Campus Notes

IIT Madras, Ziroh Labs to set up AI Research centre to solve compute accessibility challenges

Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Madras has partnered with Ziroh Labs, a California-based innovation-driven deep tech startup, to establish a Centre of AI Research (COAIR) to solve India's compute accessibility challenges, officials said on Wednesday.

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The COAIR will focus on developing practical, efficient AI solutions focusing on CPU and edge device inferencing. In a significant step towards making AI models solve accessibility problems, Ziroh Labs unveiled the first version of "Kompact" AI at IIT Madras, they said.

Kompact AI is an AI platform that enables foundational models to be built and served using CPUs without requiring Graphics Processing Units (GPUs), which are expensive and hard to obtain. Kompact AI has been developed by scientists and engineers from India.

V Kamakoti, Director, IIT Madras, said that Kompact AI can play a transformative role as it leverages multiple optimisations algorithmically and implementation-wise to execute models on the low end without any support required for external communication, such as the Internet. "

IIM Ahmedabad to set up branch campus in Dubai, offer one-year MBA course for global market

Indian Institute of Management (IIM), Ahmedabad is set to establish its international campus in Dubai and has signed an MoU with the UAE government, officials announced on Wednesday. The campus, which will be set up in Dubai International Academic City, is expected to be launched later this year. A Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) was signed on Tuesday between IIMA Director Bharat Bhasker and Helal Saeed Almarri, Director General of Dubai's Department of Economy and Tourism, in the presence of Crown Prince of Dubai Sheikh Hamdan bin Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum. The IIMA Dubai campus will be established in two phases. In the first phase, IIMA will be provided with space in the Dubai International Academic City (DIAC), the region's premier higher education hub with a multi-cultural environment. The campus will provide access to cutting-edge academic resources to inspire innovation and foster excellence. In the second phase of campus development, IIMA will be provided with land where the permanent campus will come up and be operational from 2029. Admission to the full-time one-year MBA at IIMA's Dubai campus will follow a rigorous two-stage process based on the standardised GMAT or GRE score taken within the last five years. Spread over five terms, the programme will provide rigorous academics and international exposure within an elite learning environment that mirrors the excellence of IIM Ahmedabad's globally renowned MBA. It will also offer an extensive portfolio of electives, expanding ample scope for personalised learning and specialisation.