The National Institute of Technology Rourkela successfully concluded the three-day SPARC-sponsored International Workshop on “Smart Healthcare and Robotics” (SHRO-2026), organized by the Department of Computer Science and Engineering from September 2 to 4, 2026. The workshop brought together experts from India and abroad, faculty members, researchers, scholars, and students to deliberate on emerging technologies at the intersection of artificial intelligence, healthcare, biomechanics, and robotics.
Organized under the Scheme for Promotion of Academic and Research Collaboration (SPARC) of the Ministry of Education, Government of India, the workshop was part of the academic and research collaboration between NIT Rourkela and the University of Nebraska at Omaha, USA. The programme was coordinated by Dr. Anup Nandy and Dr. Ratnakar Dash, Associate Professors, Department of Computer Science and Engineering, NIT Rourkela.
The inaugural ceremony was graced by Prof. K. Umamaheshwar Rao, Director, NIT Rourkela; Dr. Anita Aggarwal, Scientist-F and Head, SEED, Department of Science and Technology, Government of India, as Chief Guest; and Prof. Rabibrata Mukherjee, National Coordinator, SPARC, Ministry of Education, Government of India, and Professor, IIT Kharagpur, as Guest of Honour. Prof. Mukul Mukherjee, Foreign PI, and Prof. Philippe Malcolm, Foreign Co-PI, from the University of Nebraska at Omaha, were also present.
Welcoming the participants, Prof. Pankaj Kumar Sa, Head, Department of Computer Science and Engineering, NIT Rourkela, emphasized the importance of interdisciplinary collaboration in addressing contemporary healthcare challenges. Dr. Anup Nandy outlined the objectives of the workshop, while Dr. Ratnakar Dash proposed the vote of thanks.
The technical programme featured expert lectures by Dr. Anita Aggarwal; Prof. Mukul Mukherjee; Prof. Philippe Malcolm; Dr. Soumen Sen, Scientist-G, CSIR-Central Mechanical Engineering Research Institute, Durgapur; Prof. Sridharan Devarajan, Indian Institute of Science, Bengaluru; and Prof. Shivashankar B. Nair, IIT Guwahati. The sessions covered medical technology, gait and balance, biomechanical analysis, gait rehabilitation, human-robot interaction, soft robotics, deep learning for healthcare, and nature-inspired algorithms in robotics.
A major component of SHRO-2026 was its hands-on laboratory sessions on biomedical signal processing and machine learning for activity and health-state classification, along with medical image classification and explainable artificial intelligence for clinical decision support. The practical sessions enabled participants to gain hands-on exposure to computational approaches relevant to intelligent healthcare systems.
The workshop concluded with a valedictory session and certificate distribution on September 4, 2026. It provided a platform for knowledge exchange, expert interaction, interdisciplinary discussions, and exploration of potential academic and research collaborations.
Speaking on the occasion, Prof. K. Umamaheshwar Rao, Director, NIT Rourkela, emphasized the importance of bringing together diverse areas of expertise to develop technology-driven solutions for societal challenges. He noted that initiatives such as SHRO-2026 strengthen academic collaboration and encourage research towards affordable, reliable, and accessible healthcare technologies.
The organizing team expressed its gratitude to the SPARC Programme, Ministry of Education, Government of India, the institute administration, invited experts, participants, faculty and staff members, and student volunteers for their support in the successful organization of SHRO-2026.