“Learning with work is very exciting as the implementation is real time,” says Sharma.

These lectures are part of the Open Innovation Tech Series that SRI-D kickstarted recently in a tie-up with the two IITs.

These sessions for engineers range from topics such as Computing Architecture to AR/VR technology and this program is part of SRI-D’s continuous learning initiative, which helps in fulfilling the aspirations of many of its employees.

“The lectures helped me with some terrific insights about introducing distributed computing architecture. Any future collaboration, wherein we can make some new technology solutions with the students from the university would be really great,” says Rohit Thapliyal, Senior Chief Engineer at SRI-D, who has been attending these sessions alongside his work.

The newly introduced learning program brings Samsung engineers together with faculty members from the IITs, primarily from the IITs where the Company has its Samsung Innovation Campus program running.

“At Samsung, our aim has always been to help people associated with us, reach their fullest potential through constant learning and coaching. It gives us immense pleasure to see these young millennials, talented Samsung engineers refresh their industry knowledge on cutting edge subjects by collaborating with IIT faculty,” says Pankaj Mishra, Vice President, SRI-D.

Open Innovation Tech Series is not just aimed at providing Samsung Engineers with an opportunity to learn and apply new concepts. Such learning programs also facilitate stronger ties between the industry and the academicians, which is one of the reasons why IIT faculty members are delighted at being associated with the program.

“Industry-Academia interactions are always a win-win as it is the crucial first step in the long journey of translation of ideas to commercial products. Thanks to Samsung for initiating such interactions and wishing them all the best for sustaining the same,” says Prof. V. Kamakoti, Department of Computer Science & Engineering from IIT Madras.

Samsung R&D Institute-Delhi (SRI-D) was established in 2002. It is one of the largest overseas centers having doing commercialization development for Global Smart TVs.

Samsung also believes in co-prosperity, and in helping new leaders for tomorrow.

Last week, Samsung Research Institute (SRI)-Delhi, one of the five R&D centres the Company has in India, celebrated Partners’ Day by collaborating with innovative start-ups. The idea was to grow their business together with Samsung.

“SRI-D’s R&D Strategy team believes in cultivating deep relationships with the start-up ecosystems in India, and around the globe. Samsung is an innovations leader. But we need to continue to work closely with young minds to make our software, hardware and service presence, and our consumer experiences, even better,” said Dr Manish Sharma, Director & Head, R&D Strategy.

From the over 2,500 start-ups who evaluated, eight were selected after a multi-layered selection process. Going forward, Samsung will work with these companies to help turn these ideas into successful business ventures. The ideas ranged from Artificial Intelligence, Virtual Reality, facial expression recognition, to eye tracking, smart air purifiers and mental wellness.

The shortlisted start-ups include AirOk that works on air purifiers and filter sourcing point. VR Devotee app by Kalpnik brings religious rituals LIFE from places of worship close to Indian homes. Orbo’s AI enabled technology improves imagery and provide enhanced resolutions for pictures and videos. Vicara’s sensors based gesture recognition technology could be revolutionary in developing smart appliances. The other start-ups that were shortlisted were include Trillbit, Entropik, Wysa and QuNu Labs.

After an overwhelming response on the Partners’ Day special event, the R&D Strategy team at SRI- Delhi aims to make this an annual initiative.

With activities across all Samsung offices, our fight against plastic has become even stronger. Samsung India has a huge strength of close to 70,000 employees and activities for environmental awareness were organized across the country. The impact was immediate. In a matter of a few days, there has been a significant reduction in consumption of tissue papers, plastic bottles and paper cups within the Samsung network. Such initiatives inculcate eco-friendly habits in people and encourage a healthier lifestyle.

Not just that, the employees have taken a green leap and have planted a total of 1776 trees in a single week. At Samsung’s e-waste collection centres, close to 72 kilograms of electronic waste has been collected for recycling on a weekly basis. With energy conservation programmes, daily electricity consumption has also gone down tremendously.

Samsung Industrial Training Institutes across different cities in India educate students on not just technical knowledge, but have also imparted knowledge on green solutions and eco-friendly activities.

It is important that we as individuals realise the need to minimize plastic and electronic waste. The planet is ours and responsibility to save it also lies on us.

No prizes for guessing…it’s Samsung.

Keeping in mind its core philosophies of People, Innovation and Change, Samsung encourages employees to think out of the box while providing holistic training for creativity and research. The knowledge to innovate as well as patent that innovation has resulted in some cutting-edge technology and exceptional features.

