Instruction Enhancement Program (IEP) on Edge AI

Organized as part of the MEITY C2S Program, with the support of ChipIN, CDAC

Dates: March 16-20, 2026

Location: Department of Computational and Data Sciences, Indian Institute of Science (IISc), Bangalore | View Map

The rapid shift toward intelligent edge computing is being driven by the convergence of advanced edge-class CPUs, heterogeneous accelerators, and innovations in semiconductor design that enable high-performance AI within stringent power, latency, and cost constraints. This Instruction Enhancement Program highlights the Systems+AI foundations of contemporary edge processors, including Arm-based CPUs, NPUs, Raspberry Pi, Arduino devices, and Nvidia Jetson class devices. It covers model-systems co-design, toolchains, and optimization workflows required for efficient AI pipelines on edge devices. The IEP aims to provide faculty with course material, research insights, and mentorship necessary to enhance their curriculum and drive innovation in their institutions.

Program Overview

This comprehensive 5-day Instruction Enhancement Program covers processor architecture, edge AI fundamentals, federated learning, accelerator optimizations, and systems for machine learning. The program combines theoretical foundations with practical tutorials and includes ARM course materials that will be shared with you for use in your teaching.

Program Features:

Hybrid format: up to 80 faculty in-person, up to 200 online participants
Hands-on tutorials with Raspberry Pi, Arduino TinyML kits, and Jetson accelerators
Industry expertise from Arm and leading IISc faculty
All materials will be shared with participants
Digital Certificate of Participation upon completion of all 5 days

Detailed Schedule

All sessions will be held in CDS 303. Coffee/Lunch will be provided in CDS 4th Floor Lobby. Registration desk is at CDS 3rd Floor Lobby.
All participants must sign-in and sign-out at the Registration Desk on all days.

Date	Time	Topic	Speaker(s)	Description
Monday, Mar 16	9:30 AM - 10:00 AM	Registration	--	Registration Desk at CDS 3rd Floor Lobby
	10:00 AM - 12:30 PM	Arm architecture fundamentals and Cortex/Neoverse	Desikan Srinivasan, Sumeet Verma and Alex Su	1) Introduction to Computer Architecture and Arm Processors 2) Introduction to Arm Neoverse Compute Subsystem (CSS) and Chiplet Architecture
	12:30 PM - 2:00 PM: Lunch
	2:00 PM - 4:30 PM	Edge AI Fundamentals - Part I	Prof. Pandarasamy Arjunan RBCCPS, IISc	IoT & embedded systems, AI/ML/DL basics, compact models (quantization/pruning/distillation), edge AI toolchains
	4:30 PM - 5:00 PM	Laptop setup for hands-on	--	Participants set up laptops for afternoon hands-on sessions with help from TAs
Tuesday, Mar 17	10:00 AM - 12:30 PM	Edge AI Fundamentals - Part II	Prof. Pandarasamy Arjunan	Embedded ML workflows, microcontroller scale AI, on-device optimization
	12:30 PM - 2:00 PM: Lunch
	2:00 PM - 4:30 PM	Edge AI Tutorial	Prof. Pandarasamy Arjunan & Team	MicroPython, Arduino TinyML, efficient ML/DL on microcontrollers & IoT devices
Wednesday, Mar 18	10:00 AM - 12:30 PM	Federated Learning Concepts & Architectures	Prof. Yogesh Simmhan CDS, IISc	FL paradigms, hardware heterogeneity, privacy-preserving FL, Flotilla framework
	12:30 PM - 2:00 PM: Lunch
	2:00 PM - 3:30 PM	AI on Arm and Arm Academic Access	Matt Cossins & Kieren Hejmadi; and Becky Ellis	1) AI Compute on Arm: Cloud to the Edge 2) Arm Academic Access - Enabling researchers to do their best work
	3:30 PM - 4:30 PM	Federated Learning Tutorial	Prof. Yogesh Simmhan & Team	FL implementation on Raspberry Pi clusters and edge devices
Thursday, Mar 19	10:00 AM - 12:30 PM	Edge Accelerators & Optimizations	Prof. Yogesh Simmhan	Jetson accelerators, power/perf modes, hardware-aware model compilation, edge+cloud pipelines
	12:30 PM - 2:00 PM: Lunch
	2:00 PM - 4:30 PM	Systems for Machine Learning - Part I	Prof. Sumit Mandal CSA, IISc	DNN accelerators, GPU training, efficient LLMs, ML systems trends
Friday, Mar 20	10:00 AM - 12:30 PM	Systems for Machine Learning - Part II	Prof. Sumit Mandal	Future accelerator architectures, transformer efficiency, compiler/toolchain advances
	12:30 PM - 2:00 PM: Lunch
	2:00 PM - 4:30 PM	ARM Edge AI Tutorial & Closing Session	Rishabh Sharma (tentative) and Sumeet Verma	Edge AI deployment on Arm platforms, faculty resources & curriculum development

Confirmed Speakers

Prof. Pandarasamy Arjunan - Assistant Professor, RBCCPS, IISc

Prof. Arjunan's research spans cyber physical systems, applied ML/AI, and smart built environments. His work integrates sensing, embedded systems, and data-driven analytics for Edge AI, embedded ML, and optimization on resource-constrained devices. He brings expertise in anomaly detection, time series analytics, and efficient ML deployment in real-world IoT settings.

