Parul University's Journey into the World of AI

As soon as the student group arrived in Bangalore, which is also known as Silicon Valley, the students of Parul University could feel the startup energy of the city. Any time they'd find themselves in a conversation, going into a coworking space or seeing anything on the screen, you could hear it say "The future is being made here.”

This tour is all about an experiential journey on how curiosity, courage and creativity shape the world of AI and innovation.

Exploring the Journey of AI

All of the excitement began with Leslie D'Monte, Executive Editor of Mint, who took everyone on a brief journey back in time, which started with typewriters thumping away and ended with algorithms making decisions for us.

His stories weren’t just tech talk; they were about transformation.

“Ask the right questions and welcome change,” he said, setting the tone for the days ahead.

Students realized that Artificial Intelligence is not only about coding or computation, but it’s about thinking differently.

From Curiosity to Purpose At Amazon Pay

Balaji Mani represented the transformation of curiosity into purpose. His journey, weaving about a winding career path, working on innovation - spoke to everyone in the room's heart and mind. He talked about taking risks, being patient, and discovering meaning in the work you do. For the students in attendance, this was an awakening - success can't be achieved if one plays it too safe; success is derived from believing in something enough to go after it.

The conversations started a lot of laughter, inquiries, pressure, and inspiration, the kind of energy that makes you want to do something new the moment you walk outside the door. Creativity Driving Leadership The second highlight of the conference was the visit to Google, where Anand Rangarajan intertwined tech, ethics and empathy into one memorable workshop. His message? Technology will always be powerful,  but it’s only as good as the people behind it.

Students watched how creativity fuels leadership and how values guide innovation.It was quite a revelation to realize that AI is not there to take humans' place; it is simply there to remind humans to be better people, more thoughtful, more ethical, and more imaginative.

Technology Meets Governance

Just when you thought you'd seen it all, the tour took a sudden left turn into something involving politics, specifically, the Karnataka MP office.

Aravind Suchindran equated elections with taking exams; tough, strategic, and about preparation. Ultimately, he reminded us, like in government, business you simply have to have a good vision, you have to plan and have patience.

It was a nice reminder that technology is about so much more than just the product. It's about people, systems, and how ideas emerge into the world.

Taking Risks & Building Resilience

The energy ramped up with the startup sessions with Ashish Dahiya and Hariharan Thirugnanam from Instabase India. These were not talks, but real, raw dialogues on failure, becoming better, and grit.

What was clear in their stories was failure is not the end of the world, it is part of the process.

The students soaked up every ounce of unfiltered reality, small wins and big lessons.  They redefined what it means to build something from nothing, with courage, curiosity and trial and error.

Seeing AI’s Broader Horizon

Next came Mohammed Anzy from Guidewire India and Jayanth Kollaa from Convergence Catalyst. Their observations expanded what students conceived AI capable of achieving.

AI is more than just data and logic; it is evolving, learning, adapting. The twist is, however, it still requires human beings to appropriately navigate.

Once students understood the interconnections, their comprehension developed into developing a big picture, and everything they had been taught about curiosity, leadership, and resilience fit well into the concept of shaping the technology world responsibly.

Innovation in Action

The last stop brought the group face-to-face with the innovators from AI Palette and NeuroPixel.AI, Himanshu Upreti and Amritendu Mukherjee, two dreamers who turned ideas into impact. 

They discussed what it means to have long nights, tough decisions, and an in-the-moment "should we give up?" conversation that resulted in breakthroughs. 

These conversations were not just about technology, but resilience, creativity, and a need to push through adversity. Students can relate as innovation is as much about persistence and passion. 

Going home with perspectives after the AI Tech Tour 

These students were not walking out of Bangalore with notes and pictures, but they were leaving with perspective. They had experienced what it is like to create, build and turn ideas into reality, in offices, startups and government spaces. 

Each stop led seamlessly into the next; each story added layer, and out of all of this greatness, one truth emanated: the future is not something that happens to us, it is something we are creating.  With curiosity as their compass, courage as their engine, and knowledge as their toolbox, the Parul University students left Bangalore ready to instigate what comes next.

Note: The views expressed in this article are of Parul University and do not reflect/represent those of Shiksha.