The BTIRC will operate multiple research tracks, focused primarily on artificial intelligence, mobility and software engineering technologies for use in BT’s strategic programmes, products and services.

BT and the Indian Institute of Science (IISc), one of India's leading research institutions, has recently kicked off a new phase of UK-India joint research with the opening of a new collaborative research centre in Bengaluru (Bangalore), focused on the development of the next generation of cutting-edge artificial intelligence (AI), mobility and software engineering technologies.

The new BT India Research Centre (BTIRC) will join BT's network of collaborative research facilities around the globe, including centres in Northern Ireland, China, the US, and the UAE. This global innovation network is centred on the BT Labs at Adastral Park, Suffolk, UK, one of the world's leading centres for telecommunications research.

The BTIRC will operate multiple research tracks, focused primarily on artificial intelligence, mobility and software engineering technologies for use in BT's strategic programmes, products and services. Future areas will include cybersecurity innovations. BT is one of the global research leaders in communications technologies and AI, filing the highest number of AI-focused patents amongst all UK companies with the UK patent office over the last 20 years. 

The centre will build on these strong credentials, following a well-established model used for the company's other global research locations, combining academic, industry and government partnerships and BT's own commercial and research expertise.

Professor Tim Whitley, Managing Director for Research at BT, said: "The technologies we'll be developing here, in fields such as AI, mobile and software engineering will accelerate the delivery of exciting innovations to our customers around the globe, taking advantage of the brilliant intellectual capital in Bengaluru."

Professor Anurag Kumar, Director IISc said: "The proposed research topics of mobility and artificial intelligence, with the associated software engineering, are sure to attract strong interest from the IISc faculty and students."

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