IIT-H joins hands with T Govt for AI research

S Vishnu Sharmaa, INN/Chennai, @Svs037

Indian Institute of Technology, Hyderabad (IIT-H) will join hands with Government of Telangana to undertake research in Artificial Intelligence (AI).

Both the establishments have joined hands after signing an Memorandum-of-Understanding (MoU) recently.  Professor B.S. Murty, Director, IIT Hyderabad and Mr. Jayesh Ranjan, Principal Secretary to Government of Telangana for Departments of Information Technology (IT) and Industries and Commerce (I&C) signed the pact on behalf of both the organisations.

IIT-H is going to partner with Information Technology, Electronics and Communication (ITE&C) Department of Government of Telangana, for building quality datasets along with third parties such as the industry.

Both the organisations will work on education and training, preparing  content and curriculum of AI courses to be delivered to college students along with industry participants.

B.S. Murty said IIT Hyderabad is a pioneer in the field of Artificial Intelligence. ‘It is the first institute in the country to launch a B.Tech. program in AI.’  With a strong base of close to 25 faculty in the Department of AI, IIT Hyderabad is looking forward to such opportunities to come up with many more innovations and research achievements in the field, he said.

Dr. Vineeth N. Balasubramanian, head, department of Artificial Intelligence, IIT Hyderabad, said this collaboration provides them a unique opportunity to leverage their combined experience and expertise in AI at IIT-H for local social good, along with the State government. ‘Having the Government as a partner will allow us an ideal interface to work with industry leaders, startups and colleges in research and training in AI.’

IIT Hyderabad will also assist the Telangana State in developing a strategy for AI/HPC (Artificial Intelligence /High-Performance Computing) infrastructure for various state needs and provide technology mentorship to identified partners for exploring and building AI PoCs (Point of Contacts), he said.