PNN

Patiala (Punjab) [India], October 16: Thapar Institute of Engineering & Technology (TIET), Patiala, has won two honours at the FICCI Higher Education Excellence Awards 2026: University of the Year 2026 and Excellence in Digital Transformation 2026. The recognition coincides with the institute's 70th Founders' Day, marking seven decades of contributions to higher education, research and innovation.

The awards recognise the institute's efforts to strengthen academic excellence and research while advancing digital capabilities through artificial intelligence (AI), high-performance computing and emerging technologies.

The 12th FICCI Higher Education Excellence Awards were conferred on October 8, 2026, during the inaugural session of the 21st FICCI Higher Education Summit at Bharat Mandapam, New Delhi, held on the theme "Higher Education for a New World: Reform, Resilience and Relevance". The awards were presented by Dr Murli Manohar Joshi, Padma Vibhushan awardee and former Union Minister of Human Resource Development. The session was also attended by Dr R. Balasubramaniam, Member, NITI Aayog, Mr Anant Swarup, Secretary General, FICCI, and Dr Vidya Yeravdekar, Chair, FICCI Higher Education Committee and Chancellor, Symbiosis International University. Vice-chancellors, educationists, policymakers and industry leaders from across the country also took part.

Speaking about the recognition, Prof. Padmakumar Nair, Vice Chancellor, Thapar Institute of Engineering & Technology, said, "An award like University of the Year is not a verdict on what we have achieved; it is a reminder of what we owe. Excellence is never a finished state. For an institution turning seventy, the more important question is whether we continue to produce young people of good judgment, people who can make sound decisions when the answers are not obvious. That is the standard we intend to hold ourselves to as we begin our next decade, with humility about how far we still have to go and confidence that we are on the right path."

The University of the Year 2026 award recognises TIET's contributions to higher education through academic excellence, research, innovation and its commitment to creating meaningful learning experiences for students.

The Excellence in Digital Transformation 2026 award recognises TIET's efforts to integrate artificial intelligence into teaching, learning and research across disciplines. This includes AI education for students across programmes, supported by the Thapar School of Advanced AI & Data Science (TSAAI), established through a technical collaboration with NVIDIA. The institute's advanced AI computing infrastructure further enables students and researchers to explore real-world applications of emerging technologies.

About Thapar Institute of Engineering & TechnologyEstablished in 1956, Thapar Institute of Engineering & Technology (TIET), Patiala, is a leading institution for engineering and technology education in India. The institute focuses on academic excellence, research, innovation, and interdisciplinary learning, with an emphasis on developing skilled professionals and advancing knowledge to address emerging societal and industrial challenges.

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