The Indian Institute of Management (IIM), Shillong successfully hosted the second edition of the International Conference on Leveraging Emerging Technologies and Analytics for Development (LEAD-2025) from December 10 to 12, 2025, centred on the theme “Unlocking Human Potential.” The three-day conference brought together leading scholars, policymakers, industry practitioners, and researchers from across India and abroad to deliberate on how emerging technologies and data-driven insights can enable inclusive growth, responsible innovation, and human-centric development.
LEAD-2025 underscored the growing role of artificial intelligence, analytics, digital platforms, and immersive technologies in reshaping organisations, governance systems, markets, and societies. Through a carefully curated mix of keynote addresses, industry panels, roundtable discussions, and technical paper sessions, the conference fostered interdisciplinary dialogue at the intersection of technology, development, and the public good.
Setting the context for the conference, Prof. Pradeep Kumar Dadabada, Co-chairperson, LEAD-2025, highlighted the need for responsible and context-aware use of emerging technologies to address complex societal challenges.
Welcoming participants, Prof. Naliniprava Tripathy, Director (I/C), IIM Shillong, reflected on the theme of unlocking human potential from a Vedic perspective, linking India’s civilisational wisdom with contemporary debates on technology-led development. She emphasised IIM Shillong’s commitment to serving as a convening platform for academia, industry, and government to co-create scalable and sustainable solutions.
The inaugural session featured addresses by eminent scholars and industry leaders. Dr. Viswanath Venkatesh, Eminent Scholar and Verizon Chair of Business Information Technology at Virginia Tech, shared global perspectives on the transformative potential of context-sensitive technologies, emphasising the importance of human behaviour, local realities, and institutional settings in technology design and implementation. Mr. Anand, Technology Advisor, Assam Electronics Development Corporation Ltd. (AMTRON), spoke on the critical role of public–private collaboration in strengthening digital infrastructure, advancing AI-enabled governance, and ensuring inclusive digital transformation. The dignitaries jointly released the LEAD-2025 Book of Abstracts, symbolising the conference’s rich body of scholarly contributions.
Prof. Parijat Upadhyay, Co-chairperson, LEAD-2025, delivered the vote of thanks, acknowledging the speakers, delegates, partners, and organising teams for their collective efforts in shaping LEAD as a growing platform for impactful scholarship in the information systems and analytics domain.
A key highlight of LEAD-2025 was the Industry Panel Discussion on “Leveraging Emerging Technologies and Analytics for Industry Innovation and Social Good.” The session featured an eminent panel comprising Shri Aneel Kumar Bonu, Founder & CEO, TalentSpotify and Chairperson, Global Human Resources Management and Organizational Development Council (GHRMODC); Mr. Anil Rao M, Fellow Designate, Indian Administrative Fellowship, The Nudge Institute and former Senior Vice President & CIO, Sun Pharma; Smt. Gayathri Devi Jayan, Founder, AIDVICE and President, Applied AI Association (India), and former Global Head at L&T Technology Services; and Shri Partha Sengupta, Senior Vice President & Head, ITSS, ITC Ltd.The panel explored the role of emerging technologies, artificial intelligence, and analytics in driving industry innovation, strengthening organisational agility, and fostering resilient business models. It also underscored the importance of data-driven and responsible AI practices in addressing societal challenges and advancing inclusive, sustainable development — reinforcing LEAD-2025’s focus on bridging academic insight with real-world impact.
The second day of the conference featured editorial sessions by senior editors from leading international journals, offering insights into research quality, publication ethics, and the evolving role of generative AI in scholarly work. A National AI Pre-Summit Roundtable Discussion on “Empowering Society and Governance: Unlocking AI for Viksit Bharat 2047” further enriched the discourse. The session brought together Smt. Gayathri Devi Jayan, Shri Manjit Nath (Head, e-Gov Mission Team, Meghalaya, Digital India Corporation, MeitY, Government of India), Shri Rajib Kumar Phukan (Head – Asset Analytics & Reliability – Digital Transformation, Numaligarh Refinery Limited), and Dr. Viswanath Venkatesh (Virginia Tech, USA). The roundtable examined how artificial intelligence can strengthen governance frameworks, enhance public service delivery, empower institutions, and drive inclusive development in alignment with India’s vision of Viksit Bharat 2047.
LEAD-2025 received 162 research submissions, of which 87 papers and abstracts were accepted after a rigorous review process. The conference witnessed participation from scholars representing six countries and sixteen Indian states, reflecting its growing global and national footprint.Across its technical sessions, LEAD-2025 showcased cutting-edge research spanning themes such as digital transformation, sustainability, financial inclusion, HRM 5.0, Industry 5.0, AI-enabled education, health-tech, responsible marketing, and governance innovation. The presentations demonstrated how AI and analytics are reshaping workforce capabilities, market structures, financial systems, and public service delivery — while also raising critical questions around ethics, digital well-being, and responsible innovation.
LEAD-2025 was supported by Assam Electronics Development Corporation Ltd. (AMTRON) as Platinum Sponsor, State Bank of India (SBI) as Silver Sponsor, and Oil India Limited (OIL) and Numaligarh Refinery Limited (NRL) as Associate Sponsors, with Institut Mines-Télécom Business School (IMT-BS) and Trinity College Dublin as Knowledge Partners. The publication partners included IIMS Journal of Management Science, Journal of Systems and Information Technology, International Journal of Global Business and Competitiveness, and Springer Proceedings in Business and Economics. With strong support from its partners and sponsors, LEAD-2025 reaffirmed IIM Shillong’s commitment to advancing high-quality research, policy-relevant dialogue, and industry engagement at the confluence of emerging technologies and development. By foregrounding human potential at the heart of technological progress, the conference contributed meaningfully to contemporary debates on building inclusive, sustainable, and future-ready societies.
