Karnataka's Siddhartha Academy of Higher Education Partners with upGrad School of Technology to Drive Industry-Linked, On-Campus Innovation

BusinessWire India
Mumbai (Maharashtra) [India], December 18: Karnataka's Deemed-to-be-University Sri Siddhartha Academy of Higher Education (SSAHE) has today announced a strategic collaboration with upGrad School of Technology - a next-generation learning environment, to embed an industry-aligned School of Technology within the University's existing engineering programs.
Led by the CEO Vishwa Mohan and the Chief Revenue and Outcome Officer Mehul Khandhedia, upGrad School of Technology will work closely with the University to provide academic and curriculum advisory support, while enabling deeper industry integration within the current programs. This includes embedding research exposure, build sprints, and continuous specialisations from Day 1, supported by AI-first learning technologies that deliver personalised learning pathways, real-time skill progress tracking, and academic support.
Building on this collaboration, upGrad School of Technology will leverage its experience in building high-quality, job-focused learning systems for India's youth by strengthening the University's existing engineering framework and equipping students with enhanced, practitioner-led modules across emerging fields such as Quantum Computing, Artificial Intelligence, Machine Learning, Robotics, and Full Stack Engineering. Students will engage in extensive coding practice, project-based learning, and structured industry-linked opportunities that offer early exposure to tech roles and product-thinking.
The University, led by its Chancellor and Karnataka Home Minister Dr G. Parameshwara, is advancing this initiative to strengthen its Engineering curriculum with global-standard technology disciplines, research exposure, and entrepreneurial skill development. Commenting on the launch, he said, "This collaboration marks a transformative moment for SSAHE as we bring global education and world-class technology learning to our campuses. Having produced more than 40,000 engineers over the years, SSAHE now moves into a new era of innovation-driven, industry-aligned education. By integrating cutting-edge global practices with our strong academic foundation, we are preparing our students to lead India's next wave of technological progress."
Dr. Vivek Veeraiah - Advisor to Chancellor, SSAHE, added, "This initiative will bring global education to SSAHE campuses and seamlessly integrate industry-driven, application-first learning so every student graduates as a future-ready technologist."
The latter stages of the initiative will also provide access to prototyping labs, seed-support channels, and masterclasses from global founders and CTOs, helping students ideate, build, and validate ventures within the University's innovation ecosystem.
"Universities have long been the backbone of India's engineering education, offering strong theoretical foundations and academic rigour. As technology evolves rapidly, students increasingly benefit from a parallel, application-first learning layer that complements the University's core curriculum, strengthens students' overall readiness for modern tech roles. That's what we want to do and train them in real time, to ensure by the time, they graduate, they are no longer freshers, but industry-ready contributors," said Vishwa Mohan and Mehul Khandhedia in a joint statement.
In phase 1, upGrad School of Technology will focus on university and institutional partnership across South India and will scale nationally over the next phase.
"Our youth is living through a world in flux and that's India's greatest advantage. We're no longer competing on cost; we're competing on capability. As India moves from labour arbitrage to becoming a true talent magnet, universities like Siddhartha remain the core engines of this shift. With this collaboration, we're laying the foundation for India's next generation of innovators and job creators and setting a benchmark the world will learn from," concluded Ronnie Screwvala.
The upGrad School of Technology will bring together Hon. Dr. G. Parameshwara, Chancellor, SSAHE and Karnataka Home Minister, along with academic and industry leaders in Bengaluru on 20 December, to mark the inauguration and discuss how India's engineering youth will shape the Viksit Bharat journey.
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