BITS School of Management (BITSoM), under the aegis of BITS Pilani, on Sep 16 announced the formal inauguration of its new BITSoM Research in AI and Innovation (BRAIN) Lab. This initiative is specifically designed to create leaders for workplaces that will be heavily influenced by AI.
The BRAIN Lab’s operational framework is structured around three foundational pillars: teaching, research, and outreach. The Centre will conduct industry-focused research aimed at creating a repository of use-cases, develop curriculum-relevant courses for students, facilitate AI project and product development contests, foster AI startups through an accelerator and actively participate in public policy discussions and partnerships with both industry and governmental bodies.
Initial sectors identified for research and application are manufacturing, healthcare, Global Capability Centres (GCCs), and the Banking, Financial Services, and Insurance (BFSI) industry. The Centre intends to engage directly with these sectors through industry projects, with the aim of developing a repository of use-cases that will be made freely available to academic institutions, researchers, and businesses.
The advisors to the Centre are Prof Andrew Wu (Ross Business School, University of Michigan), Mr Madhavan Ramanujam (General Partner at 49 Palms Ventures), Mr Pankaj Rai (Group Chief Data and Analytics Officer, Aditya Birla Group), Mr Prasanna Gopalakrishnan (Global Chief AI and Product Officer, ADP), Prof Sanjog Misra (University of Chicago’s Booth School of Business), Mr Srinivas Atreya (Co-Founder, Avika Mind Health), Prof Sudip Gupta (Johns Hopkins University’s Carey School of Business), Prof Suraj Srinivasan (Harvard Business School), and it will work closely with the Aditya Birla GDNA (Group Data & Analytics).
The inauguration ceremony featured a welcome address by Prof Saravanan Kesavan, Dean, BITSoM, followed by the keynote address from Chief Guest Mr Viswanath Ramaswamy, Vice President, Technology, IBM India & South Asia. Dr Srinivas Pingali, Adjunct Faculty, BITSoM, introduced the BRAIN Lab before its official inauguration. The event also included product demonstrations and a panel discussion titled “AI as a Strategic Differentiator: From Business Schools to Business Impact.” The panel, moderated by Srinivas Pingali, included Dean Kesavan, Mr Ramaswamy, Mr Pankaj Rai, and Prof Kashyap Kompella, visiting faculty at BITSoM and CEO of RPA2AI Research. Discussions centred on how business schools can prepare students for AI-driven careers, strategies for translating academic AI knowledge into tangible industry impact, selecting AI projects for genuine business outcomes, and India’s evolving role in the global AI landscape.
Commenting on the establishment of the Centre, Prof. Saravanan Kesavan, Dean and Professor of Operations, BITSoM, stated, “The launch of this AI Centre – BRAIN Lab reflects our commitment to shape the future of business education and practices in a world where AI is everywhere. Our vision for the BRAIN Lab is to harness AI’s potential through impactful research that matters to the industry, teaching that equips our students for the jobs of tomorrow, and outreach, ensuring AI benefits society at large and not just shareholders. As business educators, we want to prepare leaders who ask hard questions: should you build this AI, who will benefit, and who will be left behind. BRAIN Lab will not shy away from these questions. The balance between excitement and caution, possibility and responsibility, is where the work lies for us.”
As the Chief Guest at the inauguration, Viswanath Ramaswamy, Vice President, Technology, IBM India & South Asia said, “We are witnessing the next great revolution in how businesses are driven. Just as past technological eras transformed industries, AI is now fundamentally enhancing human productivity and creating new revenue streams. The critical question for every organisation today is: ‘Are you an AI-first organisation, or is AI a post-facto thought? Those thinking of AI as post-facto will be left behind. Crucially, remember: ‘There’s no AI without IA’ – no Artificial Intelligence without robust Information Architecture. And as we embrace AI, we must do so responsibly, with fairness and deep governance.”
The BITSoM BRAIN Lab is also slated to host annual conferences, support practitioner-oriented research initiatives, and offer specialised corporate programs and continuing education courses to further its mission.
