Rajalakshmi Engineering College on Thursday inaugurated a new off-campus centre at RMZ Millennia Business Park in Perungudi. 

The 80,000-sq.ft centre, which will house the IT, computer science and engineering, artificial intelligence (AI) and data science, and electronics departments, is aimed at strengthening industry-academia collaboration and providing students with greater exposure to industry practices and opportunities.

Thangam Meganathan, Chairperson of Rajalakshmi Institutions, said higher education was an investment in the nation’s future and that the progress of the country depended on the quality of graduates it produced. She also said the decision by the All India Council for Technical Education (AICTE) a few years ago to reduce the minimum land and built-up area requirements for technical campuses had facilitated the establishment of the new centre.

Launching the centre, Ashok Krish, global head of AI at Tata Consultancy Services, said AI should be seen as the latest technological shift, which was changing the nature of work just like earlier innovations, such as steam engine and computers. Describing AI as a force for the democratisation of knowledge, he urged students and professionals to use it to improve productivity and take on more complex work. Mr. Krish said the future would be shaped by humans working alongside AI, and that those who learned to use the technology effectively would have a clear advantage in the workforce.

Abhay Meganathan, vice-chairman of Rajalakshmi Institutions, said the new campus had been designed to encourage students to spend more time on-site, and offered greater industry exposure and opportunities for hands-on learning. He added that there were plans to expand the campus within the business park to accommodate more students in the coming years.

The off-campus centre was launched in the presence of A. Sivathanu Pillai, founder and former CEO and managing director of BrahMos Aerospace. Nanditha Vikram, principal architect, Synergy Architecture and Interiors, was also present.