To strengthen the teaching of computer science in engineering programs, Persistent Systems, today announced the formation of Persistent Computing Institute. The Institute will provide a base for successful professionals with a passion for teaching to create and teach high quality courses in Pune institutions.
Mathai Joseph, a technology visionary and champion for research and development, will head the Institute. He started his career as a research scientist at the Tata Institute for Fundamental Research and later had a chair in Computer Science at Warwick University in the UK, where he spent 12 years.
“This institute is a wonderful example of industry-academia interaction. What attracted me to this challenge is an opportunity to go beyond debate and discussion, and make a difference in a field that is dear to me and to the future of our industry,” said Mathai Joseph, Head, Persistent Computing Institute.
The Institute will initially be comprised of five faculty members. It will create and teach computer science courses, based on theory, practice and real-world applications to computing and engineering students. The Institute has an initial commitment to partner with two engineering colleges in Pune, beginning in January.
Anand Deshpande, Founder, Managing Director and CEO of Persistent Systems, said: “All of us in the industry have an obligation to the youth of India to give them a fair chance to succeed, which will in turn lead to India’s success. Today there are close to a million students studying computer science, but our engineering programs have a serious gap in terms of quality courseware they receive as well as their access to qualified and experienced teachers. The vision for Persistent Computing Institute is to find ways to narrow this gap, to help students learn better, so that the next wave of digital innovation comes from India.”