Its been 10 days since our first steps into exploring the European market ecosystem in accessible technology. Its a late post, but I needed this time to pause and reflect on my thoughts.
dVerse Technologies was privileged to be one of the assistive technology companies from India, to share about our efforts in creating a more inclusive future with CuriO, at the Joint Startup- workshop in Assistive Technologies, a collaborative initiative by Technische Universität Dresden and IITM Research Park, under the leadership of Prof. Ashok Jhunjhunwala and Prof. Dr. Andreas Pinkwart.
Thank you Dr. Avinash Chekuru to make this happen, and for the warm hospitality you gave all of us, throughout.
The trip was more than just a workshop. It gave each of us ample time to get know each other's efforts better and more importantly bond on a personal level. #AssistiveTechnology is a challenging domain for entrepreneurs with its complexities. It was amazing to see how others broke barriers and brought about wider impact on people.
Prior to this event, I have only heard of the names of thought leaders and domain experts. Whichever event I went earlier, people would mention about the amazing work done by Namita Jacob, Anil Prabhakar, Justin Jesudas, Swami Manohar to name a few. "They are the ones you should meet", people keep telling me, but I never got an opportunity like this, to not only meet them in person, but also have all the time to have such deep conversations.
Another conversation that I loved was with Swami Manohar, with whom I could connect just like a spark, his energy and enthusiasm was infectious. There was so much to learn from him, given his work on computer graphics and we kept talking for hours in a train journey and it seemed like I lost track of time, as we brainstormed idea after idea for accessible graphics!
Before the trip, I knew Justin Jesudas (Thryv Mobility) only as someone who would head panel discussions in every other event I went to, someone I had great respect for. This trip gave me the chance to look at his beautiful side as a person who he is.
I spent several nights hanging out through the streets of Dresden with Swostik Sourav Dash (NeoMotion), Vignesh Pasupathy (Avaz Inc.), Dinesh Andiappan (Limbex), Pravin Kumar (Dextroware Devices) and Pruthvi Reddy (3dcian), curious, listening to their stories and their lessons learnt the hard way and their personal battles in their entrepreneurial journeys. Truly inspiring.
After just a week, I feel much more connected with all of them. I have learnt so much from all of them. I am feeling grateful.
I sincerely thank Prof. Ashok Jhunjhunwala for bringing us together, and giving us this wonderful experience. Special mention for @Jayashree for all the arrangements.
Looking for continued conversations and to be a part of this meaningful change for a better and accessible future.
Stay tuned as we continue our journey to innovate, and make a difference!
