IIT Hyderabad launches a three-month Forward Deployed Engineering practitioner programme, starting December 5

The Indian Institute of Technology Hyderabad has announced a three-month Forward Deployed Engineering (FDE) Practitioner Program, delivered online by faculty from its Department of Computer Science and Engineering across 52 planned sessions. Classes start on December 5, and registrations are open through the institute's AI Launchpad site.

According to the Indian Express, the curriculum covers agentic AI systems, workflow automation and production AI engineering, with a focus on the hard part of the job: connecting models to an organisation's data, APIs, business processes and existing software. It mixes classroom sessions with guided practical work, AI system development, faculty research talks and industry webinars, and graduates who meet the requirements receive an IIT Hyderabad certificate.

Why it matters for FDEs: it is the second Indian institute in a week to package forward deployed engineering as a formal course, after IIIT-Bangalore and upGrad's executive programme. Universities treating FDE as a teachable discipline, rather than a title only AI labs use, is another sign the role is spreading into enterprises and services firms, and it gives engineers in India a structured route into deployment-focused work.