IIEST Shibpur partners with TCS to set up AI Centre of Excellence on campus

Indian Institute of Engineering Science and Technology (IIEST), Shibpur, has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) to have the venue for the Centre of Excellence in Artificial Intelligence, an IIEST statement said Thursday. Under this strategic collaboration, the on-campus high-performance Computing Lab of the Electrical Engineering Department has been designated as the physical venue for the Centre of Excellence (CoE) in Artificial Intelligence (AI). The MoU signing took place on September 22 in the presence of Prof V M S R Murthy, Director, IIEST, Shibpur and senior officials of TCS.

Aligned with national transformation frameworks including "Digital India" and "Viksit Bharat 2047," the new Centre of Excellence is established to bridge the gap between academic theory and industrial application. By blending IIEST, Shibpur's academic rigour with TCS's global domain expertise, the statement said. The partnership aims to develop a future-ready workforce, drive applied research, and bolster the national AI ecosystem.

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Functioning as a regional and national nexus for technological advancement, IIEST, Shibpur will leverage the CoE to aggregate talent from across institutes to solve pressing industrial and societal challenges. As the dedicated knowledge partner, TCS will actively support the institute by establishing benchmarks and aligning academic curricula with modern industry standards, the statement said. It was aimed at providing direct industry mentorship to guide emerging AI startups and student-led entrepreneurial ventures through the four pillars of the AI Centre of Excellence: skill development, industry-recognised training, professional certifications, hands-on projects, and internships.

"The CoE will function as an offsite hub enabling students across disciplines to complete TCS internships under joint faculty and industry supervision," it explained. The collaborative research further meant advancing applied research across key domains, including Natural Language Processing (NLP), Computer Vision, Image Processing, and Advanced Data Analytics.

"This partnership represents a major achievement for both organisations and sets up a sustainable system for technological innovation, entrepreneurship, and talent transformation in the area," said the director of IIEST, Shibpur. An IIEST spokesperson said the establishment of this CoE marks a significant milestone in strengthening ties between higher education and the technology sector, positioning IIEST, Shibpur and TCS at the forefront of digital innovation in Eastern India and beyond.