The ICSR Main Auditorium was packed last night, with students and professors trying to find seats for the eagerly awaited talk by Vinod Dham. The ‘Father of the Pentium Processor’ was invited for the video conference as part of the ongoing ASES Summit at IIT Madras. The Summit attempts to give participants a holistic understanding of the various areas of entrepreneurship.
The talk lasted almost an hour and was a Q&A session between Mr. Dham and the audience. The talk was moderated by Dr. Chandrashekar of the Electrical and Electronics Department.
It is worthy to note the wide spectrum of questions that were posed to Mr. Dham. One attendee asked, “What was it like leaving Intel for a start-up after spending 16 years with them?”. Mr Dham explained that he was unsure of the future when he made that decision, and felt that this is a situation every entrepreneur will face. Mr. Dham also said that he thought it was wiser to start a company after some experience in the industry, rather than starting one immediately after college. Another asked, “It is said that Intel conceives ideas 6 years before it is released to the public. Is this the case?”. Overall, the topics focused on Mr. Dham’s experiences in the industry.
One point that Mr. Dham made was extremely well received by the audience. When asked why India has not produced a Google or a Twitter, Mr. Dham said he felt that India’s colleges seem to be focusing more on academics and grades, rather than the simple idea of innovation. He said that an institution like IIT must allow its students to work for a semester in the industry, to understand real technology and the importance of innovation. An example he cited during his answer was of the famous labs at Stanford University.
The talk was enlightening for budding entrepreneurs, students and professors. Mr. Dham walked the audience through his professional career, while giving valuable tips to those who asked for them.
Congratulations to the ASES team for arranging this talk.
