Kolkata: IIT Kharagpur will set up India’s first dedicated AI school with funding from alumnus and philanthropist Vinod Gupta and another alumnus. The institute has signed a tripartite MoU with Gupta and IIT Kgp Foundation, US, to establish the Benjamin Gupta School of Physical AI.The initiative aims to move artificial intelligence beyond data-driven algorithms and digital applications towards systems that understand, predict and interact with the physical world. The school will focus on physics-grounded intelligence, integrating AI with engineering, science, medicine, biological systems and real-world technologies.Of the Rs 35 crore estimated cost, Rs 12.5 crore will be contributed by the Vinod Gupta family, Rs 10 crore by an alumnus and the remaining by IIT Kharagpur. The funding will support dedicated infrastructure for the department of artificial intelligence and allied interdisciplinary academic and research activities.The school will be named after Benjamin, Gupta’s late son, who died at the age of 28. Benjamin was pursuing a joint JD/MBA programme at The George Washington University and had been associated with US Representative Rahm Emanuel and the US Department of State.IIT Kharagpur director Suman Chakraborty said AI’s next major leap would be in transforming how humans understand, engineer and interact with the physical world. He said the school would help India move from being an AI AI technology-users to becoming a creator of intelligent physical systems.According to IIT Kgp, the Benjamin Gupta School of Physical AI will work in areas, such as physics-informed machine learning, scientific AI, digital twins, intelligent robotics, autonomous systems, advanced sensing, computational engineering and AI-enabled experimentation. Its research is expected to address sectors like advanced manufacturing, energy, climate and environmental technologies, agriculture, healthcare, medical devices, infrastructure and next-generation engineering systems.Academic programmes are expected from the upcoming academic session, subject to approvals. Proposed offerings include hybrid Master’s programmes, executive education, professional certification courses and specialised interdisciplinary modules for students, researchers, working professionals, engineers, scientists and medical graduates.Gupta, a Life Fellow of IIT Kgp, said the initiative was personally meaningful as it honoured his son’s memory.
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