Purdue University is entering into a five-year agreement with Infosys. As part of the agreement, Purdue will provide classes and training for many of the 10,000 American employees that Infosys will hire over the next two years, 2,000 of whom will be based in Indiana. Much of this training will be aimed at new employees and conducted on the West Lafayette campus, but the partnership also includes lifelong-learning opportunities via specialist online courses for existing Infosys employees.
Purdue and Infosys will conduct joint research and develop course materials in the areas where the university is a global leader, including digital agriculture, cybersecurity, biopharma analytics, autonomous vehicles, artificial intelligence, and data analytics.
Suresh Garimella, Purdue’s executive vice president for research and partnerships and the Goodson Distinguished Professor of Mechanical Engineering, said that the university is proud to partner with the state of Indiana in creating the attractive ecosystem that attracted Infosys.
“We at Purdue are pleased and honored to assist Gov. Eric Holcomb and the state of Indiana in attracting one of the world’s leading IT companies to our state,” Garimella said. “The strategic alliance with Infosys will marry Purdue’s talent and expertise in innovation with cutting-edge research and learning opportunities, and bring about an innovation-to-industrialization ecosystem.”
The partnership will combine Infosys’ aspiration to grow and train its workforce in the United States with Purdue’s desire to increase educational and real-world opportunities for its students within the rapidly evolving technology industry.
The five-year agreement reflects Infosys’ commitment to the Purdue community and reinforces the company’s philosophy and strength in providing lifelong learning to its employees, said Ravi Kumar S., Infosys president and deputy chief operating officer.
Today’s announcement represents another step forward in our commitment to boosting American innovation and in doing our part to shrink the IT skills gap through investments in training and education. We are proud to partner with a leading American university like Purdue that is at the forefront of educating and training students on the most in-demand technology skills.”
As part of the alliance, the company will also establish Infosys Solutions Centers at Purdue, which will address select business challenges presented by the company’s clients and investigate interdisciplinary solutions.
“This strategic alliance with Purdue will enhance Infosys’ ability to attract and recruit top local talent, enable us to further develop a culture of lifelong learning and entrepreneurship, as well as fuel new ideas that will help our clients improve all that they are already doing,” Kumar said.
Infosys envisions the strategic alliance translating to millions of dollars in joint research and a sizable physical presence at Purdue. Infosys’ initiatives will be anchored in Purdue’s Discovery Park, allowing the company to establish a prominent physical and intellectual presence on campus.
“Purdue’s Discovery Park is helping us create partnerships that are historic for the university, including the recently announced partnerships with Eli Lilly and Company, Microsoft and Rolls-Royce,” Garimella said.
