IIIT Hyderabad and HYSEA Celebrate Two Years of TechForward Research Seminar Series
The International Institute of Information Technology Hyderabad (IIIT Hyderabad), in partnership with HYSEA celebrated the second anniversary of the TechForward Research Seminar Series on Monday night with a special edition titled “TechForward 2026: The Future, Powered by AI,” bringing together leaders from academia, industry, research, and the technology ecosystem to discuss the transformative role of artificial intelligence and the future of industry-academia collaboration. The anniversary edition featured a distinguished lineup of leaders from academia and industry, including Aditya Rao (ServiceNow), Dr. Deva Kumar U (IIIT Hyderabad), Maneesh Sehgal (DBS Tech), Shashi Reddy (Qualcomm), Sumeet Mathur (ServiceNow), Prof. B. S. Murty (IIT Hyderabad), Prof. Bhagwan Chowdhry (Indian School of Business), Prof. P. J. Narayanan (IIIT Hyderabad), Prof. Sandeep Kumar Shukla (IIIT Hyderabad), and Rajesh Dhuddu (PwC).
IIIT-H marks the release of Roots & Wings, the authorized biography of Governing Council Chairman Dr. Ashok Jhunjhunwala
The International Institute of Information Technology Hyderabad (IIIT Hyderabad) marks the release of Roots & Wings: Building India’s Deep Tech Ecosystem, the authorized biography of Padma Shri Dr. Ashok Jhunjhunwala, Chairman of the institute’s Governing Council and one of India’s most distinguished technologists, innovators and institution builders. Authored by entrepreneur and ecosystem builder Saloni Malhotra, Roots & Wings traces Dr. Jhunjhunwala’s remarkable journey over four decades — from returning to India in 1981 with the conviction that world-class technology could be built in the country, to becoming a pioneering force behind India’s deep-tech ecosystem. The book offers an intimate account of the ideas, leadership, and collaborations that have shaped his enduring contributions to technology, entrepreneurship, and nation-building.
IIITH’s TechForward roundtable defines Agentic AI as an ecosystem rather than just a chatbot or model
In a world increasingly shaped by artificial intelligence, the term ‘Agentic AI’ has emerged as the next big frontier—one that promises to transform how machines collaborate with humans. At the International Institute of Information Technology, Hyderabad (IIITH), the TechForward series marked its second anniversary with a roundtable dedicated to demystifying this concept and exploring its real-world implications. According to Prof. Karthik Vaidhyanathan, whose research group has published over 20 papers on Agentic and Generative AI, the term is widely misunderstood. “It is neither a chatbot nor a model. Agentic AI is more of an ecosystem,” he explained. Unlike chatbots that merely respond to prompts, AI agents can reason, plan, use tools, remember context, and execute tasks autonomously. The challenge now lies not in building better models but in designing entire systems around them—integrating memory, governance, safety, and human oversight.
IIIT Hyderabad Study Indicates How Public Procurement Is Shaping AI Governance In India
An exploratory study undertaken by IIIT-H’s Human Sciences Research Center (HSRC) has won the Best Paper Award at the 6th India Public Policy Network Conference for analysing how public procurement processes are quietly influencing the development and governance of AI systems in India. A research team from IIIT-H’s Human Sciences Research Centre (HSRC) comprising Prof. Aakansha Natani, Assistant Professor at HSRC, Siddhi Wadekar, PhD scholar, and Sujal Deoda, a dual-degree student pursuing BTech in Computer Science and MS in Computing and Human Sciences (CHD), explored precisely this question in their award-winning paper, ‘Emerging Institutional Pathways for AI Governance in India: Evidence from Public Procurement and Outsourcing.’ The paper received the Best Paper Award (Practice Track) at the India Public Policy Network (IPPN) Conference 2026 hosted by the National Law School of India University (NLSIU) on 8-11 June 2026.
Souvik Ghosh joins Forbes 30 under 30
This IIIT Hyderabad Masters student has recently been named to Forbes 30 Under 30 Asia 2026 for Cognitii, his AI-powered startup operating at the intersection of education, healthcare, and assistive technology, which has built India’s first AI and human infrastructure layer for special education. For Souvik Ghosh, a final-year MS by Research student at IIIT-H, an early morning message would forever be etched in his memory. He woke up in his Kolkata home a few weeks ago, to find his phone flooded with missed calls from co-founders, Jhillika Trisal and Falguni Shrivastava. Their startup, Cognitii, had featured in the Forbes 30 Under 30 Asia list in the Social Impact category. The challenge wasn’t in processing the news, but explaining to his parents why it mattered. “Coming from a middle-class family, the first thing I had to do was help them understand why Forbes was such good news,” he recalls with a smile. The AI innovation combines technology and expertise of diverse stakeholders to help schools and governments identify, support, and track at-risk special children.
