Bengaluru, Aug 20 (INB) Hewlett Packard Enterprise India (HPE) has expanded its Academic Alliance programme to 176 colleges and universities across India, reaching more than 18,000 student beneficiaries in 2026, the company said in a statement. The programme aims to equip students and faculty with industry-relevant skills in networking, artificial intelligence, cloud computing, cybersecurity and automated operations, while strengthening collaboration between academia and industry, it said in a statement. As part of the initiative, students and faculty receive free access to online learning platforms, cloud-based virtual labs and discounted access to HPE’s global certifications, it said. The programme provides specialised associate- and specialist-level training in areas including AI, cloud, security and DevOps. It also enables participating universities to establish AI-native Networking Centres of Excellence (CoEs) on their campuses with highly subsidised costs, according to HPE. These centres are supported by bootcamps and technical sessions led by HPE experts, providing students and faculty with hands-on exposure to industry practices. The expansion comes amid increasing emphasis on strengthening industry-academia collaboration and developing a future-ready technology workforce. HPE cited recent remarks by Ashwini Vaishnaw, Union Minister for Railways, Information and Broadcasting, and Electronics and Information Technology, calling for technology companies to work closely with higher education institutions to continuously update academic curricula. Muthukumar, Vice President and Engineering and Site Lead for HPE Networking India, said the changing technology landscape and growing demand for specialised skills in AI, networking, cloud and security require stronger industry-academia partnerships. “Through the HPE Academic Alliance, we are helping bridge the gap between academic learning and industry requirements,” Muthukumar said, adding that the programme provides access to global certifications, expert-led bootcamps, cloud-based virtual labs and industry-aligned curricula. The programme has integrated with several leading technical institutions, including the National Institute of Technology Karnataka (NIT Surathkal), University Visvesvaraya College of Engineering (UVCE), Government Engineering College Hassan (GECH), RV College of Engineering (RVCE), Bengaluru, and BMS College of Engineering (BMSCE), HPE said. The company said the partnerships are aimed at embedding specialised industry curricula into engineering programmes and improving student employability by narrowing the gap between classroom learning and enterprise technology requirements. HPE said it plans to further expand the Academic Alliance programme by partnering with additional universities and technical institutions across India.
