IIT Mandi Concludes AiXcelrate 4.0 with Focus on Responsible AI and Business Value
Mumbai: The School of Management at the Indian Institute of Technology Mandi (IIT Mandi) concluded the fourth edition of its AI and leadership conclave, AiXcelrate 4.0, with discussions on responsible AI leadership, business value and the challenges of scaling artificial intelligence across organisations.
Held on September 19 and 20 at the IIT Mandi campus, the two-day conclave brought together industry leaders, domain experts, practitioners, faculty members and students. The theme of this year’s event was “Next Gen AI-Leadership: Beyond the Horizon to Monetizing AI.”
The discussions focused on three areas of organisational AI adoption: moving from productivity and automation towards strategic advantage, connecting AI adoption with business growth, and taking AI initiatives from pilot projects to sustainable and profitable scale.
Focus on Responsible AI Leadership
IIT Mandi Director Prof. Laxmidhar Behera highlighted the importance of considering societal impact and responsibility as AI becomes increasingly integrated into organisations and society.
“As artificial intelligence becomes increasingly embedded in organisations and society, leadership cannot be defined only by how quickly we adopt new technologies. Responsible AI leadership requires us to consider the larger societal consequences of the choices we make, while ensuring that innovation remains aligned with human values and meaningful outcomes,” he said.
He added that institutions such as IIT Mandi have a role in preparing leaders who can combine technological capability with responsibility and social purpose.
Industry Leaders Discuss AI and Competitive Advantage
The first day featured a panel discussion titled “Moving from Productivity and Automation to Strategic Advantage: The AI Value Shift.” The session examined whether efficiency and automation alone can create sustainable competitive advantage and how businesses can apply AI more strategically.
Ashley D’Acouza, Chief Data Officer at Hindustan Coca-Cola, said that widespread access to AI does not automatically translate into a competitive advantage.
“The AI advantage is still far away. We are still in the experimentation phase,” he said, pointing to the importance of leadership, strategic vision and aligning technology with specific business requirements.
The first day also included mentoring sessions and an industry-academia brainstorming session, allowing students to engage with practitioners on emerging management challenges.
The day concluded with HimTarang – Cultural Evening, which featured cultural and creative performances by members of the IIT Mandi community.
Discussions on AI Adoption, Growth and Scaling
The second day featured two panels examining later stages of organisational AI adoption.
The panel “Moving from AI Adoption to AI Advantage: Accelerating Growth” looked at how organisations can connect AI adoption with business outcomes such as customer acquisition, personalisation, innovation, decision-making and revenue growth.
The discussions also examined ways to distinguish technological experimentation from measurable business value.
Rohit Kilam, Chief Technology Officer at HDFC Life, discussed the evolving division of work between humans and AI.
“The verifiable will increasingly be taken over by AI, but the unverifiable will remain. That is where humans will continue to stay relevant,” he said, highlighting the continuing role of human judgement, interpretation and decision-making.
The panel “Moving from Pilot to Profit: Scaling AI” focused on the practical challenges involved in expanding AI projects across organisations. Topics included data infrastructure, integration with existing systems, governance, workforce readiness, costs, human oversight and assessing the potential for sustainable returns.
Students Take Part in Industry Case Competition
AiXcelrate 4.0 also featured an Industry Case Competition sponsored and powered by 6D Technologies. The competition provided MBA and Integrated MBA students with an opportunity to work on an industry-oriented business challenge.
Teams of four to five students analysed the challenge, developed recommendations and presented their proposals before a jury that included industry representatives.
Team Tactical Minds emerged as the winner. The Case Solvers and The InsightX secured the first and second runner-up positions, respectively.
Prof. Anjan K. Swain, Chairperson, School of Management, IIT Mandi, highlighted what he described as the three S’s — scope, speed and scale — in understanding the relationship between AI and business.
“The business implications of AI increasingly need to be understood through three dimensions: scope, speed and scale. Its scope is expanding across organisational functions, the speed of technological change is accelerating, and organisations are confronting the challenge of scaling AI in ways that create genuine business value,” he said.
Industry-Academia Interaction
The conclave also included student presentations, mentoring interactions and an industry-academia exchange before concluding with the valedictory session.
The programme brought together panel discussions, mentoring, student engagement and industry interactions over the two days, with discussions centred on the management and leadership implications of AI.
Dr. Ashish Bollimbala, Faculty Coordinator, AiXcelrate 4.0, delivered the vote of thanks and acknowledged the industry speakers and panellists, participating organisations, 6D Technologies, students, faculty members and the organising team.
The conclave concluded with discussions centred on how responsible leadership, strategic decision-making and organisational readiness will influence the adoption and scaling of artificial intelligence.