Why India Needs an AI Vision and Strategy
As India stands at the crossroads of technology and nation-building, Prof Rajeev Sangal stresses why AI must go beyond innovation for innovation’s sake. It must serve a larger national purpose. We need to build an India-led AI ecosystem rooted in inclusion, language accessibility, education, healthcare, meaningful employment, and the solving of real-world problems. Despite all the hype around AI today, India still lacks a clear AI vision. We need a radical strategy that seeds AI work across thousands of local problems. By identifying relevant AI applications, investing seriously in data collection, and combining this with innovative approaches to machine learning, we can not only solve our own challenges but also create world-class AI manpower. This, in turn, can lead to the emergence of hundreds — perhaps even thousands — of AI startups. A part of this strategy has already been tested through Mission Bhashini, India’s first AI mission, which successfully developed Indian language speech-to-speech translation technology.
Dr. Jofin George on how is EERC building earthquake resilience
Combining drones, machine learning, and vernacular architecture, EERC is redefining how India approaches structural resilience. The focus is on preparedness, prevention, and preserving heritage structures. Long before algorithms, simulations, and seismic codes existed, traditional Indian architecture had already mastered resilience. Today, at the EERC at IIIT Hyderabad, researchers are revisiting that wisdom through AI, drones, computer vision, and machine learning to understand how structures survive disasters. From studying heritage buildings and earthquake-resistant vernacular homes to developing AI-based crack detection systems and open-source structural assessment tools, the centre is building a bridge between ancient engineering intuition and modern computational science. In conversation with assistant professor Dr Jofin George, CE explores how technology and traditional knowledge are redefining structural safety and earthquake resilience in India.
IIIT Hyderabad and Athenian Tech to Launch AI-Powered Cybersecurity Initiative
IIIT-H and Athenian Tech Private Limited, a leading digital risk management company specialising in AI and ML-powered cybersecurity solutions have joined hands to advance research in the realm of cybersecurity, education, and industry collaboration, with joint areas of cooperation spanning domains such as AI/ML, and digital identity protection thereby fostering innovation, strengthening cyber resilience, and creating opportunities for skill development, research, and real-world industry engagement. The two organisations have formalised their partnership through a Memorandum of Understanding, bringing world-class academic expertise and cutting-edge industry capabilities under one shared framework. The MoU was signed recently by Prof. U Deva Priyakumar, Dean Research & Development, IIIT Hyderabad and Dr Kanishk Gaur, Chief Executive Officer, Athenian Tech Private Limited.
IIIT-H researchers study rising riverine heatwaves
A recent Mongabay-India report highlights the growing threat of riverine heatwaves and their impact on ecosystems, biodiversity, and water quality. Riverine heatwaves are defined as periods where daily mean river water temperatures exceed the 90th percentile threshold of the locally defined and seasonally varying river temperatures, for at least five consecutive days. Researchers from International Institute of Information Technology Hyderabad contributed insights on rising river water temperatures in Indian catchments and the urgent need for interdisciplinary climate research and river restoration strategies. Rehana Shaik, head of the Hydroclimatic Research Group, noted that while short-duration temperature increases are considered heat spikes, limited river temperature data remains a major challenge in understanding riverine heatwaves in India. The group is working to address these gaps through focused hydroclimatic research.
Prof. S K Shukla shares his views on NTD
For many academic leaders, the divide within India’s higher education system is no longer subtle, it is structural. At National Technology Day (NTD) 2026, Sandeep K Shukla, Director, IIIT Hyderabad argues that India is not merely witnessing a two-tier education structure, but a deeply fragmented multi-tier system shaped by unequal funding, coaching culture, and broken school education foundations. According to Shukla, the concentration of public investment among premier institutions like IITs and NITs has widened disparities across the broader university ecosystem. At the same time, he points to the rapid expansion of private institutions that often prioritise commercial outcomes over educational quality. “The bigger problem,” he notes, “starts at the school level.” From unequal access to quality schooling to expensive private coaching ecosystems, Shukla believes India’s innovation ambitions are being constrained long before students enter universities.