On the occasion of Engineers’ Day, Ms. Anuradha Vattem, Chief Technology Architect, IIITH Smart City Living Lab, inaugurated KIET Smart City Lab at KITE College, Kakinada, in the presence of the IIITH faculty Dr. Aftab Hussain, Ms. Aishwarya Pothula, Director of KIET, KIET management, faculty and students. Their participation and encouragement made the event both memorable and inspiring.

KIET Smart City Lab was established in collaboration with the Smart City Research Center (SCRC) at IIIT Hyderabad. This initiative is more than just a project; it’s a step forward in giving students hands-on learning and driving real-world innovation

Initiative ignites Air Quality Innovation at KIET

The first phase of deployment at KIET focused on the Air Quality Monitoring vertical. Under the mentorship of Ms. Anuradha Vattem and her team, KIET students successfully developed and implemented a live Air Quality Monitoring System on campus. This system is operational, delivering valuable insights into local air quality and demonstrating how classroom learning can be transformed into impactful, real-world solutions.                                                      

This achievement was made possible by the dedication and expertise of the SCRC lab team, whose guidance helped turn this vision into reality.

Voices of Inspiration

Speaking at the inauguration, Ms. Anuradha Vattem commended the KIET students and faculty for their enthusiasm, persistence, vision, and ability to transform ideas into practical solutions. She also emphasized that this is only the beginning of a long and fruitful collaboration.

Students expressed their excitement at being part of this initiative:

• “This lab has given me the confidence to build solutions that can directly impact our city. Working under Anuradha ma’am’s mentorship has been an inspiring journey,” said Jyothika, a KIET Smart City Lab student.
• “Being part of this initiative has shown us how technology can solve real-world problems. We are eager to take on more projects and contribute to Kakinada’s Smart City Mission,” added Tejaswini.

Ms. Aishwarya Pothula, Director of KIET, highlighted the invaluable mentorship of the IIITH team and noted that ‘AI is no longer just a future concept — it’s here and accessible. Students can use it to analyze patterns in smart city data, predict outcomes, and support smarter decision-making.’

The KIET Smart City Lab will serve as a launch pad for innovation, with upcoming projects in home automation, water management, energy optimization, and smart mobility working towards a carbon-free campus.

Way Forward

With the successful completion of Phase-1, KIET and the IIIT-H team signed a new SOW for the commencement of Phase-2 planned deployments in the Water Quantity, indoor Air quality vertical, and Home Automation domains. Ms. Revathi Madam, Principal of KIET College, exclaimed, “The journey has just begun, and with continued guidance and support from IIIT-H, we should be able to achieve greater heights in a shorter time.”

 In the SCRC lab team’s words, “This has been a wonderful journey so far, and it’s not just a deployment, it’s the beginning of a meaningful partnership with KIET, and a glimpse into the future we are building together.”

September 2025