Chandigarh University Hosts first of its kind AI Higher Education Summit 2025
In line with the Union government's focus on Artificial Intelligence (AI) through the ambitious IndiaAI Mission, Chandigarh University hosted the first-ever AI Summit in Uttar Pradesh titled ‘AI Higher Education Summit 2025,’ on Friday. With the theme ‘From Classroom to Cloud: Pioneering the AI Future’, the Summit brought together a wide array of stakeholders—including policymakers, global AI experts, academic and industry leaders, AI innovators, educators, and students—to engage in thought-provoking discussions on the transformative role of AI in shaping the future of education and equipping the youth with essential skills for for careers in the AI-driven world.
While Uttar Pradesh Deputy Chief Minister Brajesh Pathak graced the AI Higher Education Summit 2025 as Chief Guest, the other dignitaries who attended the Summit included Member of Parliament (Rajya Sabha) and Chandigarh University Chancellor Satnam Singh Sandhu, Vivek Agrawal, Managing Director, Accenture India Pvt Ltd, MP Agrawal, GC Tripathi, Chairman, Higher Education Council, Uttar Pradesh and Chandigarh University Managing Director, Jai Inder Singh Sandhu.
Besides industry experts including Lata Singh, Partner - Strategic Partners & Ecosystem, IBM Consulting, Suvarnanidhi Rao, Lead - Early Career Talent, Indian Sub-continent, Philips India, Pramod Kumar Jha, Senior Director HR Business Partner, TIMindtree, principals of 200 schools, 30 colleges and officials from five universities of Uttar Pradesh attended the AI Summit.
In his keynote address as Chief Guest, Uttar Pradesh Deputy Chief Minister Brajesh Pathak said, “Chandigarh University has achieved unprecedented progress in the field of education since its inception. The scope of education in India has been a topic of discussion all over the world from the beginning. Several hundred years ago, India was renowned all over the world for universities like Nalanda University. India has produced various educationists in different fields. India has also achieved unprecedented success in the scientific field. From space science to medical science and computer science, India has achieved unprecedented progress in every field under the leadership of Prime Minister Modi. If we assess all the nations on a world scale, then even in those countries which call themselves developed countries, it is the software engineers of India who are working to take forward the progress of that nation through some company. I am proud to say that under the guidance and leadership of PM Modi, India has achieved unprecedented progress in the field of computer science and software engineering. The big software companies of the world cannot complete themselves without Indian engineers,”.
“Everyone's eyes are on India because India is also a big consumer market. Any product that becomes successful in India is considered successful all over the world and I have no hesitation in saying that Chandigarh University has been experimenting in various fields of higher education as well as society since its inception. I believe that if we use AI in a better way, that is, along with the human brain, then AI is a better option. I believe that we all have to prepare our children in such a way that they know about AI and what can be its better use. Honorable Prime Minister has given a lot of importance to this sector, investments are constantly coming in. Big corporate giants of the world believe that AI will achieve an unprecedented position in every field. Chandigarh University will make its name famous in the country and the world through its students. I express my gratitude to Chandigarh University that their campus is going to open in Lucknow, the capital of Uttar Pradesh,” he said.
In his address, Member of Parliament (Rajya Sabha) and Chandigarh University Chancellor Satnam Singh Sandhu said, “Prime Minister Narendra Modi has put forth the mission of AI for All to make the country an AI hub. The Uttar Pradesh government has taken the initiative to fulfill it. Chief Minister Adityanath Yogi has decided to build an AI city in Lucknow. To fulfill it, Chandigarh University has launched its campus in Unnao near Lucknow. In the Chandigarh University Lucknow campus, we have started AI-augmented multi-disciplinary courses, which will make a valuable contribution to Uttar Pradesh. The UP government has decided to build the country's first AI city in Lucknow. In this regard, today we are organizing AI Summit-2025. AI program is necessary for our students in today's scenario. Whatever resources and workers are available to run it, we will all work together. We will work shoulder to shoulder with the people of Uttar Pradesh so that Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi's mission of a developed India can be realized,”.
"AI applications can bring changes in farmers, every class, youth and region and can change people's lives. That is why we have started multi-disciplinary courses in Chandigarh University Lucknow campus. We will leverage the immense potential of AI to ignite a spirit of ground-breaking innovation and facilitate holistic learning. Students studying here will be provided complete education about AI. Education of AI applications will be given and AI literacy will be done. We will also provide courses for people who are currently doing any job so that they can also get its benefit,” Sandhu added.
In his keynote address, Guest of Honor, GC Tripathi, Chairman, Higher Education Council, Uttar Pradesh and former Vice-Chancellor of Banaras Hindu University said, “We need expansion and extension of education. And for expansion of education, there is pressure on students and teachers. So reduce this pressure and stress, we will have to find out alternatives and AI is the only alternative to reduce the stress of students as well as teachers because AI is a mechanism for copying the intellect of human beings. And in all the fields, we know expansion and extension of education is a necessary part. If we have to make India independent, free and sovereign, we will have to make India free independent and sovereign in the field of knowledge and education. We can do this with the help of AI system,”.
