The Indian Institute of Technology in Hyderabad (IIT-Hyderabad) has announced it would set up an artificial intelligence (AI) lab in collaboration with a private player. Both the entities have entered into an agreement to establish an AI lab and jointly research AI and related emerging technologies. The fully equipped lab will be managed, maintained, and upgraded by IIT-Hyderabad.
According to a news report the lab was inaugurated earlier this week by Dharmendra Pradhan, the Minister for Education, Skill Development, and Entrepreneurship. IIT-Hyderabad is the first institute in the country to offer full-fledged BTech in AI in line with the National Education Policy 2020. The private player and IIT-Hyderabad will research technologies that solve problems of the future, with AI as the major focus area. Additionally, they have formed a mutual association to provide industry-specific domain training, remote project mentoring, engineering certificate courses, training workshops, and hackathons for students of IIT-Hyderabad and select employees of the organisation.
The association will provide industry collaboration for IIT-Hyderabad, an academic environment for private employees to conduct research and enable students to upgrade their skills and improve their employment opportunities. The two organisations will also develop courses pertaining to emerging technologies to enable IIT-Hyderabad students to gain industry exposure. The core content and other details on these courses will be mutually reviewed and regularly updated based on the requirements from IIT-Hyderabad and the facilitators available from the private organisation.
Last month, India’s Ministry of Finance entered into a strategic partnership with a tech giant to build a Centre of Excellence in AI and emerging technologies at the Arun Jaitley National Institute of Financial Management (AJNIFM). The centre will serve as a central body for research, AI scenario envisioning, and technology-led innovation. The two sides will jointly explore use cases of emerging technologies in finance and related areas, across central and state ministries and public sector enterprises.
NIFM, set up under the Ministry of Finance, specialises in the capacity building of professionals in the fields of public policy, financial management, and other governance issues. The collaboration is meant to explore the role of cloud, AI, and emerging technologies in transforming and shaping the future of public finance management in India. Officials from the Finance Ministry noted that the organisation will partner closely with AJNIFM to define the future of public finance management in India, providing the technology, tools, and resources to build a strong ecosystem of partners, upskill government officials, and build thought leadership.
As per a recent report, machine learning, artificial intelligence, computer programming, and deep learning have become the top online courses taken up by Indians. Other popular courses include Javascript, blockchain, the Internet of things, web development, and C programming. These courses are also popular in Germany, Russia, China, Australia, and Saudi Arabia. India ranked 67th among 104 nations in terms of digital skills. Digital skills have become important today especially to stay redundant at a time when technology is powering most industries. The pandemic also displaced millions of workers worldwide. India showed a 38% proficiency in technology and data science, falling behind countries including the Republic of Korea, Nepal, Malaysia, and Sri Lanka. It showed 13% proficiency in computer programming, 14% in mobile development, and 25% in data analysis. The pace of skills transformation is slower than the pace of digital transformation in India and learners must invest in soft and technical skills to prepare for jobs of the future.
