NMIMS School of Mathematics organizes a one day workshop on ‘Program Structure and Curriculum Framing for UG Program in Artificial Intelligence’

Mumbai, 13 May 2022: NMIMS School of Mathematics, Applied Statistics & Analytics (SoMASA), organized a one-day workshop on ‘Program Structure and Curriculum Framing for UG Programs in Artificial Intelligence, inaugurated jointly by Prof. (Dr) S Chandrasekhar, Senior Professor & Director Business Analytics, IFIM Business School, Bengaluru, India, and Dr S R Kulkarni, Data Science Consultant, Pune.

Distinguished professors and academicians including Dr Sushil Kulkarni, Dean, School of Mathematics, Applied Statistics & Analytics (SoMASA), Prof. Sunil Shirvalker, HOD, Statistics, (SOMASA) Prof. K S Madhava Rao, Prof.Pradnya Khadeparkar, Prof.Prashant Dhamale, Prof. Shraddha Sarode, Dr. Debasmita Mukherjee,Prof.Jyoti Verma,Prof.Hemant Kulkarni & Prof. Suresh Pathare amongst others were present at the workshop.

Last year in the Academic Year 2021-22, NMIMS took advantage of the government’s National Education Policy (NEP) framed in 2020 and imbibed its features in the curriculum of the 4-year B.Sc. (Hons) program in Artificial Intelligence. This is the first program of the NEP 2020 in any curriculum across the country.

This B.Sc. (Hons) AI program has six modules which reflect the nomenclature of the NEP 2020 and other relevant education guidelines. These modules include the core, discipline-specific, multi-discipline, enhancement and skill development, research and internship and finally modular electives. None of the institutes or academia has this kind of curriculum which has captured all the salient features of the NEP. The four-year B.Sc.(Hons) program has a total of 180 credits that have been translated from these modules.

Speaking on this momentous workshop, Dr S R Kulkarni, Data Science Consultant, Pune, said, “With the introduction of AI, there has been a paradigm shift in data culture from technology to the quality of data and machine learning. Developing data culture and cultivating analytical thinking among students have become the main objective of our curriculum. We followed the definition of AI which says AI is the science and engineering for making intelligent machines. While framing the syllabus, we emphasized a bit more in engineering for making the program suitable for the need of the hour.”

Elaborating on the significance of this B.Sc. programme in AI, Prof. (Dr) S Chandrasekhar, Senior Professor & Director of Business Analytics, IFIM Business School, Bengaluru, said, “The program is an excellent move to train students in AI. The AI program should not look like a hardcore mathematics driven program, but as an easy programme for students. There is a huge scope for AI in the sectors like legal where experts in those fields don’t have proficiency in AI. And hence, the legal proceedings need to be shortened through AI which would be easier for even judges to read and make a decision.”

Professor & Dean Dr. Sushil Kulkarni welcomed all the invited guest and speakers and spoke about the invention of AI  he also mentioned that AI is one of the fascinating and universal fields of computer science which has a great scope in future, AI holds a tendency to cause a machine to work as a Human. He defined AI as “Algorithms enabled by constraints exposed by representation that model targeted thinking, perception and action’’.

Prof. K S Madhava Rao apprised the audience of NMIMS’s leadership which the University has been playing for over four decades. Prof. Rao explained the significance of the workshop and the objectives behind organizing it. Prof. Sunil Shirvaikar, HOD, Statistics, talked about the efficiency of the department and its alignment with students. The workshop concluded with faculties exchanging their thought processes and preparing a roadmap for the future.

About School of Mathematics, Applied Statistics & Analytics

Over the years, different departments within the school of science recorded robust growth both in terms of student enrolment & graduation, staff attraction & retention, research publication & patent registration, and student placements in academia and industry. In the last couple of years, the SDSOS launched a new undergraduate B.Sc. programmes in Data Science, Artificial Intelligence, Applied Psychology, Animation and VFX among others. The University leadership decided to carve a new school by merging the program of the School of Mathematical Sciences and the five programs of Department of Statistics of the Sunandan Divatia School of Science. The new NMIMS school emerging out of this restructuring initiative is named as the School of Mathematics, Applied Statistics and Analytics (SOMASA). The goal of SOMASA is to be a Center of Excellence in the domain of Applied Computational Mathematics, Applied Statistics and Analytics providing quality education and research.

About SVKM’s NMIMS University

Established in 1981, NMIMS is today recognized as a globally reputed university with strong industry linkages. It offers multiple disciplines across eight campuses that consist of 17 specialized schools, more than 17,000 full-time students, and 800+ full-time faculty members, ten faculty members with Fulbright Scholarship and Humboldt International Scholarship for post-doctoral researchers. The Shri Vile Parle Kelavani Mandal (SVKM) laid the foundation stone of this esteemed university, with the aim to cater to the rising demand of management institutes in the country. It is known for its consistent academic quality and research-focused approach towards holistic education. SVKM’s NMIMS has been granted Category-I University status by Graded Autonomy Regulation 2018 by MHRD/UGC, and NMIMS Mumbai Campus is NAAC accredited with A+ (CGPA of 3.59.)