New Delhi [India], September 21: Most Indian universities talk about bridging industry and academia. Sai University has tried to build that bridge directly into its degree structure, and its Convocation on 19 September offered a fairly clear demonstration of what that looks like in practice.
The University runs eight schools, covering law, business, media, computing, allied health sciences, technology, and arts and sciences, with each designed around what the institution calls an “AI + X” approach. Rather than treating artificial intelligence as a subject reserved for a computer science degree, Sai University has built it into the foundation of nearly all its programmes, so that a law student studies AI governance and legal technology alongside constitutional law, while a media student studies AI-assisted journalism alongside reporting fundamentals.
That structure is backed by numbers that are unusually specific for a university this young. Faculty at Sai University have produced 183 publications since 2020, including 102 peer-reviewed journal papers, nearly two-thirds of them in top-tier journals, along with six granted patents and research collaborations with 77 international and 50 Indian universities. Three of its faculty members are listed among the world’s top 2% most-cited researchers in the Stanford University-Elsevier global data repository.
None of that would count for much without a route into industry, and this is where the University draws on the experience of its own leadership. Founder and Chancellor K. V. Ramani spent his career helping build India’s software industry from within, as a founding figure of NASSCOM and the founder of two technology companies. Vice-Chancellor Prof. Ajith Abraham is one of the world’s most-cited AI researchers. Their presence at the top of the institution is not incidental. It shapes hiring, curriculum design and the University’s ability to bring in industry partners for student internships and applied research.
That effort to connect academia and industry reached something of a symbolic peak at this year’s Convocation, when Padma Bhushan Shri Natarajan Chandrasekaran, Chairman of Tata Sons, accepted an honorary Doctor of Science from Sai University.
In his address to graduates, Chandrasekaran spoke about the scale of economic transformation that artificial intelligence is likely to bring over the coming decades and urged students to keep learning, stay curious and measure their own progress rather than compare themselves with others.
For a university whose founding premise is that industry and academia work best when they are not kept in separate rooms, having one of India’s most influential industrialists accept an honorary degree and use the occasion to speak directly to graduates about the future of work brought that philosophy into sharp focus at the Convocation.
About Sai University
Sai University was established by the Tamil Nadu State Legislature under the Sai University Act No. 42 of 2018 and is recognised under Section 2(f) of the University Grants Commission (UGC) Act, Government of India, as well as by the Association of Indian Universities (AIU) and the Bar Council of India.
It is positioned as India’s future-ready, AI-first university. Founded by Shri K. V. Ramani, co-founder of NASSCOM, who serves as Founder and Chancellor, the University is led by Vice-Chancellor Prof. Ajith Abraham, ranked among the top 0.01% most-cited scientists globally in engineering and computer science.
Across its eight schools, spanning Artificial Intelligence, Computing and Data Science, Law, Media Studies, Business, Allied Health Sciences, Arts and Sciences, and Technology, artificial intelligence is integrated as a foundation rather than an add-on. The University’s 103-acre campus on OMR, Chennai, includes dedicated labs for artificial intelligence, robotics, drones, allied health sciences and psychology; a functioning Moot Court for the School of Law; and a sports complex inaugurated in March 2026.
