In July 2021 the Indian Institute of Science (IISc) in Bengaluru and the education technology company TalentSprint announced a PG Level Advanced Certification Programme in Digital Manufacturing and Smart Factories. The course was designed to run for five months, was coordinated by IISc’s Centre for Product Design and Manufacturing (CPDM), and was aimed at working engineers and managers involved in moving factories toward connected, data-driven production. This review covers what was announced, who the 2021 materials said could apply, and the points on which those materials did not agree.
What was announced
On 9 July 2021, NDTV reported that IISc Bangalore had introduced the programme, describing it as a five-month postgraduate-level advanced certificate offered in partnership with TalentSprint and coordinated by CPDM. Three days later, on 12 July 2021, a press release distributed through ANI and BusinessWire India and carried by Business Standard described the programme as “announced today” by IISc and TalentSprint and stated that applications were open for the first cohort.
The two institutions had distinct roles in the 2021 materials. IISc, through CPDM, supplied the academic coordination and the faculty, and NDTV reported that IISc would make the selection of participants. TalentSprint was the delivery partner; the release said the live lectures would run on TalentSprint’s own digital learning platform.
Background as described at the time
The 2021 release presented the course as a response to demand for professionals who could lead digital change in manufacturing, citing technologies such as the Internet of Things, analytics, robotics and additive manufacturing. Those framing claims, and the market figures the release quoted from third parties, belong to the release; this review has not checked them and does not repeat them as findings.
According to the release and the NDTV report, the stated teaching design had three parts:
- Lectures. Live, interactive masterclass lectures. The release said these were taught by what it called a “15+ strong” interdisciplinary faculty group drawn from IISc’s Product Design and Manufacturing, Mechanical Engineering, Electronics Systems Engineering, Materials Engineering, and Computer Science and Automation departments.
- Labs. Hands-on exercises using digital manufacturing tools.
- Projects. Project work at the IISc Smart Factory Labs.
In the release, Prof. Amaresh Chakrabarti, then head of CPDM, described the IISc Smart Factory as a Common Engineering Facility Centre under the SAMARTH Udyog Bharat 4.0 programme of India’s Department of Heavy Industries. Santanu Paul, then CEO and managing director of TalentSprint, called it the company’s fifth programme with IISc. Both statements are the institutions’ own descriptions as quoted in the release.
The release named the intended audience as current and aspiring smart-factory strategy and management professionals, plus people in IoT, automotive, aerospace, FMCG, pharmaceuticals, energy and metallurgy. NDTV reported the 2021 eligibility rule: an engineering degree and more than one year of professional experience. Selection was to be made by IISc on the basis of those criteria and the motivation applicants set out in a statement of purpose.
For a present-day explanation of what digital manufacturing involves on a production floor, see our explainer on digital manufacturing at factory level. That article is separate from this historical account.
Key facts and timeline
| Date | Event | Source |
|---|---|---|
| 9 July 2021 | NDTV reports that IISc has introduced a five-month PG-level certificate in Digital Manufacturing and Smart Factories with TalentSprint, coordinated by CPDM; eligibility listed as an engineering degree plus over one year of experience. | NDTV |
| 12 July 2021 | Press release carried by Business Standard (ANI/BusinessWire India) says the programme was “announced today”, applications are open for the first cohort, and that cohort starts in September 2021. | Business Standard (press release) |
| 20 September 2021 | Last date to apply, as listed on IISc’s event page for the programme. | Indian Institute of Science |
| October 2021 – February 2022 | Programme schedule, as listed on the same IISc event page. | Indian Institute of Science |
The IISc schedule covers five calendar months, which matches the five-month length given in the release and the NDTV report.
What remains uncertain
- The first announcement date. The release dated 12 July 2021 says the programme was “announced today”, but NDTV had already reported it on 9 July 2021, citing the IISc website and an IISc statement. The earliest public announcement date has not been established, so this page gives the event as July 2021.
- The start date. The release said the first cohort would start in September 2021, while IISc’s event page lists a schedule of October 2021 to February 2022. The sources do not explain the difference, and this review does not treat it as a confirmed postponement. When the first cohort actually began has not been verified.
- Outcomes. No verified information was found on how many people enrolled, how many completed the course, or what effect it had on careers or factory performance. The teaching design described above is what was planned in 2021, not evidence of results.
- Later cohorts. This review does not cover whether the programme ran again after the 2021–22 schedule. It describes only the 2021 offering.
- The earlier page at the legacy address. The article that once sat at the old subdomain address could not be retrieved, and an archive lookup for that address failed during research. Its wording, author and publication date are unknown. The country name in that subdomain says nothing about where the event took place; the programme was based at IISc in Bengaluru.
About this review
This page is a newly written historical review based on the sources listed below. It is not presented as the original article. The author and original publication date of the earlier page at the legacy address could not be confirmed, so neither is given here. The event dates and the publication date of this review are shown separately. The account draws on IISc’s event page for the programme, the July 2021 press release, and NDTV’s report from the same month. Two TalentSprint newsroom pages returned “page not found” when checked on 10 October 2026 and were not used. More historical reviews are listed in the Historical Archive.
