IIT Madras collaborates with Walmart Global Tech to promote research and skilling

Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Madras is partnering with Walmart Global Tech (WGT) to accelerate research in new areas of technology and skilling.

The Walmart associates will be offered the opportunity to continue education and collaborate on projects for Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) for their India operations under this partnership.

The Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) was signed at an event in Chennai in the presence of Suresh Kumar, global chief technology officer (CTO) and chief development officer (CDO), Walmart Inc., (and alumnus of IIT Madras); Mahesh Panchagnula, dean, Alumni and Corporate Relations, IIT Madras and the US consul general in Chennai Judith Ravin. Key leaders from Walmart and senior faculty members of IIT Madras were also present at the event.

Suresh Kumar, global CTO and CDO, Walmart Inc., said, “WGT develops and manages the foundational technologies on which our customer experiences around the world are built. We are a human-led, tech-empowered company, and our talented associates in India are critical to driving Walmart’s global businesses and leading the next retail disruption. Many of our associates, including me, sharpened our engineering and analytical skills while studying at IIT Madras. Our association with IIT Madras will help us further empower our teams, collaborate on digital innovation, and strengthen the education ecosystem in India.”

With this corporate partnership, IIT Madras students and WGT associates will work on research projects together, facilitated by the Centre for Industrial Consultancy and Sponsored Research (IC&SR) at IIT Madras.

Speaking about this partnership with WGT, Mahesh Panchagnula, dean (Alumni and Corporate Relations), IIT Madras, said, “WGT and IIT Madras have many areas for collaborative growth such as sustainability, AI, and energy engineering. We are keen to grow this into an impactful partnership to benefit a broad cross-section of stakeholders including students and faculty members of IIT Madras.”

In addition, WGT will use space in the IIT Madras Research Park to leverage the broader ecosystem and work with the start-up companies incubated by the IIT Madras Incubation Cell. WGT will also have access to several short and long-term education and training programmes to upskill talent and fit the changing needs of the retail and eCommerce industry, IIT Madras stated in a communique.

Judith Ravin, US Consul General in Chennai, said, “I welcome the collaboration between global retail giant Walmart and India’s topmost technology institution, IIT Madras. Industry-academic partnerships are a great way to strengthen higher education and create a highly skilled workforce that can contribute to our mutual economic prosperity.”

Sources from IIT Madras also stated that WGT and the institute will engage in CSR activities in addition to grants that will be made to support faculty research and students with scholarships and fellowships.