IIT-H announces launch of full-fledged B.Tech in Artificial Intelligence

HYDRABAD,JAN 18:

Indian Institute of Technology-Hyderabad (IIT-H) has announced the launch of a full-fledged bachelor’s programme in Artificial Intelligence (AI) technology from the new academic session, a first for the country and only the third globally.

IIT-H is already offering a Masters in Technology programme in AI-Machine Learning (ML). Besides IIT, Carnegie Mellon University and Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), both of which are in the US, offer full-fledged B.Tech programmes in AI. The new course will have 20 seats and the eligibility is clearing the JEE-Advanced test.

Dean (Research and Development), IIT-H, Sumohana Channappayya, said in a statement  that AI solutions are particularly promising for India (given the availability of a large corpus of data) where it can have a major positive impact on several critical domains such as healthcare, crop and soil management, weather prediction, surveillance and security, and defence. However, the demand for professionals trained in this area far exceeds the current supply.

The B.Tech programme in AI is a step in the direction of addressing this highly skewed demand-supply scenario, Channappayya added. The course will also focus on application verticals such as healthcare, agriculture, smart mobility, among many others. Students pursuing other degrees such as B.Tech in Chemical Engineering or Mechanical Engineering can now do a minor in AI as well from the coming academic year, the statement said.