The Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) has established an independent "School of Artificial Intelligence" (ScAI) that will begin PhD programme from January 2021. The AI school aims to cement IIT Delhi's leadership position on the global map of Artificial Intelligence
On the launch of the school of AI, Prof V. Ramgopal Rao, Director, IIT Delhi said, "The future progress of a nation will depend on its AI capability. Therefore, many countries have started investing heavily in AI. India is also responding to this. PM Shri Narendra Modi has emphasised the importance of AI in his policies".
Rao added that India was on the fifth spot in terms of AI-related jobs but was lagging behind the number of researchers in this field. Henceforth, IIT Delhi decided to establish the School of Artificial Intelligence on its campus, Rao said.
As per CSRankings.org, IIT Delhi is at number 1 position in India based on the number of high-quality publications in the areas of AI in the last ten years.
The IIT claims that after achieving a critical mass of core AI researchers, professional-level educational programmes will also be introduced.
Rao said that the IIT-Delhi's ScAI will have a flexible faculty model, comprising core faculty, joint faculty, and adjunct faculty members. With the school of AI, the country's premier institute aims to provide a platform for industry, government, and civil society entities to share their domain problems.
The Artificial Intelligence school is likely to hire 20 core faculty miiembers in the ten years. Prof Mausam, School of AI's Founding Head informed that core faculty members will be those who consider AI in various domains, like healthcare as their main research area. "Core faculty members will also be responsible for developing the School and will be deeply invested in its success," Mausam added.
Besides, the existing faculty of the institute will take joint appointment in the school and provide direction to it. The adjunct faculty will be a group of members from other departments. The adjunct faculty will interact with the ScAI students on research initiatives and they might also teach elective courses.
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