IIIT-Hyderabad in association with TalentSprint is rolling out executive programs on ai, machine learning and blockchain technologies. The course will be based on five-step pedagogy of masterclass lectures, hands-on labs, guided mentorship, hackathons and industry workshops, said the education institute.

IIIT said that the demand for competencies such as AI, machine learning and blockchain have been climbing rapidly over the last 12 months, with signs of further acceleration. Analyst firm Gartner has forecasted that AI business value will reach $3.9 trillion by 2022 and blockchain business value will reach $3.1 trillion by 2030.

“As a major research-led institution, we are gratified to see this kind of interest in our deep-tech executive education programs. Our top-ranked AI research group at the Kohli Centre for Intelligent Systems, and our emerging Blockchain Centre of Excellence, through these programs, have been able to convey the recent research advancements to the industry. In return, our researchers are benefitting from insights into challenging industry problems. By extending these executive programs across the nation, I believe the give and take between our institution and industry will reach a whole new level,” said According to Prof P J Narayanan, Director of IIIT-Hyderabad.

“2018 was the launch year for the cities Hyderabad and Bengaluru, and we used that opportunity to perfect these deep-tech programs. We successfully combined theory with practice, academic rigour with industry experience, onsite with online. The substantial popularity of these programs has encouraged us to launch this updated nationwide format. The click and mortar model of select campus visits and ongoing online engagement makes it very convenient for busy tech professionals, irrespective of their location,” said Dr Santanu Paul, CEO and MD of TalentSprint.