Mehta Family School of Data Science and Artificial Intelligence

Indian Institute of Technology Guwahati

Ph.D. program offered by Mehta Family School of Data Science and Artificial Intelligence (MFSDS&AI), IIT Guwahati

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)

FAQ 01: Will the candidates from core engineering and science disciplines, pursuing Ph.D. in MFSDS&AI, have similar career prospectes in academic institutes as those candidates doing Ph.D. in respective core departments?

The scholars carrying out research at MFSDS&AI will investigate various aspects of Data Science and Artificial Intelligence (DS&AI), and their applications in different core areas of engineering and science. DS&AI based techniques are becoming increasingly popular across the disciplines and there is an increasing demand for people with such expertise. It may further be noted that although the research work is carried out in a particular Department/School/Centre, on successful completion of research activities as per institute norms, the degree is conferred by IIT Guwahati. Increasing emphasis on interdisciplinary research, both in India and abroad, is playing a pivotal role in the increase in number of academic institutions launching DS&AI programs creating opportunities for the people specialized in these fields.

FAQ 02: What are the computing resources available to support research in DS&AI?

IITG has several computing resources to support teaching and research in DS&AI. These resources include:

• Param-Ishan (250 Teraflops, 300TB storage): A High-Performance Computing (HPC) facility.

• Computing facilities available with different Schools and Departments.

• Upcoming HPC facilities, such as Param-Kamrupa (838 Teraflops, 1PB storage).

FAQ 03: What are the future career opportunities after pursuing doctoral program in Mehta Family School of Data Science and Artificial Intelligence (MFSDS&AI)?

The data science industry is seeing unprecedented growth. The analytics market in the country is forecasted to grow steadily and India is a major exporter of analytics. Data Scientist as a career is very much in demand globally and the School will be able to contribute qualified professionals for the industry. Potential recruiters are not only limited to Data Engineering, Data Analytics, Machine Learning companies, but also include companies in many sectors of Science and Engineering, who are gradually adopting DS and AI in developments in their respective fields.

Since both DS and AI are currently among the main technological focuses worldwide, consequently there will be a lot of postdoctoral opportunities/faculty positions in upcoming years. Since MFSDS&AI also focuses on practical applications of DS and AI techniques in various Science/Engineering domains, it will help Ph.D. research scholars from this School to pursue postdoctoral/faculty positions in those Science/Engineering domains as well.

FAQ 04: What kind of expertise do the faculties have?

The faculty members (both the core faculty members and the associated faculty members of MFSDS&AI) have expertise in applying Data Science and Artificial Intelligence/Machine Learning/Deep Learning in a wide range of topics, such as Image Processing, Computer Vision, Physics, Healthcare, Medicine, Security & Privacy, Networks, Biology, Statistics, Finance, Natural Language Processing, and Communications.

FAQ 05: What is unique about MFSDS&AI at IITG?

• The school is supported by The Bhupat & Jyoti Mehta Family Foundation which has already helped in developing collaborative programmes in some of the other IITs, with a mission to nurture intellectual talent in India, in emerging fields of technology. The Mehta Family Foundation will provide support for building a world-class infrastructure for research in DS and AI in the MFSDS&AI.

• A panel of Strategic International Academic Advisors (SIAA) from international institutions are involved with the MFSDS&AI at IITG, and they are providing valuable guidance in planning the School's academic activities.

• IITG has a proven track record of starting and nurturing new departments and centres, which will be of great help in establishing MFSDS&AI.

• The School is formulating Grand Challenge problems, a targeted multi-year research project for the benefit of society at large, to be solved and these will be reviewed by SIAA.

• The curriculum is designed with contribution of expert faculty members from various department, particularly the departments of CSE, EEE and Mathematics at IITG, to cover both breadth and depth of DS and AI.