On February 13, 2026, AI experts, industry leaders, and educationists gathered in Chennai at The Hindu Tech Summit 2026, hosted by The Hindu and Vellore Institute of Technology (VIT), co-presented by Sify Technologies. The session titled “AI, Academia and Resilience: Building Institution and Talent for an Uncertain Future” focused on how AI is changing academia and jobs. Dr. Sandhya Pentareddy, Executive Director of VIT, stressed the unique value of university education beyond online courses. She said, "We produce intelligent, inquisitive, and adaptable human beings who shape future societies. The value of university education is more than a course you can learn online. I always say that people learn only 40% in their classroom. Students gain from peer-to-peer learning – interacting with other students and professors and when they meet industrialists. Research is the backbone of the country, and we need to do a lot more of it." Author and consultant V. Kumaraswamy addressed fears about AI causing job losses. He said, "The negative connotation regarding job losses is really overdone. I think NITI Aayog has estimated that 1.5 million jobs will be lost, primarily at the base level. But look at the opportunity. They are projecting $1.5 trillion worth of opportunity." He also noted, "AI has been there for much longer, but it has been making noise only in the past two years. We must move towards something [a concept of a university] which is not a ‘place constant’." On AI's reach, he added, "No field is going to be exempt. AI is in the preliminary stages... in the developmental stage. But everybody has to be on alert." Dr. Ashwin Sadasiva Kumar from Virtusa highlighted the core role of universities, saying, "The fundamental language on which AI exists is still python. The foundation is what the university gives... and that is not going to go away. Yes, the volume will go down; mass hiring will not happen. There will be ‘value’ hiring. Universities have to rethink. Micro learning through certification might help us solve one issue, one problem. What university education gives is... solving problems. Degrees are not going to go away, but universities have to start thinking. AI will never replace a human. People who don’t know AI will be replaced by humans who know AI. Certification courses cannot create engineers, only universities can create engineers." Jagdish Ramaswamy from Jayam SCM Consultants underlined the need for better support, "We lack the ecosystem. The AI revolution should be led by the government and corporates. We need to look at using AI not just in a service economy but in a product economy. Only in the product economy do you create IPs." Moderated by Nagaraj, Vice-President of Data and Analytics at The Hindu, the session shed light on how AI challenges and opportunities will shape education and jobs in the years to come.