The Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Delhi has set up a ‘School of Artificial Intelligence (ScAI)’ on its campus. The new school will begin its PhD program and offer admission in January 2021. The institute will also start postgraduate level degree courses at a later stage. IIT Delhi Director Prof V. Ramgopal Rao, Director said that a program in AI is needed because current degrees are broad-based, and do not make it easy for students to learn the depths of different subfields within AI. “ The future progress of a nation will depend on its AI capability. While India is ranked fifth in the world in the most number of AI companies and jobs, it lags in some very important aspects, specifically in the number of AI researchers.This school will help in filling this gap,” he said.

IIT aims to bring together more than 50 IIT-Delhi faculty members individually invested in various aspects of the field. It also will have a flexible faculty model comprising core faculty, joint faculty, and adjunct faculty members who may also be from the industry. A cohesive group in AI will allow focused hiring of faculty members and students to increase global visibility.“It will become a one-stop center for industry or government interested in collaborating or funding AI innovations,” said IIT in a statement. 

ScAI expects to hire at least 20 core faculty members in the next 10 years. As ScAI gets started, several existing faculty members in the institute are likely to take joint appointments in the school, and provide early directions to it. Finally, adjunct faculty members will be those who are full-time in another department, but will interact with ScAI’s faculty members on research initiatives, and may also teach elective courses, the IIT-Delhi informed.

Prof Mausam, School of AI’s Founding Head said, “Core faculty members will be those who consider AI, or its applications in various domain areas, as their main research area. Core faculty members will also be responsible for developing the School and will be deeply invested in its success.”

As ScAI gets started, several existing faculty members in the institute are likely to take joint appointments in ScAI, and provide early directions to the school. Adjunct faculty members will be those who are full-time in another department, but will interact with ScAI’s faculty members on research initiatives, and may also teach elective courses. “We are also looking for external partners to help shape this new school into a world class entity”, Prof. Mausam added.

 ScAI is IIT Delhi’s sixth school.