IIIT Dharwad will start B.Tech AI and Computing course this year

IIIT Dharwad Director Mahadev Prasanna was addressing reporters in Dharwad on Wednesday. | Photo credit: SPECIAL ARRANGEMENT

As many as 253 candidates will receive their degrees and two candidates their post-graduate degrees in person during the eighth annual convocation of the Indian Institute of Information Technology, Dharwad, to be held on Saturday.

Addressing a press conference at the IIIT Dharwad campus on Wednesday, IIIT Dharwad Director Mahadev Prasanna said that IIT Delhi Director Rangan Banerjee will address the assembly, which will begin at 10 am.

Union Minister Pralhad Joshi will be the chief guest and Board Chairman Jalaj Dani will be the guest of honour.

Professor Mahadeva Prasanna said that out of the total 253 B.Tech candidates, 136 are from Computer Science and Engineering, 66 from Data Science and Artificial Intelligence and 51 from Electronics and Communication Engineering.

Apart from conferring degrees, six medals including the President of India Gold Medal, the Principal’s Medal for the Best Outstanding Female Student and the Head of the Department Medal will be presented during the convocation, he said.

New course

He said that in the current academic year, they will introduce B.Tech offline and M.Tech online course in AI and Computing with a total intake of 85 students.

Prof. Mahadeva Prasanna said that the online M.Tech course is being introduced under the Study India program aimed at attracting students from abroad.

“On the contrary, the board has given approval to start a bridging course for B.Sc. Computer Science and BCA students who can apply for M.Tech after completion,” he said.

He said that IIIT Dharwad is the only institution in India where quantum computing is being implemented in a tier 2 city. The state government has funded ₹18 crore for the Quantum Computer and it will be commissioned soon, he said.

On the new initiatives, the director said that the board has approved a project to construct a five-storey research park at a cost of ₹ 125 crore.

He also said that a hostel for boys with a capacity of 1,000 will be inaugurated in a few months. A 30-room guest house is nearing completion and two new classrooms with a capacity of 240 are being built, he said.

In terms of placements, he said the institution registered a 68% placement rate with the highest offer of ₹65 lakh per annum, with an average of ₹11.9 lakh per annum.

Dean (Student Welfare) K. Gopinath, Registrar Satish Annigeri and PRO Vasudev Parvati were present.

Published – 27 May 2026 19:36 IST