How IIT Roorkee is creating a mark in the data science and machine learning industry
India's data science and machine learning industry is proliferating, fueled by the digital revolution. With the country witnessing a digital transformation, the demand for data analysts and software developers in India has proliferated over the past few years.
Several global corporations like Microsoft, Google, Amazon, Facebook, and Twitter also have their R&D centres in India to tap into their talented workforce. The country has seen several prominent players emerge in the last two years, focusing on building world-class ML projects.
Why IIT Roorkee?
IIT Roorkee offers a two-year program aimed at helping students and researchers with AI and ML expertise to transition into corporate jobs. The program also seeks to create a pool of future talent for the Indian data science and AI ecosystem by connecting top research institutes, academia, and corporate partners.
It has been designed for researchers, academicians, and industry partners to realize their AI and ML aspirations through research and project collaboration. It also aims to build a talent pipeline for the industry.
Program participants create their projects based on their specific expertise and can also work on projects proposed by corporate partners. The program is supported by academic experts, technopreneurs, corporates, and investors. Participants can apply for the program through an online application process.
Why Build A Data Science And Machine Learning Centre?
Roorkee's approach to AI and ML Development is one of the first Indian institutes to create a Centre for AI and ML Development. This decision to focus on artificial intelligence and machine learning was based on the need to prepare the country's talent for an "AI-powered" future.
The vision is to become a world-class AI & ML research, training, and entrepreneurship centre. AI is a set of computer technologies that lets machines learn how to perform tasks, process data, and make decisions. It is also known as strong artificial intelligence (AI). ML studies how to automatically build systems that use AI to learn and improve over time.
Roorkee has also started an AI & ML development centre focusing on developing a strong talent pool in the country and building a robust ecosystem of AI & ML startups.
Major Projects at IIT Roorkee
Some of the achievements from IIT Roorkee that have left an impression on its contemporaries include successful projects like the development of large-scale deep learning models for Breast Cancer Detection at a Multi-Institutional Collaboration Project and improvement over other research institutions such as Google Brain's AlphaGo Zero result. Apart from traditional academic research, this Institute has also been involved in industry collaborations and has developed innovative products such as the IIT-developed speech recognition algorithm for Google Assistant.
Since its inception, IIT Roorkee has always strived to create an environment where students can develop their skills in cutting-edge research areas. This is done by providing a supportive infrastructure and encouraging interactions with industry partners. Several programs at this Institute are designed to help students get hands-on experience with real-world problems and solutions related to data science and machine learning. For instance, the mentor program pairs experienced professionals from various industries with bright college students for project guidance.
With an approach to a research-based, collaborative and integrative research model, the programme focuses on core research areas, including natural language processing (NLP), computer vision, and reinforcement learning. The programme helps participants transition from research to product development in a short time through a three-month boot camp and six-month programme.
They conduct workshops, lectures, and hands-on classes to help participants understand their research domain's fundamental concepts and technologies. It also provides mentorship and guidance to help participants build a strong research team and business model. The Institute also provides support through research publications, grants, and internships.
Conclusion
With the demand for data scientists and machine learning experts rising rapidly in India, the country is facing a significant problem in finding such talent. This is where IIT Roorkee, with its innovative approach to AI and ML development, comes into the picture.
Over the last few years, the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Roorkee has emerged as one of the leading institutions in India for data science and machine learning research. The Institute facilitates research and development by building a talent pool in AI and ML. It is finding data scientists and machine learning experts, thus relieving this country of a major problem.
