IIT M director Kamakoti said the fund came at an appropriate time.
An Indian Institute of Technology Madras alumnus has donated ₹110 crore to set up a school for data science and artificial intelligence.
A memorandum of understanding to this effect was exchanged between Institute Director V. Kamakoti and Sunil Wadhwani, a distinguished alumnus of the institute, on Tuesday. Mr. Wadhwani, a B. Tech graduate of the batch of 1974 and co-founder of IGate and Mastech Digital, who made the endowment, said, “Data-driven technologies are beginning to transform industries across the world. I see a strong need for a school dedicated to data science and AI, focused on fundamental and applied research in these areas. With advancements in science and technology, India has immense potential and can become a global leader in the field of AI and related sciences.
Mr Kamakoti said the fund came at an appropriate time. Besides examining AI from the perspective of its applications in niche areas such as healthcare, agriculture, sustainable cities, manufacturing and fintech, the institute planned to conduct research on AI.
“We are committed to launching a first-of-its-kind B.Tech program in AI and advanced data analytics. We want to launch in July 2024,” Mr Kamakoti said. Within three to four years, the department will have 50 faculty and 500 students, he said. Currently, it has 15 faculties spread across nine departments.
Admission to the new B. Tech program to be offered by Wadhwani School of Data Science and AI will be through JEE (Advanced) scores. Mr. Wadhwani’s family foundation, the Wadhwani Impact Trust, supports social welfare, affordable healthcare and scientific research through the Wadhwani Institute of Sustainable Healthcare (WISH Foundation) and the Wadhwani Institute of Artificial Intelligence.
The new school of the institute will offer B.Tech, M.Tech, MSc and PhD in Data Science and AI. A joint M.Sc with the University of Birmingham, United Kingdom; an international interdisciplinary master’s program in DS; an interdisciplinary double degree in DS; and an M.Tech Web in Industrial AI are offered.
