AICTE signs MoA with C-DAC; aims to foster India’s HPC capabilities

The All India Council for Technical Education (AICTE) and the Centre for Development of Advanced Computing (C-DAC) have signed a Memorandum of Agreement (MoA) to develop human resources in High Performance Computing (HPC) and related fields.

This strategic partnership is designed to boost India’s HPC capabilities in line with the National Supercomputing Mission (NSM) objectives.

The agreement was signed by Prof. T. G. Sitharam, Chairman of AICTE, and Col. Asheet Nath (Retd.), Executive Director of C-DAC Pune and Corporate Strategy, with Shri S. Krishnan, Secretary of the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY), in attendance.

Developing HPC-aware professionals is a vital part of the NSM, a key initiative by the Government of India to enhance HPC capacity and capability across the country. The NSM is overseen by MeitY and the Department of Science and Technology (DST). AICTE, responsible for the coordinated development and improvement of technical education in India, has joined forces with C-DAC to expand HPC education across AICTE-affiliated institutions.

Key Initiatives under the MoA:

1. Faculty Development Programs (FDP):
   • Training 2,500 faculty members from approximately 1,000 engineering colleges through 50 FDPs.
   • These trained faculty members will then educate around 50,000 students in HPC-related subjects.
2. Awareness Programs:
   • Conducting HPC awareness programs in 1,000 engineering colleges to engage 100,000 students and spark their interest in HPC.
3. Installation of PARAM Shavak:
   • Deploying 50 units of PARAM Shavak, C-DAC’s ‘Supercomputing Solution in a Box,’ in AICTE-affiliated institutions, giving students practical supercomputing experience.

Shri S. Krishnan, Secretary of MeitY, expressed his satisfaction with the initiative, noting that it will extend the reach of HPC-aware manpower development across engineering colleges nationwide. “This initiative will help build HPC-related capabilities within the technical workforce, preparing them for future challenges,” he said.

Prof. T. G. Sitharam, Chairman of AICTE, remarked, “With the signing of this MoA between AICTE and C-DAC, we are taking a significant step towards creating a robust ecosystem for High Performance Computing (HPC) education in India. This collaboration is not just about training faculty and students; it’s about empowering the next generation of technologists with the skills and knowledge they need to lead in the field of HPC.”

The agreement includes several key activities:

• Master Trainer Programs: Training and refresher programs to enhance the teaching skills of master trainers in HPC and related technologies, who will then train other faculty members.
• Quality Improvement Programs: Specialized training to enhance the HPC subject expertise of faculty members from non-computer science disciplines.
• Courses on SWAYAM: Offering HPC courses on the Ministry of Education’s SWAYAM platform, providing free online courses to learners nationwide.
• Industry-Aligned Courses: Designing HPC courses to meet current and emerging industry needs.
• C-DAC Developed HPC Learning Platforms: Providing C-DAC’s HPC learning platforms, such as PARAM Shavak and PARAM Vidya, to nominated institutes through AICTE.

This MoA aims to drive sustainable human resource development in HPC and allied technologies, foster innovation, and address the evolving needs of both industry and academia.