The Indian Institute of Technology in Roorkee (IIT-Roorkee), in collaboration with a private player, has announced that they will be setting up a new school that focuses on education in emerging technologies such as artificial intelligence (AI) and data science to meet the rising global demand for data analysts and AI experts.
According to a news report, the school will accept admissions from September 2022 and will offer bachelor’s, master’s, and doctoral degrees. The objective of the school is to develop new and skilled manpower in the areas of data science and AI. It also intends to empower existing manpower by offering focused training and certifications in these fields.
The school will also be a leader in seeding entrepreneurship and start-ups related to data science and AI and creating resource centres for information and knowledge sharing. The course will invite renowned experts in the field of AI to participate in designing relevant curricula as well as faculties and mentors who will encourage innovative research ideas to the students. These experts will also facilitate student scholarships and faculty exchange programmes. An industry expert noted that AI-driven technologies are rapidly transforming the world. Academic collaborations between international faculty and institutes can produce individuals poised to address such ongoing global challenges as climate change, resource sustainability, and security.
Earlier this month, the Indian Institute of Science in Bangalore (IISc) announced it would establish a state-of-the-art AI and machine learning (AI/ML) centre at the IISc campus. Spread across approximately 140,000 square feet, the centre will offer bachelor’s, master’s, and short-term courses in areas AI/ML, deep learning, fintech, reinforcement learning, image processing, and computer vision.
The centre will also promote research and innovation in AI/ML and develop the talent pool from across the country to provide cutting-edge solutions to meet the industry’s emerging and future requirements. According to a statement, as IISc continues to deliver on its mandate to provide advanced scientific and technological research and education, its partnerships with forward-thinking institutions will help it scale up substantially and position India as a deep tech innovation hub.
The global AI market size is expected to gain momentum and reach US$360.36 billion by 2028 while exhibiting a CAGR of 33.6% between 2021 to 2028. AI has become immensely popular, and industries across the globe are rapidly incorporating it into their processes to improve business operations and customer experience. The Indian government is developing and implementing several AI-driven initiatives in education, healthcare, agriculture, and finance. Educational institutes and government agencies are launching centres and offering courses in emerging technology to help build a skilled workforce.
For instance, earlier this year, India’s Ministry of Finance entered 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 would jointly explore use cases of emerging technologies in finance and related areas, across central and state ministries and public sector enterprises. Public sector officials would be trained on the application of emerging technologies in finance management to address potential risks like money laundering, the use of machine learning models for decision making, and the role of responsible tech in finance, among others.