Chennai: The Wadhwani School of Data Science and AI (WSAI) at the Indian Institute of Technology Madras has entered into a strategic partnership with Lloyds Technology Centre to undertake research projects in Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Machine Learning (ML), aimed at addressing real-world industrial challenges.

A Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to this effect was signed on July 8 at the IIT Madras campus in the presence of Prof. Balaraman Ravindran, Head, WSAI, and Ms. Sirisha Voruganti, CEO and Managing Director of Lloyds Technology Centre.

The collaboration will facilitate joint industrial research, innovation, and advanced training, with engineers from Lloyds Technology Centre set to participate in certified upskilling programmes in areas such as Advanced Data Engineering and AI/ML.

“We are focused on enabling and driving research in data science and AI across seven key disciplines. This partnership goes beyond a single project and includes a strong training component. We have already begun exploring specific AI challenges in domains like banking and finance,” Prof. Ravindran said.

Echoing similar views, Ms. Voruganti said, “We are excited to collaborate with IIT Madras researchers to build smarter predictive models, especially in domains such as pensions, insurance, and investments. This partnership aligns with our vision of continuous learning and innovation.”

The initiative is in line with WSAI's objective to bridge academia-industry collaboration and contribute towards advancing India's AI research ecosystem.

IIT Madras has been at the forefront of research in AI and Data Science through centres such as RBCDSAI, CeRAI, and AI4Bharat, among others.

Lloyds Technology Centre, based in Hyderabad, is part of the Lloyds Banking Group and focuses on technology-led innovation in financial services.