Kolkata, September 24, 2026

The Indian Institute of Engineering Science and Technology (IIEST), Shibpur, formally exchanged a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Tata Consultancy Services (TCS), the global leader in IT services, consulting, and business solutions. 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 and inauguration took place on Tuesday, (September 22, 2026) in august presence of Prof. V. M. S. R. Murthy, Director, IIEST, Shibpur; Prof. Pratik Datta, Dean of Research & Consultancy; Prof. Arindam Biswas, Dean-Academics; Prof. Konika Das (Bhattacharya), Chairperson of IIPC, alongside TCS senior leadership including Shri Souvik Das, Shri Anand Singh, Shri Anupam Chakraborty, and Shri Tapas Laha in presence of HoDs and Associate Deans and other faculty members.

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 rigor with TCS’s global domain expertise, the partnership aims to develop a future-ready workforce, drive applied research, and bolster the national AI ecosystem.

Core Objectives & Institutional Mandate

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.
• Designing technical challenges, hackathons, workshops, and skill-development initiatives.
• Sharing industrial tools, best practices, and practical domain frameworks.
• Providing direct industry mentorship to guide emerging AI startups and student-led entrepreneurial ventures.

The Four Pillars of the AI Centre of Excellence

The operational scope of the newly inaugurated CoE spans four critical pillars:

1. Skill Development: Offering industry-recognized 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.
2. Collaborative Research: Advancing applied research across key domains, including Natural Language Processing (NLP), Computer Vision, Image Processing, and Advanced Data Analytics.
3. Consulting & Industrial Solutions: Designing tailor-made AI solutions to address operational challenges faced by regional businesses and enterprises.
4. Entrepreneurship & Ecosystem Support: Hosting regional and nationwide workshops, seminars, hackathons, and guest lectures to foster a culture of continuous learning and nurture deep-tech startups.

"This partnership represents a major achievement for both organizations and sets up a sustainable system for technological innovation, entrepreneurship, and talent transformation in the area," stated Prof. V. M. S. R. Murthy, Director of IIEST, Shibpur.

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.

 

 

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