Sanjay Sarma Keynote Speaker

MIT Professor & IoT Pioneer – Inventor and global authority on connected technologies.
AI & Learning Thought Leader – Former MIT VP for Open Learning, shaping the future of skills.
Advisor to Industry & Boards – Guides organizations on innovation, AI, and sustainability.

Sanjay Sarma's Biography

Sanjay Sarma is an engineer, educator, and technology leader whose work bridges artificial intelligence, business innovation, and human learning. He is the Fred Fort Flowers and Daniel Fort Flowers Professor of Mechanical Engineering at MIT and the founder of the MIT Auto-ID Lab, where he co-invented the technologies that power today’s Internet of Things (IoT).

As MIT’s former Vice President for Open Learning, Sarma helped shape the global digital education movement, advising companies and governments on workforce transformation and lifelong learning. He also co-founded the Asia School of Business in collaboration with MIT Sloan and is leading initiatives to build next-generation, AI-enabled universities that combine human and machine learning at scale.

In industry, Sarma serves on several boards, including Aclara Resources (ARA.TO), a major rare-earth venture supporting the global clean-energy transition. He has advised Fortune 500 companies and government agencies on innovation strategy, AI adoption, and sustainability.

An inspiring keynote speaker, Sarma combines scientific rigor with storytelling to show how organizations can harness AI, curiosity, and human potential to thrive in an era of constant disruption. His books include Grasp: The Science Transforming How We Learn (Random House, 2020), The Inversion Factor: How to Thrive in the IoT Economy (MIT Press, 2017) and Workforce Education (MIT Press, 2021).

AI and the Human Advantage

How leaders can harness artificial intelligence without losing what makes organizations distinctly human — creativity, ethics, and curiosity. A strategic roadmap for executives navigating digital transformation.

The Curious Company: Building a Culture that Learns and Innovates

Why curiosity is the engine of innovation — and how leaders can create systems that encourage learning, experimentation, and bold thinking.

Engineering Sustainability: Innovation in Energy, Supply Chains, and Rare Earths

A global look at technology, resources, and geopolitics driving the clean-energy transition — and what they mean for corporate resilience.

Learning at the Speed of Change

What neuroscience reveals about how people and teams actually learn — and how organizations can upskill faster in an age of automation.

From IoT to AI: The Next Digital Revolution

Drawing on his work founding the MIT Auto-ID Lab, Sarma explores how connected systems, sensors, and AI are redefining operations, logistics, and business models.