TCS, IEM Kolkata Join Hands to Set Up AI Centre of Excellence

Kolkata: Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) (BSE: 532540, NSE: TCS), a global leader in IT services, consulting and business solutions, has announced a collaboration with the Institute of Engineering & Management (IEM), Kolkata, to establish an AI-focused Centre of Excellence (CoE) to advance industry-academia innovation.

The centre will provide a platform for applied learning, research, experimentation and innovation, enabling students and faculty to explore artificial intelligence technologies, develop industry-relevant use cases and gain exposure to their real-world applications.

The collaboration, planned as a two-year engagement, will seek to strengthen the interface between classroom learning, AI-led research and industry application. The programme will include AI-focused workshops, faculty development programmes, student learning and skill-based certification initiatives, joint research and proof-of-concept projects, and the development of industry-relevant AI use cases.

Students will also get opportunities to work on active projects under the mentorship of TCS professionals and participate in hackathons, innovation challenges and knowledge-sharing initiatives.

Abhijit Niyogi, Vice President & Business Head – Retail, Europe, TCS, said, “The skills needed for tomorrow will increasingly be shaped by how effectively we connect academic learning with real-world technology and business challenges. Our collaboration with IEM is about creating that bridge. By bringing together academic talent, research capabilities and TCS’ industry experience, we want to create an ecosystem where students and faculty can experiment, innovate and develop solutions with practical relevance. We see this as a long-term platform for nurturing future-ready talent and fostering co-innovation.”

Prof. Dr. Satyajit Chakrabarti, Director, Institute of Engineering & Management, Kolkata, said, “Our endeavour has always been to ensure that education remains closely connected with the changing needs of industry and society. The Centre of Excellence with TCS will enable our students and faculty to engage more deeply with emerging technologies, applied research and real-world problem solving. We believe this collaboration can create an important bridge between ideas developed within academia and their application at scale in industry.”

Through the CoE, TCS and IEM aim to create a sustained ecosystem for innovation and talent development, connecting academic knowledge with industry application. The collaboration is expected to create opportunities for students, faculty and TCS experts to learn, experiment and innovate together across emerging technology areas and industry use cases.