Imagine a world where AI isn’t some esoteric, touchy-feely buzzword but a fundamental skill that every learner and professional picks up. A world where India moved to the front lines of AI innovation, and people cued up from Thapar Institute of Engineering & Technology.

A step forward towards this vision has just been taken by TIET by partnering with NVIDIA to set up the Thapar School of Advanced AI & Data Science (TSAAI) at its Patiala campus. This collaboration shall bring access to the most advanced AI technologies, opportunities in research, and innovative projects that can change how students and faculty members learn, work, and live.

Dr. Padmakumar Nair, the Director of TIET, is highly enthusiastic about the fact that this relationship would be bridging the gap of AI expertise and leading the way for groundbreaking research and innovation. “Our vision is to prepare future-ready students, and this partnership with NVIDIA will help us achieve that,” he says. “We want our students to have the skills and knowledge they need to thrive in the rapidly changing world. AI is at the center.Vishal Dhupar, Managing Director of Asia South at NVIDIA, is just as excited about the integration of NVIDIA technologies at TIET. “This partnership will foster a new generation of AI experts across India, and we’re only too proud to be a part of it,” he says. “NVIDIA is committed to democratizing access to AI; this partnership with TIET is a major step in that.”.

So, what does it all mean for the students and faculty? Well, TIET is setting up one of the highest AI infrastructure set-ups with state-of-the-art infrastructure powered by NVIDIA DGX systems, NVIDIA H100 and A100 Tensor Core GPUs, and the NVIDIA AI Enterprise software platform. It will offer an incredible 227 petaflops of peak AI performance, nearly 8 terabytes of GPU memory. That is akin to running a supercomputer!TIET is also setting up an edge computing infrastructure with 500 Jetson Nano developer kits, which would aid in building a startup ecosystem and turning graduates into job creators. The AI university program will offer a gamut of courses, labs, research opportunities, and innovation projects to facilitate the students and faculty with essential AI skills and knowledge.

It envisions a full undergraduate AI degree course system, mandatory/elective courses across all disciplines, faculty and staff technical training, and research collaboration by 2024-25. Implementation of an AI startup ecosystem will be powered by the NVIDIA Edge Computing. The Institute also has a target to ensure all graduates are AI literate within 2-4 years.The objectives of TSAAI are far-reaching—developing a new undergraduate engineering program in AI, offering AI elective courses across all programs, introducing a master’s program in AI, ML, and DS, offering professional development courses for industry professionals, and training of identified faculty through the NVIDIA Deep Learning Institute (DLI) Ambassador Program.

What does this presage for the future of AI in India? It implies, therefore, that TIET is at the forefront in making a new stream of AI professionals-experts who will bring innovation and growth into the country. That student communities/working professionals will get access to those skills and knowledge which have, all these years been an elusive requirement for success in this fast-paced world. And that India shall be turning to be a leader in AI innovation, leading from the front to a bright future for all.