Global IT major Hexagon starts free Artificial Intelligence course for school, college students

INN/Hyderabad

Hexagon, global leader in digital solutions for improving manufacturing process and infrastructure, as opened the country’s first Artificial Intelligence Community Centre in Hyderabad in association with Govt of Telangana and NASSCOM, where students from technology background in graduate and undergraduate level will be given free training in artificial intelligence.

The centre – HexArt Institute, will be run by Hexagon Capability Center India (HCCI), the largest technology R&D hub of Hexagon, and the largest product development unit of Hexagon AB. Jayesh Ranjan, IT & EC, Secretary, Government of Telangana, inaugurated and dedicated the center to the city of Hyderabad and the State of Telangana.

Shri Jayesh Ranjan, who inaugurated the setup, commented that “2020 is commemorated in Telangana as the year of AI and it will be a key focus for the coming year and beyond as well.” He also spoke about the state’s plans of creating talent for emerging technologies – “It is critical that we build a strong talent pool and AI is going to play a key role. I fully appreciate Hexagon’s contribution in fuelling the community level growth for futuristic technology”, Ranjan said.

Aimed as part of its corporate social responsibility, the HCCI’s education outreach programme in the high-tech arena is both positive and timely initiative. Here, the students from B Tech and higher secondary students in sciences, will be given an orientation and practical exposure and training in AI so that they become industry ready.

The center will cover more than 350 students every year across multiple batches.  Set up at a cost of INR 64 Lakhs, the institute incorporates state-of-the-art infrastructure, IT hardware & software and a well-designed curriculum.

The 2,000 sq ft, air-conditioned and fully equipped facility at Mehdipatnam is now open to residents of Hyderabad and the State of Telangana.

 HCCI will invest further INR 30 Lakhs YoY to manage the AI community center.

The purpose of HexArt is to democratize AI knowledge cum skill to the masses, and to provide free education on AI to the community. The fundamental and advanced level courses are designed for students from Class 8 to Class 12 and senior engineering graduate respectively. NASSCOM Foundation, the CSR partner for this endeavour, brought in their expertise of setting up learning centres. They also onboarded Li2 Technologies as implementation partners to design and execute the courses along with administrative responsibilities.

The courses and certification programs at HexArt Institute have been specifically designed by industry professionals. The courses will encourage students to engage in self-learning, innovations, and inventions.

Sharing the government’s goals, Honourable Minister of IT & Industries, Shri KT Rama Rao, in his message, said “Telangana has defined its vision to be a global frontrunner in AI and other emerging technologies. The State is on the path of building a conducive Innovation ecosystem. He reaffirmed by saying that a skilled workforce will be critical to unleash the government’s 2020 AI vision’s full potential.”

Debjani, President NASSCOM, who kept herself abreast of the development of the center, commented “Data and Artificial intelligence can add $450-500 billion to India’s GDP by 2025. We must start today and prepare a talent pool that can help India propel to be the leader in AI tech. It’s nice to see companies like Hexagon taking a crucial step in this direction. We believe that with close collaboration between the private sector, the public sector and the civil society, and by focussing our collective expertise and energies on the most pressing problems of today, AI can achieve the goal of a socially empowered, inclusive, and digitally transformed India.”

Navaneet Mishra, VP and General Manager, HCCI, said “The goal of AI community center is to empower and upskill the next generation of youth with AI skills. We need to make AI pervasive to compete and succeed in today’s world. As the oldest MNC in Hyderabad, we are committed towards building the state’s talent community, and advance their growth.”

Earlier this year, HCCI signed an MoU with the Government of Telangana. The company is more than happy to contribute towards the government’s commitment to sustain and grow the AI knowledge base in the city and state. Mishra added.

For the present, the scheme is open to Telangana students only. “For us is the beginning of a learning process. We will see how this goes and then look at expanding to areas beyond Telangana,” Mishra said responding to a question. “It would take three months of training for B.Tech students of IIT level to become industry ready,” he added.