Government to transform AP into a world-class AI hub, says Lokesh

VIJAYAWADA: IT and electronics minister Nara Lokesh disclosed that the state government's mission is to transform Andhra Pradesh into an Artificial Intelligence Hub.

“As part of it, we will be establishing a prestigious global AI university in A P,” Lokesh emphasised on Wednesday while reviewing the performance of higher education departments in the state.

The meeting also discussed various subjects including improvement in ranking of universities at the world level and establishment of an integrated university management system.

The minister asked officials to study the ecosystem within which the AI University should be set up in the state. He observed that the AI University will provide an opportunity to extend effective services in 16 sectors like education, healthcare and governance.

As regards to education, Lokesh said a framework should be created wherein students from KG to PG could benefit through advanced AI technology.

He said as the academic year has already started this year, a route map should be prepared for achieving better results by reviewing various performance indicators.

The minister discussed the steps being taken by the Higher Education Regulatory Monitoring Commission, which has been formed to control the fee being charged by various educational institutions in the state.

On academic excellence and faculty development, he said measures should be taken to improve the ranking of universities. He pointed out that currently, only Andhra University, Venkateswara University and JNTU (Kakinada) are performing satisfactorily in terms of rankings.

Lokesh pointed out that students are facing difficulties in getting caste certificates. He underlined that a permanent solution must be found in this regard.

He asked officials to start the recruitment process of vice chancellors of universities in the state.

Higher education secretary Saurabh Gaur, higher education in-charge chairman Rammohan Rao, college education commissioner Pola Bhaskar and Skill Development vice chairman and managing director Ganesh Kumar were present.