IIT Jodhpur will host India’s Centre of Excellence for Generative AI. The centre will be known as Srijan. It will foster collaboration in the field of Artificial Intelligence and Emerging Technologies.
Srijan aims to encourage students and young developers (18-30 years) in India to use open-source AI models to solve real-world problems and drive positive social and economic impact. The initiative is entirely funded by Global social media major Meta, who is supporting the Centre for Generative AI, Srijan (“GenAI CoE”) by providing its Open Space technologies also. It is a part of MoU commitment with AICTE and MeitY and will be led by IndiaAI IBD under the ambit of its YuvaAI (Youth for Unnati and Vikas with AI) initiative.
The CoE will identify and empower the next generation of AI innovators and entrepreneurs using open-source AI and exploring possibilities in Large Language Model LLMs. The research under its aegis will be shared with students via AICTE and via direct connect with colleges.
Srijan will engage young developers to deploy open-source LLMs across India and unearth indigenous use cases through Hackathonst besides conducting Master Training activation workshops for select colleges, data labs, and ITIs, introducing them to foundations of LLMs to ignite interest. It will help support in creation of Student-led Startups experimenting with Open Source LLMs by identifying the young developers.
The Centre of excellence was announced under the aegis of Meity on July 27, 2023. Srijan will ensure long-term sustainability of the GenAI research beyond the initial phase supported by seed funding of Meta and support from IndiaAI. IIT Jodhpur will devise a comprehensive plan that encompasses diverse revenue streams, strategic partnerships & continuous innovation. Its progress will be yearly monitored annually by the joint committee of MeitY and Meta for the duration of the funding support.
Srijan will nurture the startup ecosystem of AI and other Emerging Technologies. In doing so, IIT Jodhpur will enhance accessibility to AI compute resources for researchers, startups, and all the other organizations with limited resources. It will also enable knowledge sharing and collaboration through workshops, seminars, conferences, and similar platforms. Programmes developed and initiatives taken by Srijan will enhance AI and Emerging Technologies skills and expertise among researchers, professionals and students in India, contributing to the growth of AI talent in the country with a focus on developing responsible AI through a collaborative development of comprehensive tools and guidelines.
Meta has committed to invest up to INR 750 lakhs (as donation) over the period of three years. The IndiaAI will support the researcher working in the CoE being setup at IIT Jodhpur’s Centre Srijan. The GenAI Centre of Excellence, Srijan, aims to foster a collaborative ecosystem in the field of Generative AI through groundbreaking research and application development to address current national challenges in education, mobility and healthcare domains. This research will contribute to global advancements in Generative AI.
Through education, capacity building, and policy advisory, the centre will be empowering the next generation of researchers, students, and practitioners with the knowledge and tools necessary for the responsible development and deployment of GenAI technologies. Funding will be used by IIT Jodhpur towards activities of the GenAI CoE.
The key objective of IIT Jodhpur’s Centre of Excellence, Srijan is to foster indigenous research ecosystem of the country. It aims to nurture 1 lakh youth developers and entrepreneurs in AI skills over the next three years. The idea is to remain future ready in our Development of innovative indigenous AI solutions in key areas like healthcare, education, agriculture, smart cities, smart mobility, sustainability, financial and social inclusion.
IIT Jodhpur COE Srijan will collaborate with academic, government and industry stakeholders both national and global to advance GenAI research and technology. This includes Open science innovation, Develop and transfer technology solutions, education and capacity building besides Policy advisory and governance.
The CoE will have an academic research team comprising of faculty members, post-doctoral fellows, doctorate, graduate students, and administrative staff from IIT Jodhpur to be coordinated by the center director, who will also be the Principal Investigator of the project. The team will interface with the Gati Shakti Vishwavidyalaya for railways, PGI Chandigarh, AIIMS Jodhpur, and IHBAS Delhi for the healthcare vertical.