TN Ramps Up AI Drive With New Pacts, Skills to Become Global Hub
The government is seeking to complement these institutional initiatives by building industry-ready human resources at the college and youth levels.
Chennai:Tamil Nadu has stepped up its efforts to emerge as a global hub for artificial intelligence (AI) skills, industry and research with the State government turning its focus towards building a large talent pool and strengthening industry-academia collaboration.
As part of this larger AI strategy, the ICT (Information and Communication Technology) Academy has entered into partnerships with multinational technology companies and corporate social responsibility (CSR) organisations to expand AI education, industry-oriented training and centres of excellence across the State.
The MoUs were exchanged in Chennai on Thursday in the presence of Minister for AI, Information Technology and Digital Services R. Kumar. The partnerships are expected to benefit thousands of students, teachers and young people through specialised training, certifications and exposure to emerging technologies.
The State's AI roadmap includes the proposed AI Centre of Excellence, AI University and AI City, which are intended to create an ecosystem covering skills, innovation, industrial applications and research. The government is seeking to complement these institutional initiatives by building industry-ready human resources at the college and youth levels.
“AI is bringing about a fundamental change in the way we learn, work and create new innovations. Through these new and renewed MoUs with global technology companies and CSR organisations, thousands of students and teachers across Tamil Nadu will directly benefit in the coming year,” Mr. Kumar said.
The scale of the partnerships reflects the government's emphasis on taking AI and advanced technology training beyond a limited pool of specialised institutions. Salesforce will train 20,000 students through its Journey to Salesforce programme, while MongoDB's Learnathon and Skillathon initiatives will reach 1.4 lakh students. Celonis will provide training to 25,000 students in process mining and process intelligence.
The ICT Academy, a joint initiative of the Union Government, Tamil Nadu Government and industry, operates across seven areas, including faculty development, student and youth skill development, entrepreneurship, industry-academia interaction, digital advancement, research and publications.
With AI rapidly transforming sectors ranging from manufacturing and finance to healthcare and services, officials said such industry-linked programmes would help reduce the gap between academic training and evolving workplace requirements.
