NVIDIA’s AI university part of new industry-academia drive

Plans are underway to set up an AI university in India in collaboration with California-based technology company NVIDIA, a major global supplier of artificial intelligence hardware and software, according to an announcement by the state government of Andhra Pradesh (AP) in Southern India.

But the move also reflects a growing trend in India for universities to partner with industry to skill more industry-ready graduates for the country’s burgeoning IT and AI sector.

Many global companies are setting up in India, in part driven by global moves away from China, as well as being driven to diversify locations by the United States administration’s tariff policies, while Indian tech companies are growing, creating huge demand for tech talent.

The initiative with NVIDIA, announced in June, will build on current collaboration with NVIDIA in the southern state. Nara Chandrababu Naidu, chief minister of Andhra Pradesh, recently announced that with support from NVIDIA for curriculum and training, 10,000 engineering students will receive skill training in the next two years.

Naidu said in a post on X on 7 June: “Andhra Pradesh is welcoming bold initiatives to lead India’s AI revolution. Under the leadership of (AP) Minister for IT Nara Lokesh, we have entered into an MoU with NVIDIA to build a strong and inclusive AI ecosystem in the state.

“As many as 500 AI startups from AP will gain access to its Inception Programme for global exposure and key resources.”

He was referring to NVIDIA’s Inception, a free programme designed to nurture startups, providing access to cutting-edge technology, marketing support, and opportunities to connect with NVIDIA experts.

“Further, plans are underway to establish India’s first AI university in collaboration with NVIDIA for shaping the infrastructure and research capabilities. From education and skilling to research and innovation, this initiative is laying the foundation for a Swarna Andhra Pradesh,” he said, referring to the ‘Golden’ AP.

Experts noted that state governments like Andhra Pradesh were keen to turn academic institutions into ‘industry-ready’ talent hubs.

Shift in university teaching

“India’s higher education landscape is rapidly transforming to meet evolving economic and technological demands.

“Academic institutions are shifting from traditional, theory-based learning to a focus on industry-aligned skills, real-world experience, and entrepreneurial mindsets,” said a just-released report from Nasscom (National Association of Software and Service Companies), the trade body representing India’s US$283 billion tech industry, focused on making the country a global hub for IT services and innovation.

Nasscom emphasised in the report released last week titled “Building the Next Generation of Tech Professionals: Transformative Trends Reshaping Academia” that global and Indian IT companies are “embedding hands-on industry-aligned learning into academic pathways”.

“In embracing these shifts, academia is no longer positioned merely as a responder to industry demand but rather as a proactive partner in the co-creation of talent,” Achyuta Ghosh, senior director and head of Nasscom Insights, said in the report.

The report said institutions are partnering with industry to offer specialised training in line with skills sought by industry.

The report pointed out that “78% of recruiters in India now prioritise skills over formal qualifications”, with Indian centres of multinational corporations, and IT firms leading the transition at 85% and 71%, respectively.”

Three-quarters of over 200 engineering-focused Indian academic institutions surveyed by Nasscom said they were collaborating with industry partners to help bridge the skills gap.

Collaboration includes “assisting in curriculum redesign through insights into current industry practices and needs, supporting faculty development, organising hackathons and workshops, engaging in collaborative research, facilitating internships and live project opportunities.”

For example, Bangalore-based Indian tech giant Infosys is collaborating with Sandip University, a private university in Maharashtra state, to upskill educators through faculty development programmes and provide special courses and certifications for students on new technologies such as AI, machine learning, and blockchain technology using its free-access Springboard digital learning platform.

The report noted: “These partnerships are no longer confined to individual colleges or universities; they are increasingly expanding to the state level, with state education authorities joining hands with industry to enhance student upskilling efforts.”

Growth in Industry collaboration

Rangan Banerjee, director of the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Delhi, told University World News: “We are seeing a very significant growth in industry collaborations. We are also seeing very high growth rates in terms of funding.”

However, he noted that in the Indian ecosystem, “government and public funding is significantly higher than industry funding.”

“We started with a smaller base from industry, but we are also getting a lot of global industry, and we are looking at a whole host of different models, including industry-government-academia, sometimes known as the triple helix model.”

He noted that IIT Delhi already has some links and collaborations with NVIDIA.

He pointed to more government-industry-university research models for IITs in future. “Industry is increasingly relying on technology development and research – there is a very clear trend in that. The ecosystem still has a long way to go, but it is growing.”

Banerjee pointed to the timing of the AP announcement as interesting.

“This is something more in terms of the Andhra Pradesh government and the CM wanting to push in certain domains and establish that Andhra Pradesh can be a hub in high-end areas, and they may have had some conversations with NVIDIA and others,” he said.

“The talent chain, tariffs, and national perspectives have been the key drivers,” he added, referring to recent US trade and technology policies, which are upending traditional talent chains and technology routes, mainly between the US and China.

Earlier this month India’s Cabinet, chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, approved a Research Development and Innovation (RDI) Scheme with funding of approximately US$12 billion.

“Aimed at enhancing private sector participation in cutting-edge research,” according to the official statement, the funds will be disbursed by India’s newly established overarching science funding agency, the Anusandhan National Research Foundation (ANRF).

This may lead to more collaborative funding with universities and institutions like the IITs, according to experts.

Foreign universities interested in Industry

Foreign universities planning to set up in India are also showing an interest in industry tie ups, in particular to enhance the employability of their graduates within India. Five foreign branch campuses have been approved to operate in India so far, with another 15 or so slated for this year.

“You’ll start to see foreign universities announce strategic partnerships with Indian industry,” predicted Adrian Mutton, CEO of Acumen, an education consultancy advising universities globally that want to set up in Asia.

“Within 12 to 18 months there will be several other large corporations announcing the same thing. I think you're going to see this more and more,” he told University World News.

“A lot of the work that we’ve been doing lately is with those foreign universities [that] are looking at going into India and essentially getting their curriculum fit for industry…. So that has already started.”

“The advantage that NVIDIA has is it will have more money to pay faculty as a private sector company,” Mutton said.

“You’re already seeing IIT Bombay and other notable institutions across India now accepting private sector individuals to come in and have teaching positions in their universities.”

NVIDIA in Taiwan

For several years NVIDIA has been collaborating with universities in Taiwan, where NVIDIA CEO Jensen Huang was born, and it has become a testbed for university collaboration with NVIDIA. Last year the company donated around US$1.54 million towards an AI research centre project along with other collaborative projects at National Taiwan University (NTU).

NTU President Wen-Chang Chen said at the time the university partnered with NVIDIA to establish the AI University Centre to integrate AI into teaching, research, and entrepreneurship.

The initiative will train AI instructors to incorporate AI into curricula across all departments and foster research in various AI fields. Additionally, it will encourage faculty and students to leverage AI technology for entrepreneurial ventures, supported by external resources.

Other universities in Taiwan have smaller collaboration projects with NVIDIA. Several universities in Taiwan last year reported a spike in enrolment enquiries after they were listed by Huang in a speech at NTU last year as collaborating with the tech giant.