Chennai, Mar 10 : Walmart Global Tech (WGT) is partnering with Indian Institute of Technology-Madras (IIT-M) to accelerate research in new areas of technology, provide Walmart associates with continuing education and collaborate on projects for Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) for their India operations. The MoU was signed at an event here in the presence of Suresh Kumar, Global Chief Technology Officer (CTO) and Chief Development Officer (CDO), Walmart Inc., (and alumnus of IITM), Prof. Mahesh Panchagnula, Dean-Alumni and Corporate Relations, IIT-M and the U.S. Consul General in Chennai Ms. Judith Ravin. A release from IIT-M today said through this corporate partnership, IITM students and WGT associates will work on research projects together, facilitated by the Centre for Industrial Consultancy and Sponsored Research (IC&SR) at IITM. In addition, WGT will use space in the IIT Madras Research Park to leverage the broader ecosystem and work with the start-up companies incubated by the IIT Madras Incubation Cell. WGT will also have access to several short and long-term education and training programs to upskill talent and fit the changing needs of the retail and eCommerce industry. Commenting on the occasion, Suresh Kumar said “WGT develops and manages the foundational technologies on which our customer experiences around the world are built. We are a human-led, tech-empowered company, and our talented associates in India are critical to driving Walmart’s global businesses and leading the next retail disruption. Our association with IITM will help us further empower our teams, collaborate on digital innovation and strengthen the education ecosystem in India.” Prof. Mahesh Panchagnula said “WGT and IITM have many areas for collaborative growth such as sustainability, AI, and energy engineering. We are keen to grow this into an impactful partnership to benefit a broad cross-section of stakeholders including students and faculty members of IIT Madras.” Ms Judith Ravin said, “I welcome the collaboration between global retail giant Walmart and India’s topmost technology institution IITM. Industry-academic partnerships are a great way to strengthen higher education and create a highly skilled workforce that can contribute to our mutual economic prosperity.” WGT and IITM will also engage in CSR activities, in addition to grants that will be made to support faculty research and students with scholarships and fellowships. WGT will undertake sponsoring events, advertisements, and other branding activities to further support IITM. GV 1252