The International Institute of Information Technology Bangalore (IIIT Bangalore) and AGH University of Krakow in Poland signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) in Bengaluru on 23 October 2026 for academic and research collaboration in artificial intelligence (AI), quantum technologies and other emerging fields. The MoU was signed by IIIT Bangalore Director Debabrata Das and AGH University Senior Advisor Rao Maddukuri and exchanged in the presence of Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk and Karnataka Chief Minister D. K. Shivakumar. The pact creates a formal framework for joint research, joint academic programmes and exchange of students and faculty between the two institutions.
What Did IIIT Bangalore and AGH University Agree To?
The IIIT Bangalore and AGH University MoU sets up a broad structure for long term cooperation rather than a single project. The two institutions will identify areas of common interest and then develop specific collaborative activities under the agreement. Joint research activities form the core of the pact, supported by development of joint academic programmes and exchange of academic materials made available by both sides.
The agreement also provides for international academic mobility for faculty members and students. This means teachers and learners from Bengaluru and Krakow can visit partner campuses, join research groups and experience different teaching and research practices. For students, such mobility builds exposure to new laboratories, courses and research cultures.
Academic engagement goes beyond exchanges. The MoU lists joint seminars, symposia and educational conferences, along with career guidance activities and promotional and information events in online and offline formats. Participation in winter and summer schools is also included, which creates short term opportunities for interaction without the need for full semester exchanges.
Is IIIT Bangalore Private or Government?
The International Institute of Information Technology Bangalore, widely known as IIIT Bangalore or IIITB, is a deemed to be university located in Electronic City, Bengaluru. It was established in 1998 as a registered not for profit society under a public private partnership model co promoted by the Government of Karnataka and the information technology industry. It is therefore neither a fully government institute like an IIT nor a conventional private college.
IIIT Bangalore focuses almost entirely on information technology and allied areas such as computer science, electronics, data science and software systems. It offers integrated MTech, MTech, MSc by research and PhD programmes. The institute holds NAAC A plus accreditation and was ranked 69th in the engineering category in NIRF 2025, the highest rank for an engineering institute in Bengaluru that year. IIIT Bangalore Director Debabrata Das said international partnerships help expand research opportunities and bring diverse perspectives into higher education.
What Is AGH University of Krakow?
AGH University of Krakow is a public technical university located in Krakow, Poland. Its name comes from the Polish Akademia Gorniczo Hutnicza, which means Academy of Mining and Metallurgy, reflecting its origins in mining and metallurgical education. The university was founded in 1919 and has since grown into a large multidisciplinary technical university.
AGH University is consistently ranked among the top technical universities in Poland. In the QS World University Rankings 2027, it is placed in the 761 to 770 band, improving from the 801 to 850 band in 2026. It is also ranked around 817th in the US News Best Global Universities list and in the 1001 to 1200 band in the Times Higher Education rankings. National ranking systems place it first among Polish technical universities in several research and innovation measures.
The university is strong in engineering, energy, computer science, mathematics and physics. Its computer science and engineering departments are directly relevant to the new collaboration on AI and quantum research. Rao Maddukuri, Senior Advisor at AGH University of Krakow, signed the MoU on behalf of the Polish side and said the partnership would strengthen academic connections between Poland and India through joint initiatives, seminars and exchanges.
Why AI and Quantum Technologies Anchor the Partnership
Artificial intelligence refers to computer systems that can learn from data and perform tasks such as language understanding, image recognition and prediction. Quantum technology uses the principles of quantum physics to build far more powerful computers, ultra secure communication links and highly precise sensors. Both fields need advanced research, skilled people and strong computing infrastructure. That is why universities are central to their growth.
The IIIT Bangalore and AGH University pact focuses on these two frontier areas because both India and Poland view them as strategic priorities. For India, the collaboration aligns directly with two national missions.
| Mission | Key Facts |
|---|---|
| IndiaAI Mission | Approved by the Union Cabinet on 7 March 2024 with an outlay of ₹10,371.92 crore for five years. It is run by the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology through IndiaAI under the Digital India Corporation. Its seven pillars include compute capacity of more than 10,000 graphics processing units (GPUs), an innovation centre for indigenous foundation models, the AIKosh datasets platform, application development, FutureSkills, startup financing and safe and trusted AI. |
| National Quantum Mission (NQM) | Approved by the Union Cabinet on 19 April 2023 with an outlay of ₹6,003.65 crore for 2023-24 to 2030-31. It is implemented by the Department of Science and Technology. It targets intermediate scale quantum computers with 50 to 1,000 physical qubits in eight years, satellite based secure communication over 2,000 km within India, intercity quantum key distribution over 2,000 km, and advanced quantum sensors and materials. |
Joint work between an Indian institute with deep AI expertise and a Polish technical university with strengths in physics, mathematics and engineering can support these goals. Shared projects can help train researchers, produce joint publications and build links between Indian and European research ecosystems.
India Poland Relations: The Larger Strategic Backdrop
The academic MoU was exchanged during a high level political visit, which gives it added weight. Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk visited India from 21 to 23 October 2026 at the invitation of Prime Minister Narendra Modi. This was the first visit by a Polish prime minister to India since 2010. Tusk travelled with Finance Minister Andrzej Domanski and a large business delegation of nearly 100 companies for business forums in New Delhi on 22 October and Bengaluru on 23 October.
India and Poland share a long history of friendly ties. Diplomatic relations were established in 1954, and the two countries marked 70 years of relations in 2024. During the Second World War, the ruler of Nawanagar, remembered in Poland as the Good Maharaja, gave shelter to thousands of Polish refugees. More recently, Poland helped more than 2,000 Indian students evacuated from Ukraine through its territory under Operation Ganga in 2022.
The political framework for the current partnership was set when Modi visited Warsaw in August 2024. That was the first visit by an Indian prime minister to Poland in 45 years. The two sides elevated ties to a Strategic Partnership and adopted an Action Plan for 2024 to 2028 covering trade, defence, energy, science and technology, education and people to people ties. During the October 2026 visit, the leaders reviewed this plan and set a goal to double bilateral trade from just over $6 billion to $10 billion by 2030. Poland is already the largest trading partner of India in Central and Eastern Europe.
Education and technology form a growing part of this partnership. Alongside defence co production, space cooperation between the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) and the Polish Space Agency (POLSA), and clean energy, both sides agreed to expand cooperation in AI, cybersecurity and academic exchanges. The Bengaluru leg of the visit focused on information technology and space, which fits directly with the IIIT Bangalore and AGH University agreement.
Key Takeaways
- IIIT Bangalore and AGH University of Krakow signed an MoU in Bengaluru on 23 October 2026 for collaboration in AI, quantum technologies and other emerging fields.
- The MoU was signed by Debabrata Das and Rao Maddukuri and exchanged in the presence of Donald Tusk and D. K. Shivakumar.
- The pact covers joint research, joint academic programmes, academic mobility for students and faculty, and joint seminars, conferences and winter and summer schools.
- IIIT Bangalore, established in 1998 in Electronic City, is a deemed to be university under a public private partnership model and ranked 69th in NIRF Engineering 2025.
- AGH University of Krakow, founded in 1919, is a leading Polish technical university ranked in the 761 to 770 band in QS World Rankings 2027.
