The Centre for Development of Advanced Computing (C-DAC) and the All India Council for Technical Education (AICTE) have signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) to develop an industry-ready workforce skilled in high-performance computing (HPC) and related advanced technologies. This collaboration aims to enhance the ecosystem for HPC education and training across India.

S Krishnan, Secretary of the IT Ministry, highlighted the initiative’s potential to extend HPC-aware manpower development under the National Supercomputing Mission (NSM) to a broader audience in engineering colleges nationwide. “This, in turn, will help in building HPC-related capability in the technical workforce, making them ready for the industry”, he said at the MoU signing event.

The partnership will focus on several key activities, including training master trainers, enhancing faculty expertise in HPC and allied technologies, and offering specialized courses on the Ministry of Education’s SWAYAM platform. SWAYAM provides free online courses across various disciplines, thereby expanding learning opportunities for students.

C-DAC will also make available its HPC learning platforms, such as PARAM Shavak and PARAM Vidya, through AICTE to nominated institutions. These resources aim to equip educators and students with hands-on experience in HPC.

“We are taking a significant step towards creating a robust ecosystem for HPC education in India”, said Professor TG Sitharam, Chairman of AICTE. He emphasized the importance of this initiative in preparing a skilled technical workforce for the rapidly evolving industry.

The program expects to train 2,500 faculty members from approximately 1,000 engineering colleges through 50 faculty development programs (FDPs). This large-scale training initiative aligns with the goals of the NSM, a flagship program by the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY) and the Department of Science and Technology (DST), aimed at building HPC capacity and capability in India.