Bhubaneswar, Dec 23 (IANS): IT major Tech Mahindra on Monday announced the opening of a "Center of Excellence" in the College of Engineering and Technology (CET) at Bhubaneswar in Odisha to train young graduates in the field of Artificial Intelligence (AI).

The inauguration took place in the presence of Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik.

"The collaboration between Tech Mahindra and CET to build the Center of Excellence powered by Artificial Intelligence is a step towards fulfilling our dream to make Odisha one of the top three investment destinations in the country," Patnaik said in a statement.

"It is also an opportunity for our youth and young professionals to leverage next generation technologies to drive innovation and create sustainable solutions for a better tomorrow," he added.

This center came into being after a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) was signed between Tech Mahindra and CET that outlined the government's objective to upskill young students by familiarising them with new-age technologies like AI and equipping them with the knowledge of applying these technologies in everyday life.

As part of the MoU, the center will serve as a platform to incubate new solutions which will leverage cutting-edge AI technology through proof of concepts (PoC), to develop business use cases that are impacting manufacturing industries and public service organisations, among others.

The Tech Mahindra facility aims to provide additional employment in the business process outsourcing (BPO) sector for the state.

Tech Mahindra said it had started BPO operations at Fortune Tower, Bhubaneswar.