PUNE: MIT World Peace University will host the third edition of the National Scientists Round Table conference from July 17 to 19. The forum brings together scientists, researchers and students from different disciplines.RM Chitnis, Vice-Chancellor, MIT-WPU and Co-Chairman of NSRTC 2026, said the conference aims to motivate the youth, especially in engineering and other fields, to take up research. “Our topics are divided into different verticals, but they all talk about how to think beyond what’s available, how to identify societal needs and problems, and how to innovate to solve those needs. We have scientists on the panel who have worked with Nobel laureates.” Hearing their experiences will help students get an inside look at how great minds work and what makes them different,” Chitnis said.Bharat Choudhari, dean of research and development at MIT WPU and convener of NSRTC 2026, said that a link on the official website will be released soon for external students to register. “As capacity is limited, it is important for students to register at the link and get approval. However, the event is free,” Choudhari said, adding that the NSRTC events held in the last two years have led to a marginal increase in the number and quality of papers published by both students and staff in reputed journals.Akash Joshi, President of NSRTC and Founder of Microlin Technologies, USA, spoke about the importance of contributing in whatever way possible to improve and provide opportunities to students in rural India. He said that to develop India in true sense, scientific and technological innovation has a crucial role to play.During the event, renowned chemical engineer MM Sharma, who was the former Director of ICT, Mumbai and a Fellow of the Royal Society of the United Kingdom, will receive the Vigyan Maharshi Award for his outstanding contribution to science. At the same time, the DeepTech Young Entrepreneur Awards will be presented to Nikunj Parashar, founder of Pune-based Sagar Defense Engineering Pvt. Ltd for its indigenous marine autonomy and defense robotics solution, and Narayana Rao Sripada, co-founder of Swaasa, for its AI-powered respiratory health smartphone detection solution.