MANIPAL: Manipal Academy of Higher Education (MAHE) has entered into a multi-year strategic collaboration with Google Cloud to accelerate the adoption of artificial intelligence, cloud technologies and digital skills across education, healthcare and research.
The partnership aims to develop an AI-enabled academic ecosystem that equips students, faculty, researchers and university leaders with skills and technologies relevant to an increasingly AI-driven workplace. The collaboration will cover curriculum transformation, AI and cloud skilling, faculty development, leadership programmes, student innovation and entrepreneurship.
As part of the initiative, Google Cloud will support MAHE in strengthening academic curricula in emerging areas such as artificial intelligence, advanced computing, cloud technology and cybersecurity. Students will also have opportunities to pursue Google Cloud learning pathways and industry-recognised certifications in cloud computing, cybersecurity, data analytics and generative AI.
The collaboration will also extend to faculty members. Faculty development programmes and bootcamps will focus on strengthening educators’ capabilities in cloud and emerging technologies. Leadership-focused programmes will explore how AI, generative AI and cloud technologies can be used to transform institutional processes and decision-making.
The partnership is expected to have a particular focus on healthcare and medical education, building on MAHE’s multidisciplinary strengths in medicine, health sciences, engineering, management and research. The two organisations will explore applications of AI, cloud and advanced computing in healthcare education and research, with an emphasis on developing solutions to societal and healthcare challenges.
Student innovation will form another component of the collaboration. MAHE and Google Cloud plan to organise hackathons, webinars and hands-on programmes, while also supporting startup incubation and prototype development. Eligible student-led ventures could gain access to relevant programmes within the Google Cloud startup ecosystem.
The collaboration is also linked to MAHE’s broader AI transformation initiative, MAGIC (MAHE Agentic Intelligence Console), through which the university is working towards integrating AI-enabled systems into its academic and administrative processes. MAHE has said the initiative is part of its effort to build an AI-agentic university, with a focus on education, research, healthcare and institutional applications.
Dr K Sharath Rao, vice-chancellor, MAHE, said AI is transforming the way universities approach education, research and healthcare, adding that the partnership would bring global expertise and advanced AI capabilities to the institution’s efforts.
The collaboration comes at a time when universities are increasingly looking beyond traditional technology education to integrate AI skills across disciplines. For students, this could mean greater exposure to industry-oriented training and certifications alongside their regular academic programmes.
Through the partnership, MAHE aims to strengthen its technology capabilities and develop a model for responsible AI adoption across education, healthcare and research that could eventually be scaled beyond the university ecosystem.