In his keynote address, Guest of Honor Vivek Agrawal, MD, Accenture Pvt. Ltd, said “I truly feel that AI is the future of technology and it’s very important that universities like Chandigarh University take lead in bringing up new set of curriculum to propagate the full AI technology and meet the industry demand which is on the high,”.
Pramod Kumar Jha, Senior Director HR Business Partner, TIMindtree, said, “ If we talk about AI, it has potential to augment offerings of every services which Information technology (IT) and IT enabled services (ITeS) industry is offering to various customers across the globe. If you look at the statistics around the world, today’s AI market is approximately US$400 Billion and it has potential to grow US$3000 by 2030. And India as a country is well positioned at a very sweet spot globally. Countries across the globe are looking at a Chine Plus One (business strategy to avoid investing only in China and diversify business into other countries) model. And this ‘One’ is India. Look at the digital eco system in our country, highest English speaking crowd we have, youngest crowd we have and with the vision of Prime Minister Modi to become a developed nation by 2047, the AI has got an immense role to play to take the IT and ITeS industry to the next level altogether,”.
Earlier in his welcome speech, Chandigarh University Managing Director, Jai Inder Singh Sandhu said,” AI Higher Education Summit 2025 is being attended by renowned educationists and AI experts for taking part in sessions and panel discussions. Chandigarh University Lucknow is being placed as a multidisciplinary AI campus where AI will be at the core of all the disciplines. Chandigarh University Lucknow is working on to bring top global Multi-Nationals Companies to collaborate with us to offer programs where students would be trained in AI Skills. This will make them industry ready. Many global and Indian companies have shared their future plans of big investments in AI in India. Already there are multiple areas such as Agriculture, Space Technology, Healthcare, Education where the applications of AI Technology are being used to offer the best user experience and find solutions that we face today in society".
After the inaugural session, three panel discussions were held on the increasing role of AI in the education sector.
During the first panel discussion on "Flipping the Paradigm: How Education Can Lead the AI Evolution", which was attended by distinguished panellists including Dr GC Tripathi, Chairman, Higher Education Council, Uttar Pradesh, Vivek Agrawal, MD, Accenture Pvt. Ltd, Suvarnanidhi Rao, Leads - Early Careers Talent, Philips India, Prof. Prakash Singh, Area Chair of Finance, IIM Lucknow, the participants stressed the importance of AI in developing skills like critical thinking, creativity, and digital fluency in schools. They said AI-powered tools in schools can ensure smoother transitions into higher education curricula and AI-driven interdisciplinary learning and programs will prepare students for higher education challenges. They said equipping teachers with AI tools will help them to identify and nurture diverse talents early on.
In the second Panel Discussion on “The Global Perspective: Integrating AI into Academia and Curriculum", attended by distinguished panellists including Lata Singh, Strategic Partner & Ecosystem-GIC, IBM Consulting, Prof Seema Paroha, Director, National Sugar Institute (GOI), Kanpur, Dr. Arun Mohan Sherry, Director IIIT Lucknow, Dr Pushpendra Kumar Tripathi, Director, University of Lucknow, the participants said policy frameworks are required to drive AI adoption in education and workforce development. Stressing the importance of industry partnerships in creating AI-focused learning and employment opportunities, they said industry trends should be integrated into academic programs for skill alignment. Making case for collaborative models for experiential learning and internships in AI-driven fields, they said policies should be designed to incentivise academia-industry partnerships in emerging technologies for bridging the skill gap to meet the demands of evolving AI industries.
In the third panel discussion on "Bridging the Gap: Building A Talent Pipeline Driven by Policy, Industry, and Academia”, attended by distinguished panellists including Dr GK Goswami, ADG and Founder Director, UP State Institute of Forensic Sciences, Lucknow, Prof Shiv Kumar Dwivedi, Vice-Chancellor, Babasaheb Bhimrao Ambedkar University, Lucknow, Pramod Kumar Jha, Senior Director HR Business Partner, LTIMindtree and Dr Nagendra Yadav, Dean, DSM National Rehabilitation University, Lucknow, the participants said AI is having trans-formative impact on academic structures and curriculum design and Indian education ecosystem needs to draw inspiration from global trends. Pointing to successful integration of AI in teaching and research by global institutions, they said education institutions in India need to adopt AI to create cross-disciplinary learning opportunities for revolutionising teaching methodologies and student assessments. The experts said for leveraging AI to personalise learning experiences and expand access to quality education, strategies are required for international collaborations to enrich curriculum innovation.
