Vikash Sharma

Bhubaneswar: Be it dealing with Chakada (Brown Plant Hoppers) pest menace or any other issues, Artificial Intelligence (AI) can be of great help to the farmers in Odisha. According to experts, farmers can get crucial information about pest attack in advance along with subsequent measures to deal with the issue using AI.

Moreover, Odisha Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik on Monday inaugurated a Centre of Excellence (CoE) on AI in Bhubaneswar along with a facility for international BPO operations. The CoE has come up at the College of Engineering and Technology (CET) in collaboration with Tech Mahindra and BPUT.

As many as 30 students will be provided training in the field of Artificial Intelligence (AI), Machine Learning (ML) and they will get an opportunity to work on proof of concept on real life business problems.

Based on the success, the number of enrolment of students will be increased. The students will first get exposure to industrial problems and will be taught to come up with solutions. As this is the first ever CoE in AI space in the State, this will certainly help students to acquire advance skills so that they can contribute to the society in a number of fields. At present our priority is on health, education and agriculture, said a senior official.

Earlier, a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) was signed between Tech Mahindra and CET that outlined the government's objective to up-skill young students by familiarising them with new-age technologies like AI and equipping them with the knowledge of applying these technologies in everyday life.

As part of the MoU, the center will serve as a platform to incubate new solutions which will leverage cutting-edge AI technology through proof of concepts (PoC) to develop business use cases that are impacting manufacturing industries and public service organisations, among others.

“Every year 30 students will get training at the CoE and it will familiarize them about AI and Machine Learning. The BPO centre will provide employment opportunities in the sector & will help 'Skilled In Odisha' youth seeking opportunity in international BPO,” tweeted the CMO.

“AI is now being used in every field and is termed as new electricity. It can help people in numerous ways by reducing manual work and can suggest accurate data on several aspects,” said Madhusmita Padhi, a student.

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