Overview

On 28 October 2026, Hilti India Private Limited, through its Seismic Academy knowledge platform, convened the fifth edition of its Annual Conference in New Delhi, India. The conference, themed “Seismic Strengthening: From Shake to Safe”, brought together national and international experts, engineers, academicians, consultants, researchers and industry professionals to address structural strengthening, retrofitting, evolving standards and multi‑hazard resilience.

Event Details

The programme comprised technical sessions, real‑world retrofit case studies, an expert panel discussion, the Rising Engineers Competition for emerging professionals, and the launch of two technical publications. The conference highlighted the full strengthening journey—from understanding seismic damage and India’s seismic zonation to selecting retrofit strategies, improving fire performance and applying advanced high‑performance materials.

Publications Launched

Two guidebooks were unveiled: the Seismic Academy Retrofitting Book titled Seismic Assessment and Fortification Essentials (SAFE), and the IAStructE Post‑Installed Rebar Guidebook.

Key Sessions and Speakers

  • Dr. Venkatesh R. Kodur, University Distinguished Professor and Director, Centre on Structural Fire Engineering and Diagnostics, Michigan State University, presented challenges and strategies for enhancing fire resiliency in seismically strengthened concrete structures, emphasizing the need to evaluate fire resistance alongside seismic response.
  • Dr. Andreas Lampropoulos discussed the potential of advanced high‑performance materials in structural retrofitting.
  • Dr. Harshavardhan Subbarao, Chairman & Managing Director of Construma Consultancy and President of the International Association for Bridge and Structural Engineering (IABSE), stressed that strengthening decisions must balance structural behaviour, safety, constructability and long‑term performance, and called for tighter integration of research, standards, design and construction.
  • Prof. Sriman Kumar Bhattacharyya, Vice Chancellor of Shiv Nadar University Chennai and former Director of the Department of Civil Engineering at IIT Kharagpur, highlighted the importance of understanding a structure’s history through robust assessment and health monitoring, and advocated translating research into routine engineering practice.
  • Pulkit Kukreja, Vice President – Engineering, Hilti India, closed the event by underscoring sustained collaboration across academia, industry, professional bodies and policymakers to accelerate safer and more resilient engineering practices.

Executive Remarks

Mr. Jayant Kumar, General Manager & Managing Director of Hilti India, stated that India’s infrastructure ambitions are significant, but progress depends not only on new construction but also on safely and responsibly strengthening existing assets. He emphasized that seismic resilience must begin before vulnerabilities become visible, through sound assessment, engineering judgement and appropriate strengthening strategies, and that Seismic Academy bridges the gap between knowledge and application.

Seismic Academy Background

Established in 2019, Hilti’s Seismic Academy serves as a knowledge platform connecting government bodies, academia and industry around earthquake engineering and resilience. Its activities include technical journals, webinars, research collaborations, capacity‑building workshops and the annual conference, all aimed at strengthening technical dialogue and encouraging the application of evolving seismic standards and retrofitting approaches.

About Hilti Group

Hilti is a world‑leading provider of high‑quality, innovative tools, fastening systems and software‑based solutions for professional users. The group employs approximately 33,000 team members across more than 120 countries and generated annual sales exceeding CHF 6.4 billion in 2024. Headquartered in Schaan, Liechtenstein, Hilti is privately owned by the Martin Hilti Family Trust.

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