With three R&D centres in India alone (in Delhi, Noida and Bengaluru) and several others across the world, Samsung has invested close to USD 15 billion in R&D globally. Some of the best minds from prestigious Indian institutes including the IITs are hired year on year who go for training to Korea. The engineers specialize in several fields including artificial intelligence, machine learning, natural language processing, augmented reality, Internet of Things (IoT) and 5G.

The Samsung Research Institute- Bangalore is the largest R&D centre outside South Korea and has alone filed over 2900 patents since 2011-2012, which is close to 250-300 patents a year. It organizes annual knowledge sharing workshops that are attended by R&D centres across the world. At SRI- Noida, close to 2500 engineers have been trained on patent filing. Ideation workshops, thematic contests and quizzes on Intellectual Property are organized to create a culture for innovation. SRI-Delhi is responsible for not just generating patents, but also for curating organization wide patent activities to drive people to newer heights of innovative technology. To achieve that one-on-one guidance sessions, patent clubs, in-house magazines are organized. In addition, distinct short and long term programmes are conducted for freshers, mid-level and senior employees. The teams leading patents across Samsung India have won several awards that recognize their work in the field.

 The patent team being presented the National IP Award 2018

Under the Make for India initiative, engineers have developed India-specific features for various devices. For instance, the ActivWash feature in washing machines to ensure better cleaning of shirt collars and sleeves, and the Tandoor Technology in microwaves to cook crisp rotis and naans, were developed by Indian engineers. With these features, Samsung India is also moving towards a Make For The World initiative.

Eco-friendly fashion show at SIELS Chennai

Samsung has always made a conscious effort in creating environmental awareness among its employees. This year too, there were several activities planned in Samsung offices across the country and employees participated in large numbers.

Employees at SIELS Chandigarh

The activities kicked off at SRI-Delhi with plastic and digital waste awareness campaign and a Cleanliness Drive was initiated. Despite the sweltering heat, employees gathered in large numbers and cleaned the immediate vicinity taking a pledge to keep their surroundings clean.

SRI-D employees participate in a Cleanliness Drive

The volunteers also planted saplings in the vicinity to boost the green belt and improve environmental sustainability. These will be regularly maintained and monitored by the employees.

In Bengaluru, at the R&D Institute, the team comprised of enthusiastic participants. A creative DIY station was set up in the lobby. Employees were encouraged to recycle and reuse old daily items like t-shirts and plastic bottle among others.

Making bags from old t-shirts at SRI-B

There was also a seed ball activity where employees were taught to create a ball with organic seeds of leafy vegetables and plants that are rolled in mud and compost. This seed ball can germinate into a full-grown plant in a conducive environment.

Seed ball activity at SRI-B

The creativity of the employees was at its peak in the photography (#MyGreenSpace) and painting (#PaintYourImagination) competition that brought together enjoyable moments and the eagerness to make a difference. E-waste campaigns were organized at Samsung offices across the country where employees were given saplings in exchange for their electronic waste. This met with massive participation all over.

SRI-N employees at work

Drawing competition for children organized by SIELS Kolkata

Across all offices, one thing was common — the passion to bring a change. With awareness videos and green messages, the employees made an earnest promise to the environment to be eco-friendly in day-to-day activities. After all, it’s our planet and we are responsible for it.

As part of the week-long ‘Joy of Giving Week’ in October, also known as Daan Utsav, employees at Samsung’s manufacturing plant in Sriperumbudur near Chennai organized a series of initiatives for over 700 less-privileged people. Employees at the facility collected over INR 1 lakh and around 2,000 volunteers donated new clothes and school bags to students.

Samsung employees with school students

Employees at Samsung Research Institute, Delhi (SRI-D) joined hands to give back to society by donating desks in two government schools—Government Junior High School and Government Primary School at Raipur, Sector 126, Noida. Volunteers from SRI-D donated 95 desks and also organized a health camp for the students.

In the health camp, a group of young doctors conducted dental and oral treatment and gave the students basic healthcare tips. The program was organized in collaboration with a reputed charitable hospital.

The ‘Joy of Giving Week’ is celebrated every year through ‘acts of giving’ by indulging in simple acts of kindness or voluntarily sharing of time or knowledge with the less-privileged.

Samsung employees after distributing stationery to students

Another group of Samsung employees from Samsung Research Institute, Noida (SRI-N) visited a primary school in the vicinity, at Sector 62, Noida and distributed stationery items to students.

Employees at Samsung R&D Institute, Bangalore (SRI-B) also participated with enthusiasm. About 100 volunteers from the Bangalore office took part in planting 2,000 saplings in areas around the campus. Another 500 volunteers donated blood for a blood bank.

Earlier this year, a team of over 120 volunteers from SRI-B had visited various schools to donate 160,000 notebooks and 38,500 pens to over 30,000 students in two days.