Arts and science colleges in Chennai are now planning to offer AI and data science courses from this academic year in order to address the rising demand.

So far, the courses in artificial intelligence and data science are typically offered by engineering or BTech colleges; however, to bridge the demand gaps of professionals skilled in technology, analytics, and artificial intelligence, three colleges in Chennai are now offering BSc Data Science, BSc Data Analytics and BSc Computer Science with Cognitive Systems courses from 2021-22.

To facilitate this, these Chennai colleges have collaborated with companies like TCS and SAS to create a comprehensive curriculum and syllabus for the students. The colleges are also working towards training their faculty member to offer these courses in emerging areas. The courses are exclusively designed for students to get job offers right at the end of these programmes.

MOP Vaishnav College for Women — under Madras University — is the first college to provide BSc in Data Science degree programme from this academic year. The course will cover the basics of computer science, along with statistics, artificial intelligence and the Internet of Things. 

According to Lalitha Balakrishnan, principal of MOP Vaishnav College for Women, the students will be able to opt for a specialisation in analytics in the fourth semester of the course. The course has already received 247 applications so far, stated Balakrishnan.

Guru Nanak College has collaborated with SAS to offer a BSc degree in Data Analytics from 2021-22. According to M G Raghunathan, principal of the college, the students will receive an international certification from SAS along with their degree certificate.

The programme has been exclusively designed to facilitate young graduates to land an internship and placement as a data analyst in the industry, stated Raghunathan.