SVKM's NMIMS, a globally reputed university with over four decades of academic legacy in India, has signed a MoU with LivNSense Technologies, a pioneering Industrial IoT & AI platform, to jointly create the AI Center of Excellence & Research, which will help develop AI-driven manufacturing solutions and foster a culture of innovation and collaboration.

The centre of excellence will be the first of its kind in India and will help to boost the country's manufacturing sector by making it more tech-driven (under make in India initiative) and less dependent on imported technology. According to a recent PwC report, the adoption of artificial intelligence was the highest in India during the COVID-19 pandemic, as compared to major economies, with over 70 percent of Indian organisations having implemented AI in some form or the other. With the pandemic also having permanently altered the way businesses function in the future, adoption of technologies, including AI, will continue to increase, and will consequently drive demand for professionals skilled in the domain. The joint AI Center of Excellence & Research built by NMIMS in collaboration with LivNSense, will aid in India's push to develop AI-oriented solutions for the manufacturing industry, as well as facilitate the creation of a knowledgeable, skilled workforce.

Speaking about this collaboration, Dr. Sharad Mhaiskar, Pro Vice Chancellor, SVKM's NMIMS Deemed to be University, said, "We at NMIMS have always believed in robust collaboration between industry and academia, to drive effective solutions to industry issues. Keeping this emerging field in mind, we at NMIMS, could foresee and start programs in these futuristic areas, more than some 6 to 7 years back and became one of the academic leaders in India in these areas. The creation of this centre of excellence and research with LivNSense is particularly thrilling, as it will allow our students to sharpen their skills by working on live projects and attain real-world experience, which will, in turn, help them add value and thrive in the cutting-edge field of cognitive manufacturing."

Avnish Kumar, CEO of LivNSense, further added, "We are thrilled to enter into this association with NMIMS. Together, I believe we can bridge the gap between industry and academics. Smarter manufacturing processes are the future of India's manufacturing sector. Industries will be less error prone, more efficient, and more AI-oriented in the years to come. And this collaboration will ensure that students can learn everything there is to know about Industrial Internet of Things (IoT), Artificial Intelligence, Machine Learning, more."

The primary objectives of this MoU are to help students gain valuable internship experience through LivNSense's projects and industry expertise, create disruptive innovations, and develop tangible projects having exposure to real-world applications, solving industry problems in the AI and manufacturing space. 

This virtual event was attended by NMIMS officials Dr. Sharad Mhaiskar - PVC, Dr. Meena Chintamaneni - Registrar, Dr. Alka Mahajan - Dean (Mukesh Patel School of Technology Management & Engineering), Prof. Sarada Samantaray - Associate Dean, Academics (Mukesh Patel School of Technology Management & Engineering), Dr. Siba Prasad Panda - Assistant Professor (Mukesh Patel School of Technology Management & Engineering), Mr. Manish Dalmia - Director (Marketing & PR).