Training a machine? Figure it out at a tech institute near you

The objective of this programme is to teach an industry-relevant curriculum and train the manpower required to meet the industry needs. UNIVERSITY OF MUMBAI

MUMBAI: With artificial intelligence (AI) emerging as a popular field of engineering, major educational institutes in the city have recently started offering advanced courses in AI.

AI involves computing devices mimicking cognitive functions associated with humans such as learning and problem-solving.

On Friday, the University of Mumbai (MU) announced that its School of Engineering and Applied Sciences at the Kalyan sub-centre will offer a Master of Technology (Mtech) in AI, along with other post-graduate courses in computer engineering, chemical engineering and technology, transportation engineering and oceanography from the upcoming academic year. According to MU, these programmes will provide a theoretical foundation as well as a hands-on exposure in emerging areas such as advanced operating systems, embedded system design, cloud computing, big data, distributed computing and image processing.

Mukesh Patel School of Technology Management and Engineering of Narsee Monjee Institute of Management Studies (NMIMS) in Vile Parle, a deemed university, had started an Mtech course in AI last year. Currently, 25 students are enrolled in this programme.

“We already have an Mtech in Data Science programme since 2015, which covers parts of AI. However, we decided to offer a full-fledged course in AI looking at the success of the data science course,” said Sarada Samantaray, coordinator of the course. Samantary said the programme focuses on industry training instead of research. “We want to produce graduates who can work in the industry, not become academicians,” he said.

However, there are opportunities for those wanting to pursue research and development in the field as well. Last year, the Indian Institute of Technology Bombay (IIT-B) signed a multi-year collaboration pact with software giant IBM’S AI Horizons Network to advance AI research.