IIT students are choosing AI over computer science as job prospects change

• More Indian students enrolling in IITs are opting for engineering courses in artificial intelligence and machine learning.
  
• IIT Hyderabad has been the first institute in the country to introduce B.Tech in AI technology, enrolling 20 students this year.
  
• India is expected to create 39,000 new analytics jobs by 2020.

The advent of automation and the demand for changing job skills has attracted a large chunk of Indian students enrolling in India premier institution — Indian Institute of Technology(IITs) — for advanced engineering courses in artificial intelligence and machine learning.

As industries face talent shortage in the sector, IITs recently rolled out degree programmes and certifications including a Bachelor of Technology (B.Tech) in Artificial Intelligence — providing diverse options in technology courses.

IIT Hyderabad has been the first institute in the country to introduce B.Tech in AI technology. The institute started its first batch this year, enrolling 20 students to the course.

“What surprised us was that many students this year chose BTech course in AI as against regular CSE (computer sciences) despite having a better score. It’s a sign that students have realised the potential of AI as a career prospect considering the scope of research and jobs in the industry,” Vineeth N Balasubramanian, associate professor at IIT Hyderabad told the Times of India.

This year, the JEE advanced rank for opting AI stood at 478 and closed at 657. Overall, IIT Bangalore and IIT Delhi continue to remain top choices for engineering aspirants.

The industry estimates that India has less than 10% of data scientists available globally. According to a survey by Analytics Vidhya and ed-tech platform Great Learnings, India has 50,000 vacancies in data and analytics sector. In fact, the country is expected to create 39,000 new analytics jobs by 2020.

Coping with the growing demand

Indian IT majors including GE Research, Ericsson and Bosch, for their part, have also been funding various research programs at IITs.

Microsoft too recently announced that it will establish AI digital labs in India, jointly with 10 colleges and universities including Indian School of Business (ISB).

In its most recent budget, Indian government announced a key national programme focussed on AI under its ‘Digital India’ initiative. This will include the setting up of AI centers across the country to help AI-based startups in India.

See also:
Accenture comes in ahead of Deloitte, Wipro and TCS in IDC’s AI rankings

IITs to offer programs in artificial intelligence as India faces talent shortage