Conference theme: Engineering sustainable solutions

IEEE´s revised core purpose is to foster technological innovation and excellence for the benefit of humanity. Going by some recent press there has been apprehension that contrary to the expectation, technological advances- not the globalization of the trade-were most responsible for the recent widening of the income gap. So, it is becoming the responsibility of professional institutions like IEEE to stand up to the challenge and demonstrate how technological innovations are really improving the global conditions. According to Dr. C.K. Prahalad, the globally renowned management guru, BOP (Bottom of the Pyramid) consumer problems cannot be solved with old technologies. Most scalable, price-performance-enhancing solutions need advanced and emerging technologies that are creatively blended with the existing and rapidly evolving infrastructure, Dr. Prahalad says.(from 12 Principles of Innovation for BOP Market) [1]