaping the future of engineering. At University we are truly honored to preserve this heritage of excellence!”