By Our Reporter
SHILLONG, Dec 18: The second edition of the International Conference on Leveraging Emerging Technologies and Analytics for Development (LEAD-2025), hosted by the Indian Institute of Management (IIM) Shillong from December 10 to 12, 2025, received 162 research submissions, of which 87 papers and abstracts were accepted following a rigorous peer-review process.
The three-day conference, held on the theme ‘Unlocking Human Potential,’ saw participation from scholars and practitioners representing six countries and sixteen Indian states. Research presented during the technical sessions covered areas such as artificial intelligence, analytics, digital transformation, sustainability, financial inclusion, Industry 5.0, AI-enabled education and healthcare, responsible marketing, and governance innovation.
LEAD-2025 brought together academics, policymakers, and industry leaders to discuss how emerging technologies and data-driven insights can support inclusive growth and human-centric development. The programme featured keynote addresses, industry panels, editorial sessions, roundtable discussions, and paper presentations.
The inaugural session included addresses by Dr Viswanath Venkatesh, Eminent Scholar and Verizon Chair of Business Information Technology at Virginia Tech, USA, and Anand, Technology Advisor, Assam Electronics Development Corporation Ltd. (AMTRON). The LEAD-2025 Book of Abstracts was also released.
An industry panel on leveraging emerging technologies and analytics for innovation and social good featured senior leaders from TalentSpotify, The Nudge Institute, AIDVICE, ITC Ltd., and former executives from Sun Pharma and L&T Technology Services.
The conference also hosted a National AI Pre-Summit Roundtable on “Empowering Society and Governance: Unlocking AI for Viksit Bharat 2047,” with participation from representatives of Digital India Corporation, Numaligarh Refinery Limited, and Virginia Tech.
