Harsh Goenka Takes Swipe At Galgotias University Amid AI Summit Row, Says 'Heart Goes To The Students'

(MENAFN- Live Mint) New Delhi: Industrialist Harsh Goenka has weighed in on the controversy surrounding Galgotias University at the recent AI Impact Summit, posting a sharp remark on X that has since triggered widespread debate online.

Referring to the university's presence at the summit, Goenka drew a comparison with an earlier academic claim linked to the institution, expressing sympathy for its students.

“Galgotias, now in the news for robots, is the same university whose faculty once published a paper suggesting that thali and bell vibrations could kill coronavirus. My heart goes to the students of this university who will feel ashamed to say where they are studying,” industrialist Harsh Goenka said in a tweet.

Check out the post here:

The post quickly went viral, prompting a flood of reactions from users-many of whom shifted the focus to the challenges faced by students studying at private institutions amid growing scrutiny.

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One user advised students not to tie their self-worth to institutional reputation, writing,“Engineers - stop being embarrassed about your university. Make your name bigger than your college competitive programming. Climb ranks on Codeforces, LeetCode, CodeChef & HackerRank. Ship projects on GitHub. Contribute to open source. In long run; Skills > Paper Degree.”

Another user highlighted the socio-economic realities behind private education choices.“You know there are children from agrarian background, their parents have put everything on stake because the architecture is so well done but imagine their plight, landing a job in an already saturated market is so terrible!”

Some reactions were more critical of the institution itself.

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“Fraud by Galgotias has paved the way for framework to prevent such wrong and fraudulent claims at prestigious public forums,” the fourth wrote.

“Publicity can build visibility, but credibility builds reputation. Universities must guard that carefully,” the fifth wrote.

What triggered the controversy

The row erupted after Galgotias University showcased a robotic dog named Orion at the AI Summit, claiming it had been developed in-house by its Centre of Excellence. Social media users later identified the robot as Unitree Go2, a commercially available Chinese product priced at a few lakh rupees.

The university also claimed it had developed a football-playing drone from scratch, which was similarly flagged by online users as an imported commercial model.

As criticism mounted, the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology reportedly asked the university to vacate its stall at Bharat Mandapam. Authorities later cut power to the display after the request was not immediately complied with.

University response and apology

Initially, the university said it had never claimed to have manufactured the robot, stating that global technologies were being used purely for teaching purposes. It later issued a formal apology, attributing the controversy to a miscommunication by a staff member.

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“We, at Galgotias University, wish to apologise profusely for the confusion created at the recent Al Summit. One of our representatives, manning the pavilion, was ill-informed. She was not aware of the technical origins of the product and in her enthusiasm of being on camera, gave factually incorrect information even though she was not authorised to speak to the press,” it said.

The episode has reignited conversations around transparency, credibility and accountability at high-profile technology showcases, particularly those involving educational institutions.

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