Inside India’s Only On-Campus AI Classroom, A New Cohort Is Being Built for a Job That Barely Had a Name Two Years Ago

Gandhinagar (Gujarat) [India], August 31: At 8:30 in the morning, on a 400-acre campus where the Sabarmati curves past IIT Gandhinagar’s hostels, a group of students gathers for what the program calls Squad Sync. By 7:30 that evening, after faculty lectures, build sessions, and a nightly competitive-coding hour, most of them are still at their laptops. This is the Residential PG Diploma in AI-ML & Agentic AI Engineering, and it is the first postgraduate AI program in the country delivered entirely on an IIT campus rather than through an online format.

The program’s next cohort has its curriculum curated around a specific goal: training students for Forward Deployed Engineering, a role built around embedding inside a client’s organisation and shipping working agentic AI systems into their actual environment, rather than handing over a model and a report.

“Our engagements with industry leaders clearly indicated to us that they are increasingly pivoting to the FDE role,” said Prof. Sam Placid, CEO, Competency Advancement Academy (CAA), IIT Gandhinagar. “In keeping with our stated objective of aligning our curriculum with industry needs, we have tweaked our curriculum to address this requirement.”

Two years ago, Forward Deployed Engineer barely existed as a job title. It’s now one of the fastest-growing and highest-paid categories in AI hiring. US postings are up 729% year-on-year, and salaries at companies like OpenAI, Anthropic and Google are reaching past $400,000.

The program itself remains unusual by Indian standards. It’s delivered fully residentially on IIT Gandhinagar’s campus, as opposed to the online, weekend-format programs that carry an IIT name elsewhere. Entry is through AINPT, a 120-minute proprietary exam followed by a panel interview, not JEE or GATE. Seats are limited. No shortcuts; the admissions material says so more than once.

Graduates leave with a PG Diploma from IIT Gandhinagar and Alumni status, along with 15 to 20 deployed projects built during the program, rather than classroom assignments. The new cohort begins in September 2026.

About the program: The Residential PG Diploma in AI-ML & Agentic AI Engineering is offered by IIT Gandhinagar through the Competency Advancement Academy (CAA).