IIIT Hyderabad’s Division of Flexible Learning (DFL) announces the launch of its new 12-week online certificate program, “Engineering Agentic AI Systems: Agentic AI from Concepts to Practice.” The program will be delivered by Prof. Karthik Vaidhyanathan, Assistant Professor at IIIT Hyderabad and a leading researcher in the field of AI and Software Engineering. The program offers a hands-on, practice-oriented path for learners to build, test, and deploy reliable agentic AI systems grounded in real-world applications. Prof. Karthik Vaidhyanathan, course instructor, noted: “Agentic AI calls for a system-centric way of thinking where engineering matters as much as, if not more than, the models themselves. This course brings together our academic research and years of practical experience to help learners build Agentic AI systems that are reliable, scalable, sustainable, and ready for real-world deployments.”

In an era where digital security is as critical as physical infrastructure, and as India’s digital ambitions accelerate at an unprecedented pace, the question is no longer whether systems are connected — but whether they are secure. At the centre of this conversation is Prof Sandeep K Shukla, Director of IIIT Hyderabad, who is steering the Cyber MANTHAN Centre, inaugurated in September 2025, towards addressing some of the country’s most pressing cyber vulnerabilities. Envisioned as a premier hub for research in cybersecurity, forensics, and trusted infrastructure, the centre brings together cutting-edge innovation while building strategic collaborations — including with law enforcement agencies like the Telangana Police to develop ‘Vyuha’-driven, future-ready solutions. With a strong focus on critical infrastructure protection, AI-led security systems, and capacity building, the centre aims to bridge the gap between research, policy, and real-world cyber defence.

The fitness landscape in India has evolved over the last few decades and how. At first, there were the traditional akhadas and the vyayam shalas frequented by wrestlers. With a rise in lifestyle diseases, and a focus on preventive health, the traditional setting has since given way to the likes of crossfit boxes, specialised studios and smart gyms. And the fitness story does look familiar – smartwatches track steps, apps calculate calories, and gym-goers check their phones between sets. But beneath this digital sheen lies a quieter reality. According to the ethnographic study titled, “Everyday HCI of Adaptive Fitness: The Bricolage of Self-Tracking in Urban India”, authored by Shivam Singh, Raagav Ramakrishnan and Chetan Mahipal under the guidance of Prof. Nimmi Rangaswamy, Indians are not simply following what their fitness apps tell them. Instead, they are constantly negotiating, adjusting, and even ignoring the data.