- IIIT-Bangalore and upGrad launch a six-month executive programme to train experienced professionals in enterprise AI development, deployment, security and client delivery.
The International Institute of Information Technology Bangalore (IIIT-Bangalore), in partnership with upGrad, has launched a six-month Executive Post Graduate Programme in Forward Deployed AI Engineering to prepare experienced technology professionals for enterprise-level artificial intelligence deployment. The programme aims to address the growing demand for engineers who can translate business requirements into practical AI solutions and take them from development to production environments.
The programme is designed for software engineers, artificial intelligence and machine learning (AI/ML) professionals, and individuals with technical experience in pre-sales and solutions roles. It focuses on the emerging role of the Forward Deployed Engineer (FDE), who works closely with enterprise clients to understand operational challenges, design technology solutions and oversee their implementation.
The programme will be delivered through a live online cohort over six months, combining interactive sessions, guided laboratory exercises, practical drills and a live client capstone project. Participants will receive approximately 120 hours of learning across five courses and an end-to-end project. Successful candidates will be awarded a Postgraduate Programme Certificate from IIIT-Bangalore.
The curriculum covers production engineering, large language models (LLMs), retrieval-augmented generation (RAG) pipelines, agentic AI, client discovery, solution architecture, enterprise deployment and AI security. It is structured to help participants understand the complete lifecycle of enterprise AI implementation, from identifying business problems and assessing client requirements to building, deploying and maintaining solutions.
A key component is the live capstone, through which participants will develop and deploy an AI solution based on a client project. The programme also includes a one-day campus immersion at IIIT-Bangalore, providing an opportunity for learners to engage with the institute and participate in the concluding project activities.
Prof. V Sridhar, Head of Continuing Professional Education at IIIT-Bangalore, highlighted the increasing need for professionals who combine technical expertise with an understanding of business requirements and customer expectations. He noted that the programme aims to provide practical experience in building, designing, deploying and delivering AI solutions in enterprise environments.
Anuj Vishwakarma, CEO of Higher Education at upGrad, also emphasised the growing demand for professionals capable of connecting engineering capabilities with business outcomes as organisations move beyond AI experimentation towards production-scale implementation.
Applicants are expected to hold a relevant technology degree, demonstrate proficiency in Python and have experience building data pipelines or REST APIs. Through this collaboration, IIIT-Bangalore and upGrad aim to strengthen advanced AI skills and prepare experienced professionals for emerging enterprise technology roles.
