Engineering education symposium in Chennai explores AI, industry needs and future-ready skills

The Engineering Education Symposium, MEEd India 2026, was held at Anna University, Chennai, on Wednesday as part of the International Mechanical Engineering Congress & Exposition (IMECE) India 2026. The symposium is being held from September 3 to 5.

The symposium brought together academia, industry and engineering students to discuss AI-enabled learning, industry-academia partnerships, curriculum innovation and skills for a future-ready workforce. Other initiatives include ISHOW, a hardware accelerator that has supported 276 ventures across 37 countries with $1.4 million invested through equity-free seed funding for ventures, and ‘Brain Bolt’, a national engineering make-a-thon culminating in a 22-hour final in Chennai.

Organised by the American Society of Mechanical Engineers (ASME), the programme included sessions on modernising mechanical engineering education in the era of Industry 5.0 and GenAI, data-driven design optimisation, model-based systems engineering, mechatronics education through problem-based learning, AI in engineering education and assessment.

Speakers included representatives from MathWorks, Collins Aerospace, Caterpillar, TVS Motor Company and IIT-Madras. The symposium follows ASME’s “ASK” model, bringing academia, students and industry into discussions on capability gaps, faculty upskilling and India-specific engineering skills roadmaps.

IMECE India 2026 is ASME’s first edition outside the US and is expected to draw over 3,000 delegates and 500 authors, according to a press release.