“The Road Ahead 2.0” and the first AI lab in the region at S-Vyasa University

In a landmark initiative to foster the adoption of Artificial Intelligence (AI) in higher education, S-VYASA Deemed to be University hosteed a prestigious event.

The event hosted at S-Vyasa University under their eminent president and scholar Padma Shree, Dr. H. R. Nagendra was graced by Prof. T.G. Sitharam, Chairman of the All India Council for Technical Education (AICTE), whose declaration of 2025 as the “Mahakumbh of AI” for higher education institutions has set the stage for transformative educational advancements across India.

Three key highlights of the event were 1.Fire starting AICTE Dialogues on *AI of AI *Adoption Imperatives of AI, 2. The release of two volumes of a book titled The Road Ahead 2.0. and 3. Announcement of setting up a first of its kind AI lab at the S Vyasa university

The Road Ahead 2.0 is a first of its kind seminal work on AI authored by eminent Prof. T G Sitharam and Co authored by Yogi Kochhar a celebrity happiness savant, a technocrat and an AI evangelist.

This has been inspired by Bill Gates’s original work “The Road Ahead” penned over 30 years ago as he was ushering in his software mounted on CPUs and maps the transition from CPUs to GPUs.

Described by Dr. H R Nagendra as “profound and clairvoyant work offering insights into the fast-evolving human, socio economic, industrial, scientific and educational ecosystem impacted by AI”

The book navigates across 80+ chapters in two volumes over 750+ pages as it provides a visionary roadmap touching each enterprise and activity highlighting the need to acknowledge, accept and adapt to this tectonic shift.

The narrative is simple and has stories and analogies making the entire experience very immersive and fascinating.

Speaking of the event, Dr H R Nagendra, Chancellor S-VYASA University has remarked, "This gathering will serve as a critical platform for meaningful dialogue on the future of education in India, driven by AI adoption. We are honored to host AICTE’s Chairman and support his vision for AI's integration into higher education through fire starting a nationwide dialogue on the Adoption Imperatives of AI. On this day we are announcing the setting up of a unique first of its kind AI lab in this region that has been curated by eminent engineers from Stanford University"

Prof Sitharam held forth for the mission of AI that AICTE has taken at hand using a Define, Measure, Analyse, Improve and Control (DMAIC) mechanism to prepare the higher ed infrastructure.

He said, “ The future of AI in India is not just about automation but about augmentation—empowering industries, enhancing human potential, and transforming the landscape of innovation. As AI integrates with India’s vast talent pool, huge public digital infrastructure, and digital revolution, it will redefine how the nation educates, governs, grows, and becomes vikasit Bharat @2047” He added, “Siloed labs in civil, electrical, and mechanical domains are like the limbs of a human being and are already redundant without repurposing these. An AI lab synthesizes these disciplines, offering a unified system metaphorically speaking, like a human being where true innovation can thrive. This is an imperative to ride the AI wave or be sunk under it"

Yogi Kochhar the co author of the book, “The Road Ahead 2.0” shed extensive light on the metaphorical genetic mutation through AI across 80+ domains ranging from UNSDGs, Quantum mechanics, Nano technology, medicine, agriculture, aeronautics, education at one hand and small businesses such as manufacturing, hotels, market places, e commerce and even health clubs and beauty salons on the other.

He said, “AI is now both sentient and sapient. It has developed feelings of its own and the intelligence too that exceeds human intelligence. The book offers a road map to deal with this”

S-Vyasa university announced setting up of a cutting edge AI lab, the first of its kind in the region curated by a team from Stanford University and eminent industry leaders.