Pankaj is an academic having prior industry exposure across various industries as well as most geographical territories of India, his passion lies in sharing his knowledge gained over the years in different roles with his students. Pankaj’s value add as a resource person is the real-life scenario that he brings to the classroom which complements the theoretical aspects, thus strengthening the conceptual grounding of his students. His interaction with students is not restricted to the classroom but goes beyond to counselling them during internship as well as during initial phase of their job, sometimes even after they have been in employment for few years and are planning to undertake a significant shift in their career. His core area of interests and strengths includes Sales & Distribution Management, Private Labels, Consumer Behavior, Retail Marketing, Marketing Analytics and Customer Lifetime Value.

At different times, discreet solutions help industries and countries grow exceptionally, such as the increasing use of ChatGPT, Gemini AI, and Copilot and integration at Workplace in 2023. The world is witnessing fresh surge in artificial intelligence trends, especially with the advent of Generative AI. According to a recent report by BCG and NASSCOM, in 2024, India's AI market is expected to grow at a steady rate of 25-35% and reach $17 billion by 2027. This reflects the trend of investment in the AI industry that is increasing across various sectors, as companies look to reshape the way they work. By leveraging technology and data to drive market growth, industry progress, and innovation, educational institutions across India are prioritizing the amalgamation of AI in their curriculum. The move aims to foster a new era of education and equip students with the necessary skills to thrive in the evolving educational landscape of modern India.

Divergence from Traditional Techniques
Reflecting upon antiquity, the traditional technical curricula were centered on singular skill sets such as software development, networking, or hardware engineering. On the contrary, ML and AI espouse a holistic multi-disciplinary viewpoint amalgamating concepts from computer science, statistics, mathematics, as well as domain expertise. While the conventional courses aimed to upskill the learners in explicit tasks based on predefined rules and patterns, the new age courses seek to go beyond such limitations and create entirely new trajectories in the domain of finance, insurance, banking, and healthcare to name a few.

Alignment with Market Demand
Data is the new gold and data expert is the new alchemist. Data Science is considered to be the most lucrative pathway to pivotal industry players. The sudden influx of AI has achieved so much traction that the data science market size is expected to increase to USD 322.9 billion by 2026. According to a report by the Bureau of Labour Statistics, the number of jobs for data science professionals will increase to 27.9% by 2026. Under the light of this exponential growth, higher-education institutes have taken the lead with their tailored courses in Artificial Intelligence & Data Science according to the market dynamics.

Many esteemed institutes nationwide are extending Post Graduate Diplomas in Management course with specialization in AI & Data Science, aiming to address the conspicuous chasm between the acute need for AI-enabled industries and competent professionals capable of navigating such implementations. Such avant-garde courses will infuse technology prowess into traditional business topics like economics, marketing, finance, and accounting. Graduates with proficiency from such programs will be aptly poised to spearhead AI initiatives ranging from developing recommender systems to deploying smart logistics systems and managing financial portfolios using AI. Prospective candidates aspiring to go ahead in PGDM in AI & Data Science are required to possess a Bachelor’s Degree in Engineering/ Maths (Hons.)/ Statistics (Hons.) with a minimum aggregate score of 60% under the 10+2+3 education framework.

Many esteemed institutes nationwide are extending Post Graduate Diplomas in Management course with specialization in AI & Data Science, aiming to address the conspicuous chasm between the acute need for AI-enabled industries and competent professionals capable of navigating such implementations

Learning & Career Prospects
The World Economic Forum estimates that 58 million jobs related to data science and artificial intelligence will be created by 2025. This gold rush-like paradigm shift in the digital industry has led to the culmination of more elaborate, difficult, and specialized technologically advanced courses.

Therefore, there is a high demand for skilled AI professionals in almost every industry, including financial services, healthcare, technology, media, marketing, government and military, national security, IoT-enabled systems, agriculture, gaming, and retail. PGDM courses in AI and Data Science provide students the opportunity to delve into data mining techniques and the latest machine learning algorithms and deep learning frameworks for predictive analytics. With such specializations, students gain practical experience in a wide range of domains with state-of-the-art tools and technologies.

International Work Opportunities
Approximately 80% of global enterprises substantially invest a big part of their revenue into establishing a skillful data analytics division, hence actively seeking proficient professionals. India’s burgeoning tech industry has garnered considerable acclaim in ML & AI attracting global recognition. Consequently, Indian scholars possessing expertise in these domains have bullish demand in the international market as well. Countries like the United States, the United Kingdom, and Canada offer lucrative work prospects and research opportunities to tech pioneers. This would be the right time to take a leap in the world of AI & DS.