Scaler's AI and Business UG Program Aims to Build India’s Next-Gen Tech Founders

The undergraduate education system in India is going through a big transformation with the introduction of the AI and Business UG degree from Scaler School of Technology (Scaler). This four-year, fully-residential degree will prepare graduates for job-readiness with hands-on experience in AI, product creation, and entrepreneurship while also creating companies (startups) as part of their educational experience — unlike traditional "classroom" education which has focused mostly on theoretical training. 

According to Anshuman Singh, who previously led engineering for Messenger at Facebook, his vision for the program was based on how much quicker and cheaper it is to create a product due to AI. While the availability of tools that are considered to have "real" (not just simulated) value makes creating products easier, executing this process successfully will require students to not only understand the use of AI as a tool but also understand system structure, how to choose an appropriate problem to solve, and important principles about how businesses operate (Fundamentals).

Progressive curriculum builds on first year foundations (programming, AI math, structured thinking, economics, communication) through hands-on projects. Second year focuses on producing production-level systems (AI models, data pipeline, go to market basics). Third year provides opportunities to work closely with early stage startups via Scaler Innovation Lab - gaining exposure to product strategy, growth metrics and real-world constraints that technology companies face.

Fourth/final year is where students go into "Founder Mode", where each student builds and tries to scale an AI startup as a major academic requirement. Mentoring is provided from industry professionals (ie. OpenAI, Google DeepMind, NVIDIA, Razorpay). Students can also take advantage of Scalers placement network (Amazon, Microsoft) but will receive deferred placement support to find entrepreneurship (ensuring no restriction on future career options). The goal of Scaler AI & Business UG Program is to develop builders and future company founders from undergraduate students, with a limit on admission size to 200 students.