IIT Delhi sets up a School of AI

Aiming at strengthening its global position, Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Delhi has set up an independent “School of Artificial Intelligence (ScAI)” on its campus. This school is going to start its PhD program from the next admission cycle beginning January 2021. The IIT plans to offer PG level degree courses.

“The future progress of a nation will depend on its AI capability. Therefore, many countries have started investing heavily in AI. Besides, India is ranked 5th in the world in both the most number of AI companies and AI jobs,” V. Ramgopal Rao, Director, IIT Delhi said.

“However, we are lagging behind in some very important aspects, specifically in the number of AI researchers in the country and the overall quality and quantity of AI research. To fill this gap, IIT Delhi has established the School of AI on the campus," said Rao.

This school will bring together over 50 IIT Delhi faculty members with expertise around AI. "A cohesive group in AI will allow focused hiring of faculty members and students to increase global visibility," stated a release issued by the institute. IIT intends to have a flexible faculty model i.e. it will have core faculty, joint faculty and adjunct faculty members (who may also be from the industry) for the school.