National: Vehant Technologies, an AI / ML-based security screening solutions provider, has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the Indian Institute of Technology, Jodhpur (IIT-Jodhpur) to promote Industry-Academia Collaboration and work jointly on research-based projects. Following the IIT-Mandi and IIIT-Delhi, this is the third MoU signed to strengthen the Industry-Academia Collaboration.
The partnership shall sponsor up to five students enrolled in the M.Tech program in 2023–2024. The organization additionally intends to sponsor PhD research and development in AI and ML, faculty consulting projects, and research projects. The student selection process has begun, and the project work will begin on September 29, 2023. Researchers from Vehant and IIT Jodhpur will work together to develop enhanced applications of artificial intelligence and machine learning technologies in the security screening services provided by the company. Vehant Technologies is among the leading providers of AI and ML-based security screening solutions, including Premise Security, Smart and Safe City, Enterprise Analytics Solutions, and Surveillance across all industries, including Government, Railways, Airports, and corporations.
Speaking on the successful partnership, Prof. Surajit Banerjee, Dean (IR, AR & CR), IIT Jodhpur, said, “We are thrilled to embark on this transformative partnership with Vehant. Our joint efforts will harness the power of AI and ML to ensure safe environments for all. Through collaborative projects and knowledge sharing, we aim to equip our students and faculty with invaluable systems knowledge. This collaboration represents a significant step towards achieving these goals.”
Commenting on the Collaboration, Dr Balakrishnan, Research Consultant at Vehant Technologies and Honorary Professor at IIT Delhi, said, “In my academic career spanning more than three decades, I have seen very few successful academia-industry collaborations. To start with, most of our academicians do not have any industry experience, and similarly, most of the industry personnel, even in their R&D divisions, have never spent time in academics. Typically, the sponsoring industry looks for R&D support in their ongoing projects, which are often severely time-consuming, whereas academics have their time cycles based on semesters and curriculum commitments.
I feel it is possible to address these issues where both sides feel a mutual benefit from the program, and this can happen when the industry sponsors M.Tech. Students in an academic Institution. Apart from funding the project and the personnel involved (student and faculty), Industry R&D personnel must have the capability and bandwidth to mentor the student. In the Vehant Technologies IIT Jodhpur collaboration, we have tried to address these issues constructively. We hope that after a few years of rolling out this program, both parties will still get a win-win feel.”
Speaking on the successful partnership, Anoop Prabhu, the Co-founder & C.T.O of Vehant Technologies, said, “Vehant’s selected Fellows for this program will work hand in hand on various research projects with their mentors from IIT Jodhpur and Vehant’s research team. The Fellowship offers a two-year commitment of funds to be used for research goals. The research would be undertaken under the organization’s goal of building cutting-edge security screening solutions through a strong research ecosystem with IIT Jodhpur researchers working in domains of mutual interest. Our primary objective is to research AI/ML approaches and image processing applications in physical security, smart and safe city analytics, and enterprise analytics”.
