Hyderabad, January 16, 2017: The Kohli Center on Intelligent Systems (KCIS) was established at the International Institute of Information Technology, Hyderabad (IIIT Hyderabad) in July 2015 with CSR funding from Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) Foundation to give a fillip to research, teaching and entrepreneurship in the area of Intelligent Systems. The Kohli Research Block was setup on campus with 60,000 sqft of built up area spread across 4 floors to provide a world-class ambience for related research activities.
The Kohli Research Block was inaugurated on January 16th, 2017 by Shri K T Rama Rao, Minister for IT E&C, MAUD, Industries & Commerce, Mines & Geology, Public Enterprises, and NRI Affairs, Government of Telangana. N Chandrasekaran, CEO of TCS, Kohli, Former Deputy Chairman, TCS and Prof Raj Reddy, Chairman, IIIT Hyderabad and Moza Bint Nasser University Professor of Computer Science and Robotics at the Carnegie Mellon University were present on the occasion along with other leaders from the academia and industry.
The Kohli Centre on Intelligent Systems (KCIS) aims at amplifying research in the broad areas of Intelligent Systems. The centre coordinates research among the relevant groups in the institute as well as industrial and academic research groups within the country and abroad. The Centre has active research groups in Natural Language Processing, Information Retrieval, Speech Processing, Computer Vision, Image Processing, Machine Learning, Cognitive Science, Data Sciences & Analytics, Robotics, etc.
N Chandrasekaran, CEO and MD, TCS said, "The state-of-the-art Kohli Center on Intelligent Systems will provide an impetus to advancements in Information Technology. It will bring academics, students, researchers and professionals together with infrastructure conducive to sophisticated research in Intelligent Systems. Setting up KCIS reinforces TCS' long-standing commitment to education and research in cutting-edge technologies."
Prof. Raj Reddy, Moza Bint Nasser University Professor of CS and Robotics at the Carnegie Mellon University and the Chairman of the Governing Council of IIIT Hyderabad, said, "Artificial Intelligence has become a tool to augment the human reasoning capacity and has made a big impact on different human endeavors. KCIS is probably the only center in India with the tools and technology capable of monitoring, analyzing, diagnosing, and resolving day-to-day problems of society. KCIS can find intelligent systems and solutions to address the critical problems of the society such as poverty and hunger, slavery and torture, and disease and suffering, and create tools that enable an illiterate person to be as productive as a PhD. KCIS needs to be at the forefront of inventing that future."
“The Kohli Center on Intelligent Systems will energize education and research in this critical area at the institute. The centre will intensify research done at the institute and undertake joint activities involving other academic institutions as well as research labs in the government and industry,” said Prof. P J Narayanan, Director, IIIT Hyderabad. “The infrastructure of the Kohli Research Block will be second to none in the country. The research at KCIS with support from TCS will impact the society deeply through innovative products, technology transfer, and start ups.”
The Kohli Center on Intelligent Systems (KCIS) acts as an umbrella organization at the institute to both strengthen the existing groups and facilitate new activities in related areas. The research center also acts as a force multiplier in attracting projects and funding from other entities in the government and industry sectors, coordinate research in related domains across different centers of IIIT Hyderabad, as well as in the institute’s research collaboration with other academic institutions in the country. KCIS has a distinct identity within IIIT Hyderabad.
Over the last year, several high-impact and qualitative research publications has been presented at top-tier international conferences. Through the KCIS platform, several well-known academicians and prominent personalitiesfrom the industry in the broad areas of "Artificial Intelligence and Intelligent Systems" have also conducted workshops, seminars and delivered distinguished talks. The Kohli Fellowship Program and Kohli Research Scientist Program to attract committed researchers to conduct path-breaking research in a world-class environment.
KCIS plays a lead role in education, research and outreach activities in the country. Spreading expertise and interest in the Intelligent Systems area widely is a very critical activity. This is being done through joint projects undertaken with other academic institutions as well as research labs in the government and industry sectors. KCIS is also facilitating conferences, workshops, short courses, etc. meant for the larger community in related areas, with the participation of experts from the country and outside. Special focus is being laid on Executive Education through short courses, especially intended for professionals from the industry and government. Entrepreneurship promotion in the Intelligent Systems area is also of special focus.
Website: kcis.iiit.ac.in
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IIIT Hyderabad is a deemed research university established by the state government in 1998 with the aim of promoting high quality research and education in the core areas of Information Technology, such as Computer Science, Electronics and Communications, and their applications in other domains. IIIT Hyderabad is organized as research centers and labs, instead of the conventional departments, to facilitate inter-disciplinary research and a seamless flow of knowledge within the Institute. It was set up as a not-for-profit public private partnership (N-PPP) and is the first IIIT to be set up (under this model) in India. IIIT Hyderabad has, since its very inception, committed itself to creating technological impact in the society. This has been done through a vision for technical education, cutting-edge research and transformative solutions to real-world problems. Equally significant, IIIT Hyderabad has forged strong ties with the industry across domains and is considered as a key partner in pioneering research by leading business houses with a global presence. Across the years, the institute has been consistently rated among the top technological institutions in the country by various independent agencies. For more information, visit www.iiit.ac.in.
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