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IBIT News

LB Vision wins 2025 Digital Innovation Award

The Digital Innovation Foundry is pleased to announce that LB Vision is the recipient of the Spring 2025 Digital Innovation Award!

LBvision2025

LB Vision, founded by Makayla Waleed, is dedicated to restoring independence for the visually impaired through innovative adaptive eyewear technology. Their mission is to empower individuals with visual impairments by providing the first wearable eyewear that enables safe driving for those with 30% or more vision. This groundbreaking device integrates advanced technologies into a single adaptive solution, enhancing the quality of life and mobility for its users.

LB Vision was selected to receive $2,500 and support from DIF to further develop and commercialize its platform.

The Digital Innovation Award is open to all Temple University students, alumni, faculty, and staff. The award is presented by DIF in partnership with Temple University’s Innovation and Entrepreneurship Institute (IEI) Be Your Own Boss Bowl. Awards are based on the following criteria:

  • Digital – does the idea apply technology in an interesting and/or novel manner?
  • Problem – does the idea solve a real business or societal problem?
  • Practical – is the idea practically doable given current technology, context, and resources?

Jignesh Patel, SVP, Cencora, appointed Executive in Residence

Jignesh Patel

Temple University’s Institute for Business and Information Technology (IBIT) has appointed Cencora executive Jignesh Patel as its Executive in Residence in 2025.

Cencora’s Senior Vice President, Patel visited Temple’s Fox School of Business Thursday, March 20, 2025. He engaged with faculty and students on several topics including AI, cybersecurity, the job market, and others. Jig is also a member of IBIT’s advisory board.

The IBIT Executive in Residence program facilitates engagement between industry leaders and the faculty and students at Temple University.

Patel is responsible for IT strategy, support, and delivery for Corporate IT and Global Pharma Services. Corporate IT is responsible for Finance, Legal, Human Resources, Marketing, and Compliance & Risk IT. He is also responsible for Global Pharma Services technology, including manufacturer services.

Prior to joining Cencora, Jignesh worked in senior leadership roles at Vanguard including heading up AI/ML Architecture, HR and Corporate Communication Technology, and Finance and HR technology. 

Karthik Sridharan, Chief Operations & Technology Officer, Fulton Bank

Karthik Sridharan knows how much a college student can benefit by working on real-world business problems. He still recalls the knowledge and experience he gained in his senior year project at Temple University, as he pursued dual degrees in business administration and management information systems.

He worked with students from the science and medicine programs to build a database-driven solution for Temple University Hospital to safely track and dispose of radioactive chemotherapeutic waste.

“At that time, the hospital did not have the systems or technology. It didn’t exist yet. We wrote the code, and they used it for a few decades.”

His subsequent career in banking—which includes roles at Citi, JPMorgan Chase, and Bank of America—was fueled in part by that practical learning. He joined the IBIT Advisory Board to ensure Temple students continue to have such opportunities.

“I have a passion for not just technology, but also for Temple, and seeing the university continue to advance and grow and create and shape young minds.”

In particular, he wanted students to be able to tackle “challenges with financial literacy and banking in the modern era,” he says. He committed Fulton Bank to an IBIT industry partnership with the goal to benefit the university and the company, which he joined in 2023. Fulton Bank acquired assets of Republic First Bank in 2024, nearly doubling its presence in greater Philadelphia and southern New Jersey.

“We are a financial institution that cares a lot about our community. We use technology to change our customers’ lives for the better and be their trusted advisors, and it’s a great time for technology and banking to really flourish. As an IBIT partner, we can gain insights and potential talent from Temple. The sky is truly the limit.”