NASSCOM FutureSkills and Microsoft have launched a country-wide Artificial Intelligence (AI) classroom series for Indian youth with the aim to skill one million students in AI by 2021.

The AI Classroom Series will commence from September 21, 2020, and will be paced in three modules. The classes will include live demos, hands-on workshops and assignments through self-learning, virtual instructor-led training, and mentoring.

Students will get a participation certificate from NASSCOM and Microsoft at the end of the series. Various experts, including experts from Microsoft and NASSCOM, will conduct teaching sessions.

The partnership will provide Microsoft’s AI, machine learning and data science expertise to students through easy-to-consume modules including live demos, hands-on workshops and assignments. The sessions on AI will be free of cost for undergraduate students and will cover the basics of data science, machine learning models on Azure, and understanding of cognitive services to build intelligent solutions.

The collaboration with NASSCOM FutureSkills is an extension of Microsoft’s global skilling initiative to help 25 million people across the globe acquire new digital skills needed to thrive in a digital economy.

Dr Rohini Srivathsa, National Technology Officer, Microsoft India, said n a press note, “As economies start to recover from the pandemic, expanded access to digital skills will be one of the key drivers of an inclusive economic growth. Technologies like AI are becoming enablers for every business today, making the need for creating an AI-ready ecosystem vital for India’s economic and social value creation. Microsoft is deeply invested in creating a digital skills ecosystem to equip India’s youth with AI-ready skills for evolving job-roles and our partnership with NASSCOM FutureSkills is a strong step in that direction.”

Amit Aggarwal, VP and CEO, IT-ITeS Sector Skills Council, NASSCOM stated, “With disruptions and shifting customer preferences changing technology and skillsets in demand, there is a rise in new job roles and occupations; skillsets are rapidly emerging as must-haves for current and prospective tech employees. The joint initiative with Microsoft aims to not only build future AI skilled talent but also nurture job creation through constant reskilling and upskilling for the years to come. We should look at this as a golden opportunity for students to imbibe AI and enhance their current skills sets to be future-ready.”

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