IISc collaborates with UK-based telecom giant BT for innovations in AI, other tech

The Indian Institute of Science (IISc) on Friday announced agreement with the UK-based telecommunication major BT for opening a new collaborative research centre in Bengaluru to work on cutting-edge artificial intelligence (AI), mobility and software engineering technologies.

The new BT India Research Centre (BTIRC) will join BT's network of collaborative research facilities around the globe, including centres in Northern Ireland, China, the US and the UAE, an official statement said.

This global innovation network is centred on the BT Labs at Adastral Park, Suffolk, the UK, one of the world's leading centres for telecommunications research, it said.

IISc Director Anurag Kumar said his institute looks forward with great anticipation to being an academic partner to the new collaborative research centre being established by BT in Bengaluru.

"The proposed research topics of mobility and artificial intelligence, with the associated software engineering, are sure to attract strong interest from the IISc faculty and students. I look forward to the many discoveries and innovations that will no doubt emanate from such collaboration," he said.

Professor Tim Whitley, Managing Director for Research at BT, said the opening of this new centre is the start of an exciting new chapter for BT, and for UK-India research.

"The technologies we'll be developing here, in fields such as AI, mobile and software engineering will accelerate the delivery of exciting innovations to our customers around the globe, taking advantage of the brilliant intellectual capital in Bengaluru," he said.

The BTIRC will operate multiple research tracks, focused primarily on artificial intelligence, mobility and software engineering technologies for use in BT's strategic programmes, products and services, while its future areas will include cybersecurity innovations, according to its statement.