BENGALURU: IIM Bangalore signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Tata Trusts (Sir Dorabji Tata Trust) on Friday for the establishment and development of its School of Undergraduate Studies. The school will be named the IIM Bangalore–Dorabji Tata School of Undergraduate Studies.
The undergraduate school is being developed as a dedicated residential academic campus in the Jigani-Anekal area, around 23 km from IIM Bangalore’s existing Bannerghatta Road campus.
The MoU was signed by Noel Tata, Chairman, Tata Trusts, and Dr Devi Shetty, Chairperson of the Board of Governors, IIM Bangalore. Siddharth Sharma, CEO, Tata Trusts, and Prof U Dinesh Kumar, Director-in-charge, IIM Bangalore, were also present.
As part of the agreement, Tata Trusts will provide philanthropic support for the development of academic infrastructure for the school. The support will also cover areas including strategic direction, policy formulation and governance oversight.
The school will initially offer two four-year, full-time residential programmes - BSc (Hons) in Data Sciences with a minor in Economics and BSc (Hons) in Economics with a minor in Data Sciences. The first batch will comprise 40 students in each programme.
The school is being established as part of IIM Bangalore’s expansion into undergraduate education. The institute said the programmes are intended to combine data sciences and economics, with students receiving exposure to interdisciplinary learning.
The new campus will include academic facilities and residential infrastructure and is being developed with accessible facilities for people with disabilities. The project will also support research and academic work in emerging areas including artificial intelligence, data science, algorithmic design, Indian Knowledge Systems and applied business learning.
The institute also plans to develop a multidisciplinary faculty for the undergraduate school. The campus is expected to provide a dedicated environment for teaching, research and student activities.