Chennai: Aiming to cultivate expertise in diverse aspects of new technology, the prestigious Indian Institute of Technology Madras (IIT Madras) will launch a B. Tech course in AI and Data Analytics from the 2024-25 academic year.
The undergraduate degree has been carefully crafted to equip students with key skills and knowledge. Admission to this program is through the JEE (Advanced) exam. The Joint Seat Allocation Authority (JOSAA) counselling for the 2024 batch is currently ongoing, the IIT-M said.
The program aims to cultivate expertise in diverse aspects of AI and data analytics, offering a panoramic view of its applications across industries and will have a student strength of 50 admitted through JEE.
The course is being offered through the Wadhwani School of Data Science and AI, established with an endowment of Rs. 110 Crore by Mr. Sunil Wadhwani, a distinguished alumnus of IIT Madras and the Co-founder of IGATE and Mastech Digital. The vision is to be among the top AI-focused schools worldwide and also advise the Government and policymakers on Data Science and AI-related policy areas.
“AI is evolving across engineering, science and humanities disciplines. It is extremely important to understand these multi-disciplinary connections to be successful in this field. The B.Tech. in AI and Data Analytics is uniquely positioned to address this aspect. It is the first of its kind in the world,” IIT-M director Prof V Kamakoti said.
The curriculum has evolved based on the experience gained by our faculty over more than a decade. Through this offering, IITM aspires to produce top-notch AI professionals, entrepreneurs and researchers who can take up with great confidence the grand AI challenges in the evolving market, he added.
Prof. B. Ravindran, Head, Wadhwani School of Data Science and AI, IIT Madras, said AI is at a point where computer science was 30 years back. Artificial Intelligence is going to be a very transformative technology and will be the defining technological development of this generation, and perhaps another generation to come.
“The flagship program is going to be the undergraduate program - The B.Tech. in AI and Data Analytics. We will ensure that the students know enough about the fundamentals of AI so that they can pick up things on their own if they want to get into a research career,” he added.
The core curriculum has been designed to provide a comprehensive foundation in AI and data analytics, covering a diverse array of subjects essential for success in this field.