SRM University-AP Hosts Quantum & AI Workshop to Drive Andhra Pradesh’s Tech Vision

The Quantum & AI Innovation Centre (QAIC) Workshop was held today at SRM University-AP's Amaravati campus, organised by the Amaravati Quantum Valley, Government of Andhra Pradesh, and hosted by the university, under the theme "Mentor Mapping, Use Case Allocation, and QIC Team Formation". The proceedings brought together senior academic leadership and government functionaries in a day devoted to mapping mentors to emerging quantum use cases and to giving shape to the state's Quantum Innovation Cells. Presiding over an occasion of considerable institutional significance, Sri Pradyumna P S, IAS, Secretary to the Chief Minister, lent the workshop its most consequential address, underscoring the importance the state government attaches to the university's quantum ambitions.

Prof. CH Satish Kumar, Vice Chancellor of SRM University-AP, opened the proceedings with remarks on the university's institutional journey, tracing the path that had brought SRM University-AP to this juncture, and outlined the university's forthcoming plans to advance quantum technology initiatives across the campus, signalling a sustained institutional commitment to the discipline in the years ahead. Elaborating on the university's readiness to lead in this space, he pointed to the breadth of its faculty expertise as its greatest strength, noting that SRM University-AP counts among its ranks researchers working across both the hardware and software dimensions of quantum technology, spanning quantum hardware, quantum algorithms, quantum communications, quantum sensing and related areas. He observed that this multidisciplinary capability gave the university a strong foundation for developing complete solutions, from fundamental research and device development through to algorithms, applications and deployment. This span, he suggested, was not incidental but by design, allowing the university to move fluidly between the conceptual and the applied, between the laboratory bench and the eventual deployment of quantum systems in the field. It was precisely this combination of depth and range, he added, that positioned SRM University-AP to take on the kind of cross-disciplinary mentoring role the workshop had been convened to establish, linking the university's faculty strength directly to the mentor mapping exercise at the heart of the QAIC initiative.

Delivering the inaugural keynote, Prof. G. P. Raja Sekhar, Vice Chancellor of Andhra University, framed the workshop as part of a wider effort to redefine technology, offering young people the chance not merely to participate but to innovate, and urged that students be asked not what job they wish to do, but what problem they wish to solve. Sri CV Sridhar, Mission Director of the AP State Quantum Mission, Government of Andhra Pradesh, commended SRM University-AP for the initiative, noting that the workshop advanced the Mission's vision on design, products and R&D; talents and jobs; and industry partnership.

Following this, Sri Pradyumna PS, IAS, Secretary to the Chief Minister, spoke on behalf of the Hon'ble Chief Minister's vision for the state. He noted that technology was changing rapidly, threatening jobs rather than people, and pointed to a future where work becomes optional. He urged the audience to embrace change, affirming that Andhra Pradesh would root R&D and global trade under Make in India, and that AI and humanity are not adversaries.

Taken together, the day pointed to a shared conviction, held across academia and government alike, that Andhra Pradesh's quantum ambitions rest as much on institutional will and human capital as on technical capability. For SRM University-AP, the workshop marked a further step in aligning its academic mission with the state's quantum agenda, bringing mentors, use cases and Quantum Innovation Cells into closer alignment under the framework set out over the course of the day.