The University of Manchester announces plans for a major new centre for education, research and innovation in Bengaluru, India. * Science * 15 Oct 2026 5:45 pm AEST * Share The University of Manchester has announced plans to establish a major new centre in Bengaluru, strengthening its long-standing ties with India and creating new opportunities for collaboration with students, innovators, industry and alumni. The proposed Centre in Bengaluru will provide a permanent platform for The University of Manchester to deepen its engagement with one of the world's most dynamic education, research and innovation ecosystems. It will help to bring together academic expertise, industry knowledge and entrepreneurial talent to address shared challenges and create opportunities for students and researchers. Building on The University of Manchester's successful Partner-Enabled Learning (PEL) model in the UK, the centre in Bengaluru will create opportunities for students to gain practical experience through internships, work placements and industry-led projects. The PEL model aims to close skills gaps by embedding real-world projects with employers, public bodies and community organisations into degree programmes, ensuring students graduate with practical experience as well as academic knowledge. It focuses on developing skills such as adaptability, problem-solving, collaboration and employer engagement through credit-bearing projects and micro-internships. The University of Manchester has established relationships with leading businesses and industry partners across India, including organisations such as Reliance, Tata and Infosys, alongside a wider network of technology companies. The Centre will build on these connections to strengthen industry engagement and create new opportunities for students and researchers. The announcement comes as The University of Manchester joins the first-ever Great North Mayoral Mission to India, taking place from 12 to 16 October 2026. The mission brings together universities, businesses, civic leaders and cultural organisations from across the North of England to forge new connections, build lasting relationships and share expertise with India. Bengaluru has been identified as the preferred location for the Centre due to its position as one of India's leading hubs for higher education, technology and innovation. The city is home to some of the country's foremost universities and research institutes, alongside a thriving community of global businesses and technology companies. Many already collaborate with Manchester's academics and graduates, providing a strong foundation for the University's future presence in the city. The announcement marks a significant step in the University's ambition to strengthen its global presence, as set out in its strategy, From Manchester for the World. It builds on decades of collaboration with partners across India and will create new opportunities to tackle global challenges by connecting Manchester's expertise with India's dynamic research, technology and innovation communities. The Centre was announced at a special event at the Science Gallery Bengaluru, which featured alumni and leaders from sectors such as culture and business. The Mayor of Greater Manchester, Bev Craig also attended and there were panel discussions on innovation and culture led by President and Vice-Chancellor of The University of Manchester, Professor Duncan Ivison. Professor Ivison said: "There is an incredible depth to Manchester's relationship with India across education, business and culture. Our new Centre will be at the heart of deepening those relationships and I'm very excited to see what we can give, and what we can learn over the coming years." Discover more Book Beach Resorts National Tribune Digital Political News Subscription The University of Manchester has international centres in Dubai, Hong Kong, Shanghai and Singapore. The proposed Centre aligns closely with the University's International Delivery Plan, which places global engagement as a key objective of Manchester 2035. The plan recognises that international partnerships will be central to delivering world-leading research, creating new educational opportunities, strengthening innovation ecosystems and ensuring Manchester remains a partner of choice around the world. The University of Manchester was the first in the UK to establish a joint PhD programme with an Indian institution, launching its dual award PhD with IIT Kharagpur in 2021. It also established collaborations with institutions including the Indian Institute of Science Bangalore, BITS Pilani in fields of engineering and computer science, Jawaharlal Nehru Centre for Advanced Scientific research and the Manipal Academy of Higher Education. This visit forms part of the University's Challenge Accepted fundraising and volunteering campaign, which has included launch events in Delhi and Mumbai.

AI infra investments at risk from high costs: Infosys CEO Salil Parekh. Published: Oct 13 2026, 06:31 PM IST * FB * TW * Linkdin * Whatsapp * GNFollow Us Infosys CEO Salil Parekh said high data centre and chip costs, and emerging cheaper AI models, pose risks to AI infrastructure investments. He highlighted uncertainty over the longevity of current capacity and its potential impact on utilisation. High data centre and chip costs, coupled with emerging AI models offering cheaper inference, pose risks to AI infrastructure investments and future capacity utilisation, Infosys CEO Salil Parekh said. Speaking at the Bloomberg New Economy 2026, the Infosys CEO highlighted that the rapid expansion of AI infrastructure comes with technological risks, particularly due to the high cost of building data centres and uncertainty over how long existing capacity will remain relevant. "In terms of the risk, I think, my sense is there is some risk in technology what we see in the cost of the buildout of the data centre capacity, the chips they are massively expensive today," he said. He further pointed out that growing competition in AI infrastructure adding, "what will be the duration of the longevity of that capacity is not clear." Impact of new AI models. Parekh further noted that new foundation models are being developed using approaches different from those adopted by the two major closed-model companies, which is potentially reducing inference costs and "can affect overal capacity usage." Infosys's focus on adaptation and skilling. Apart from this, he highlighted Infosys is already building AI agents for enterprise clients and developing methods to transition legacy technology to newer systems. However, he flagged, "What is critical there is really training and skilling our employees and making sure that they are available and ready to use all these techniques for our clients." Client focus on cost-effectiveness. Parekh said companies are increasingly examining whether they can perform the same tasks using lower-cost tokens rather than relying on the latest AI models. "...clients have started looking can we use more cost tokens for the same work...so, do we need the most recent models?," he said. Data's growing importance and restrictions. Parekh further stressed, data is becoming "fastest growing commodity" particularly for large enterprises and governments. Adding data requirements are even more rigid now, he noted, rquirements of soverign cloud is further restriciting some of the capacity buildout. "We will see more and more focus on that data and how that is being scaled up for enterprise and for the sovereign nation states." (ANI) (Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by Asianetnews Editorial staff and is published from a syndicated feed.) Stay updated with all the latest Business News, including market trends, Share Market News, stock updates, taxation, IPOs, banking, finance, real estate, savings, and investments. Track daily Gold Price changes, updates on DA Hike, and the latest developments on the 8th Pay Commission. Get in-depth analysis, expert opinions, and real-time updates to make informed financial decisions. Download the Asianet News Official App from the Android Play Store and iPhone App Store to stay ahead in business. 0 Comments / 0 New