Microsoft has announced the launch of AI Digital Labs in collaboration with 10 higher educational institutions in the country. The institutes covered under this program include BITS Pilani, BML Munjal University, ISB, Kalpataru Institute of Technology, KL University, Periyar University, Karunya University, SRM University, SVKM (NMIMS) and Trident Academy of Technology. With the edge of the Intelligent Cloud Hub program, these institutions will emerge as learning centres of intelligent technologies and innovation hubs of solutions.
According to a recent Microsoft and IDC Asia/Pacific study ‘Future Ready Business: Assessing Asia Pacific’s Growth Potential Through AI’, lack of skills, resources and continuous learning programs emerged as one of the top challenges faced by Indian organisations in adopting AI to accelerate their businesses.
“As AI becomes mainstream, organisations will require talent with skillsets that are very different from what exist now. Educators and institutions are integral to the skilling revolution taking root in the country. With the right technology infrastructure, curriculum and training, we can empower today’s students to build the India of tomorrow,” said Anant Maheshwari, President, Microsoft India.
This collaboration with colleges and universities is said to ramp up institutional setup along with educator capability, and provide relevant educational choices for students, helping them acquire the skills needed to fill the wide skills gap emerging across India and the global economy.
As part of the three-year program, Microsoft will support the selected institutions wit infrastructure, curriculum and content, access to cloud and AI services as well as developer support. The company will facilitate setting up of core AI infrastructure and IoT Hub as well as provide access to a wide range of AI developmental tools and Azure AI Services such as Microsoft Cognitive Services, Azure Machine Learning and Bot Services. Training programs for faculty will include workshops on cloud computing, data sciences, AI and IoT. Additionally, the faculty of the institutions will receive assistance in strategising content and curricula for project-based and experiential learning.