IIM Ahmedabad to establish Krishnamurthy Tandon School of Artificial Intelligence
IIM Ahmedabad has signed a Memorandum of Understanding with Ms. Chandrika Krishnamurthy Tandon and Mr. Ranjan Tandon to set up the Krishnamurthy Tandon School of Artificial Intelligence. The announcement was made in New Delhi in the presence of Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan, with Ambassador Vinay Kwatra joining virtually from the United States.
The School will be created through a ₹100 crore endowment from Ms. Tandon, an alumna of IIMA's PGP Class of 1975, and Mr. Tandon. This marks a major step in building long-term AI capacity within management education and public institutions.
Speaking at the event ahead of the India-AI Impact Summit 2026, the Minister said the initiative reflects ongoing efforts to position India as a global AI leader. He described AI as a key enabler for people, progress, and the planet, adding that India's leadership will be driven by strong institutions and human capital-not just technology.
He acknowledged the Tandon family's philanthropy and the alumni tradition it represents. According to him, the School will help expand India's AI capabilities, widen access, create global employment opportunities from India, and apply AI for social good.
What the School will focus on
As a first-of-its-kind AI school within a management institute, the focus sits at the intersection of technology, management, and public impact. With a global outlook, the School will apply AI responsibly to India's complex, large-scale challenges while building on IIMA's strengths in leadership, governance, and institution-building.
Its work will be business-focused and translational. Faculty, industry leaders, policymakers, and global partners will collaborate on application-led, case-based research that turns current AI advances into deployable tools, solutions, and scalable systems across industry, government, and society.
Why this matters for educators and institutions
- Curriculum: Connect management education with practical AI use cases, ethics, governance, and impact measurement.
- Research and partnerships: Build joint studies, case repositories, and field projects with industry and public-sector networks.
- Workforce development: Align faculty development and student projects with clear business outcomes and public value.
- Access and inclusion: The emphasis on democratising AI points to outreach models, scholarships, and regional capacity-building.
Practical next steps for academic leaders
- Map current programs for AI integration across core subjects (analytics, operations, strategy, policy) and define learning outcomes.
- Set up cross-functional labs or studios that pair educators with industry/government partners for live problem-solving.
- Update governance frameworks: data ethics, model risk, and assessment standards that reflect responsible AI use.
- Invest in faculty upskilling and teaching resources to support case-based, application-first learning.
Those present at the event included Secretary, Department of Higher Education Dr. Vineet Joshi; IIMA Director Prof. Bharat Bhasker; Joint Secretary (Higher Education) Shri Purnendu Banerjee; and senior ministry officials.
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Explore institutional updates from the Indian Institute of Management Ahmedabad and the Ministry of Education. For program planning and faculty upskilling, you can review curated AI courses by job role to map skills across departments.
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