The state technology university has started training management teachers in business analytics, machine learning and artificial intelligence so that they can pass on the latest skills to the students and make them job-ready.

The Maulana Abul Kalam Azad University of Technology held a one-day masterclass with the Analytics Society of India last month to train its faculty in the emerging fields.

The society is headed by U. Dinesh Kumar, professor at IIM Banalore, whose research interests include business analytics and big data, artificial intelligence, machine learning, deep learning and algorithm.

Vice-chancellor Saikat Maitra said it was important to train the faculty so that they can motivate students.

“Be it engineering or management education, areas such as business analytics, machine learning and artificial intelligence are at the heart of everything. If the teachers are not equipped in these fields, it would not be possible for them to teach students. That’s why we have started teaching our faculty,” Maitra told Metro on Sunday.

“If we don’t teach the students about these emerging areas, the institutes would end up producing students who would remain unemployable.”

The university offers bachelor of business administration (BBA) courses in business analytics and risk management and master of business administration (MBA) in innovation, entrepreneurship and venture development, waste management and social entrepreneurship.

When many of the teachers started teaching, these subjects were not in vogue.

“Even five years ago, nobody knew much about subjects such as business analytics or machine learning. But now these subjects have become an integral part of the curriculum. So, we had to organise the faculty development programme to enable the teachers to acquire proficiency in the new-age subjects,” he said.

Teachers of the management colleges affiliated to the tech university were trained with a view to turning them into trainers.

“Now that the faculty training is over, the knowledge acquired by participants will be tested at a workshop. The successful ones will operate as trainers. Those found wanting will be asked to attend another development programme,” the VC said.

Experts from the industry will test the faculty, an official said. “We are soon going to hold an artificial intelligence congress to provide a platform for the engineering and management students and teachers to interact with global experts on the subject,” Maitra said.

“We have started engaging with experts from the industry to decide how much of these subjects we need to incorporate in the management curriculum,” said the official.