Prof. Yogesh Simmhan - Associate Professor, CDS, IISc

Prof. Simmhan leads research on distributed systems, cloud and edge computing, temporal graph analytics, and scalable machine learning. He has published over 100 peer-reviewed papers and won the Best Paper Award at IEEE CLOUD 2019 and the Distinguished Paper award at EuroPar 2018. His work includes edge accelerators, federated learning, and platform-level optimizations for AI on distributed edge-cloud systems.

Prof. Sumit Mandal - Assistant Professor, CSA, IISc

Prof. Mandal leads the Future Computing Systems (FIST) group and focuses on energy-efficient hardware for machine learning, network-on-chip (NoC) architectures, and power management for heterogeneous SoCs. His research on hardware acceleration for ML/LLMs and chiplet-based architectures aligns closely with next-generation ML systems and edge compute trends.

Sumeet Verma - Regional Head, Ecosystem Alliances, Arm, Bangalore

Sumeet is part of Arm India's ecosystem-facing technical and community engagements and has been actively involved in industry-university partnerships. He contributes to building partnerships and supporting developer and academic communities aligned with Arm's strategic growth in India.

Alex Su - Sr. Development Manager, Arm Academic Program

Alex Su brings nearly three decades of hands-on experience in SoC design and verification across the semiconductor and edge AI applications. His background covers end-to-end silicon development, advanced verification methodologies, EDA consulting, and technical customer engagement. In addition to driving customer success, he has been actively involved in semiconductor education and ecosystem development, working to bridge industry innovation with academic talent cultivation.

Desikan Srinivasan - Director Engineering, Arm

Desikan Srinivasan has been working in front end design verification domain in the semiconductor industry for more than 25 years. He currently manages the CPU design verification team in Arm Bangalore and has been with Arm for over 19 years. He has wide experience in verification of computer architecture and microarchitecture areas and has worked at IBM and Transwitch in India and the US. Desikan holds a degree in Electronics and Communications from Madras University.

Matt Cossins - Academic Ecosystem Development Manager, Arm

Matt holds an MEng in Electrical and Electronic Engineering from the University of Nottingham and specialised in his thesis on neuromorphic AI & ML. He has held engineering roles at Capgemini and at cellXica working on embedded and RTL design for software-defined radio in 5G communications. He currently drives adoption of Arm-powered AI compute platforms through developer education and technical enablement, and via collaborations between industry and academia.

Kieran Hejmadi - Software & Academic Ecosystem Development Manager, Arm

Kieran Hejmadi holds an MEng in Electronic Engineering with Nanotechnology from the University of Southampton. He has experience in image processing, DNA sequencing technology, and software ecosystem development.

Dr Becky Ellis - Senior Manager, Research Enablement, Arm

Becky leads Arm’s global university research enablement strategy—building semiconductor ecosystems, expanding academic access to Arm IP, and accelerating innovation through strategic partnerships and community-led programs.

Prerequisites

Currently teaching hardware, OS, or systems-related courses at an undergraduate engineering college
Familiarity with computer systems concepts and architecture
Openness to incorporating Edge AI and ARM architecture topics into your course work
Access to a laptop with Windows or Linux operating system (additional software details will be provided before the program)

Format & Logistics

Venue: Department of Computational and Data Sciences, Indian Institute of Science, Bangalore | View Map
All sessions will be held in CDS 303. Coffee/Lunch will be provided in CDS 4th Floor Lobby. Registration desk is at CDS 3rd Floor Lobby.
Format: Hybrid mode - up to 80 faculty in-person and up to 200 online participants
In-person Support: Registration kit, lunch, and tea/coffee/snacks provided for in-person participants
Accommodation: Limited on-campus accommodation at IISc Hoysala House available on self-payment basis (Rs. 1,000 + GST per night, Mar 15-20)
Travel: Participants are responsible for their own travel arrangements. No travel support provided.
Hands-on Sessions: Tutorials will include demonstrations and hands-on sessions with edge computing devices
Materials: All materials presented in IEP sessions will be shared with participants
Certificate: Digital Certificate of Participation provided upon completion of all 5 days

Registration & Important Dates

Registration Cost: Free

Registration Deadline: March 1, 2026 (Closed)
Notification of Participation and Accommodation: March 3, 2026
IEP Dates: March 16-20, 2026 Registration QR code

Registration Requirements:

Nomination Letter: Faculty wishing to attend in-person must submit a nomination/undertaking letter from their Head of Department or Department Chair as part of registration
Target Audience: Priority is given to faculty from the universities participating in the MEITY C2S programme. However, program is open to all faculty.

To register for the Faculty Development Program on Edge AI, please visit our registration page. Early registration is recommended as in-person seats are limited.

NOTE: Since we only have limited on-campus accomodation available on a self-payment basis, we will revert back to those who request accommodation in the registration form with a confirmation. Those who cannot be given on-campus accomodation will need to make their own arrangements, or attend virtually.

Organizers

For Queries: Please contact Yogesh Simmhan or Rebanta Dutta Kanungoe

For local logistics support, please contact Daksh Mehta

Yogesh Simmhan - Associate Professor, Department of Computational and Data Sciences, IISc, Bangalore
Sumeet Verma - Regional Head, Ecosystem Alliances, Arm, Bangalore
Pandarasamy Arjunan - Assistant Professor, Robert Bosch Centre for Cyber Physical Systems (RBCCPS), IISc
Sumit Mandal - Assistant Professor, Computer Science and Automation (CSA), IISc
Rebanta Dutta Kanungoe - Community Manager for Academic Programs, Arm