Over 1,000 train in AI/ML at IIIT-Hyderabad

New Delhi: IIIT-Hyderabad and TalentSprint have successfully completed the first year of their AI/ML executive programme. With over 10,000 applicants and 1,000 graduates in 2018 alone, the program has made its mark as one of the most aspirational and impactful deep tech executive programs in the country in the field of artificial intelligence and machine learning. 

The program’s hybrid structure designed by the IIIT-H Machine Learning (ML) lab, with its judicious blend of research and practice-based modules, created a strong appeal among working professionals. The intense nature of the program with lectures by globally renowned AI and ML faculty, case studies by industry practitioners, hands-on lab exercises, high-energy hackathons and on-going mentorship offered a unique environment and design where learning-by-doing became the norm. 

Program participants had work experience in the range of 3 to 25 years, with an average experience of 7 years. Acceptance of the program among professionals in senior leadership roles was sizeable at 18% of participants. In addition, 20% of participants came from management ranks, 26% were analysts and 36% were developers. 

An analysis of Industry-wise adoption revealed that 55% of the participants were from IT sector, followed by 18% from Banking Financial Services and Insurance (BFSI) sector, 10% from consulting, and the remaining were from telecom, services and manufacturing sectors. About 44% of the participants came from startups and 56% came from larger enterprises. To improve adoption of deep tech among women and young professionals, the program offered special scholarships to these categories. This diversity initiative resulted in 18% participation by women and 39% participation by young professionals. 

Speaking on the anniversary, Prof. PJ Narayanan, director at IIIT, said, “We are very impressed with the mix of participants across industries and range of roles. This diversity has enabled us to bring the best out of the program. We realize the immense shortage of talent in this field and are committed to enable 10,000 tech professionals with our globally renowned expertise and reputation in the field of AI and ML. We are therefore preparing ourselves to take this program to professionals beyond Bengaluru and Hyderabad in 2019.” 

Speaking on the occasion, Dr Santanu Paul, CEO and MD of TalentSprint, said, "We were delighted with the rapid adoption of AI/ML among working professionals in Bengaluru and Hyderabad. We are constantly investing in making the program more comprehensive, more compelling, and more cutting-edge. We believe this is already the biggest source of high-end AI/ML talent in the country today, and we intend to make it a national phenomenon in 2019."