Stanford Engineering Symposium India
Networking Infrastructure Technologies and Emerging Trends

An annual Stanford symposium featuring a variety of advanced research insights for senior engineers and executives

High technology has accelerated the global economy to new heights over the last two decades. This is perhaps most evident in the networking domain. Fifty years ago, letters and phone calls were the primary modes of communication. The need for faster, more efficient and reliable communication spurred the innovation of the network, leading to a variety of novel communication modes which are ubiquitous today: email, the web, the cell phone, information sharing, data retrieval and mining and social networking. In the shift, an entire new industry was born in the Silicon Valley and elsewhere, and companies like Cisco, Qualcomm, Yahoo!, Google, and Nokia have emerged as household names. There is another shift on the horizon.

Deploying the network infrastructure in India and catering to the particular needs of the Indian consumer will quite likely signal a fundamental shift in network architectures and protocols; for instance, witness the 200 million node SMS network! There is enormous opportunity for innovation in terms of scale, cost and ease-of-use in the Indian context which could then emerge as solutions in other geographical regions. Those executives and professionals who understand these emerging trends could create the next major player in the networking industry.

It is against this backdrop Stanford University offers a learning opportunity designed to meet the challenges of a rapidly changing and competitive landscape for high-technology companies. The Stanford Engineering Symposium India is a unique two-day event designed to create dialogue between Stanford, Indian industry and academics to probe India's networking future and the enabling technologies required. The program will be held on December 18-19, 2008 in Bangalore, India. The focus will be on innovations and research developments in the Internet, data-center networking, wireless, social networking, and enabling technologies such as silicon design and manufacturing. The program will also feature thought-provoking panel discussions with Stanford faculty and feature keynotes from Indian business and technology leaders.

Who Should Attend
Targeted to executives and senior engineers, the program will offer useful insights for companies to apply immediately, while offering a glimpse of future trends. This Stanford University program provides highlights and insights that enable decision-making for a variety of areas including developing new wireless technologies, leveraging the latest data-center designs, or creating innovations based on existing products.

Symposium Objectives
This symposium will address and explore these kinds of questions:

• What interesting challenges arise in deploying the Indian networking infrastructure?
• What are recent research developments in wireless networks and data-center networks?
• How can networked video help reduce travel and cope with rising fuel costs?
• What are the relationship (social, human) networks which will emerge as most compelling for India?
• What are the enabling technologies (hardware, virtualization, security) and innovations necessary for the Indian consumer?
• What are the unique business models and opportunities here in India