Edtech Physics Wallah (PW) has launched the PW Institute of Innovation (PW IOI), a four-year residential program in computer science and artificial intelligence (AI). Located in Bengaluru, it aims to address the critical challenges faced by the Indian software industry by making students future-ready with industry-relevant skills, bridging the demand and supply gap of professionals and the employability gap.  

The four-year fully residential program has experienced faculty and leaders from companies as mentors, an industry-oriented curriculum, up to 100 per cent scholarships, and real-world projects. It also includes personalised guidance, four comprehensive internships and networking opportunities.

The curriculum has been designed to align with the technology trends in today's evolving market. Additionally, students can pursue bachelor's degrees in parallel from a premier institute. The degree qualifies them to explore opportunities for further education in India or overseas and makes them eligible to appear for competitive examinations.

Vishwa Mohan, CIO at PW and President of PW IOI said, "It is indeed concerning that despite the exponential growth witnessed in the Indian software industry, the employability rate of Indian engineering graduates has remained relatively low, with only marginal improvement over the years. Additionally, the significant increase in the demand-supply gap for skilled AI and data science professionals further highlights the need for a comprehensive transformation in the learning approach. PW IOI aims to address this issue by empowering professionals with employable and effective skills for the rapidly evolving job market."

Sudhanshu Kumar, CEO PW Skills, emphasised that by combining real-world experience with an industry-focused curriculum, the edtech aims to cater to its students' immediate needs while also bridging the gap between demand and supply in future job opportunities.

"Towards the end of the course, the institute's placement cell will offer assistance in securing job offers, with partnerships established with over 500 hiring partners, including Tata IQ, Siemens, Leadsquared, SAP, Oracle, KPMG, Amazon and others. Previously, PW Skills has placed more than 1,500 learners with an average salary of Rs 22 lakh per annum and a top salary of Rs 50 lakh per annum," he added. 

The first batch of PW IOI will commence on 27 September 2023, with orientation on 25 September 2023. Registrations for the new batch are now open, with the entrance exam scheduled for 19 August 2023.

PW Skills, the tech skilling vertical of PW, claims to have nearly one lakh users. The platform offers courses in Hindi, English, and Hinglish, and includes PW Virtual Lab, an experience and job portal. 

To promote job readiness, the PW Virtual Lab provides necessary hardware through the cloud, enabling learners with basic PCs and internet connections to participate in software development and programming courses without expensive hardware. PW Skills also offers placement assistance through its exclusive job portal through its partnerships with over 500 companies.

The Experience Portal allows learners to work on end-to-end projects while adhering to industry best practices. Besides hands-on training, it facilitates development tracking, peer-to-peer collaboration, and provides an internship experience letter.