Harvard College’s Asia conference to be held in IIT Delhi

The Harvard College Project for Asian and International Relations (HPAIR), a Harvard University-based student organization, has announced the dates and venue for its 2022 Asia Conference to be held from August 20-24 at IIIT Delhi, India.

HPAIR organizes two conferences annually – Harvard Conference (HCONF) and Asia Conference (ACONF).

The theme for this year’s ACONF is “Finding our Future”, alluding to HPAIR’s 30th anniversary. The conference is packed with open dialogues around a wide range of subjects, including the evolving startup ecosystem, data security, sustainability, and content creation.

The HPAIR Asia Conference comprises impact challenges, executive speaker sessions, panels, and fireside chats, among other events, to provide other avenues of growth to students and young professionals.

Impact challenges serve as an apex of HPAIR’s academic programming, with True Beacon, Invest India, Schwarzman Scholars, Dalberg, Council on Energy, Environment and Water, Mythos Lab, and Samagra being brought in for ACONF 2022 as some of the official partners. 

These challenges drive teams of delegates to solve problems proposed by the partners collaboratively. Past impact challenges have been run in collaboration with UNHCR, the World Bank, Tencent, McKinsey & Co, and others.

The conference will host young professionals and students from around the world joining the organizing team in Delhi to learn from speakers, including Geoff Ralston, Partner & President at Y Combinator; Mina Hsiang, USDS Administrator; Aditya Ghosh, co-founder, Akasa Air, Former President & Director IndiGo Airlines; Kunal Shah, founder of CRED; and Deepak Bagla, CEO & MD at Invest India.

Yoel Hawa, President, Harvard Organizing Committee, said: “As we strive to impact as many young leaders as possible, HPAIR searches for host cities uniquely positioned to provide a great setting for delegates and speakers. New Delhi has proven to be a dynamic and diverse environment in which leaders in all areas can flourish.”

“We look forward to the incredible mix that our scholars, delegates, speakers, and staff will create with Delhi’s natural academic, professional, and educational ecosystem,” added Joaquín Cortacáns Sosa, President, Harvard Organizing Committee.

Apart from its academic events, HPAIR will host an international and a desi night, allowing attendees to submerge themselves in other cultures as they mingle with fellow delegates, speakers, and staff.

More than 3000 participants have applied to attend. The conference will be conducted in a hybrid format where the event will unfold over 5 days in a physical format. However, keeping in mind accessibility issues and how complex travelling has become, attending virtually is also an option.