BFUHS joins Consortium of Innovative Health Universities at India AI Impact Summit

Bathinda: The India AI Impact Summit 2026 marked the beginning of a new era of innovation, focusing on how Artificial Intelligence can deliver population-scale impact through collaboration across India's academic, public and private ecosystems. From agriculture and healthcare to education and essential services, institutions and partners highlighted the use of AI technologies to address key challenges and drive change.

Amid this forward-looking dialogue, Baba Farid University of Health Sciences (BFUHS), Faridkot, signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) to join the Consortium of Innovative Health Universities (CIHU) as one of its five founding members. The agreement was formalised on the sidelines of the summit in the presence of leaders from academia, policy and digital health sectors.


The MoU was executed between the Health Parliament, a global health policy think-tank, and the Academy of Digital Health Sciences (ADHS), jointly acting as the Secretariat of CIHU, and Baba Farid University of Health Sciences as the member university.

The MoU was formally signed by RK Srivastava, co-chair, Consortium of Healthcare Universities; Prof Rajendra Pratap Gupta, co-chair, Consortium of Healthcare Universities; and Prof Rajeev Sood, vice-chancellor, BFUHS.

The CIHU aims to drive reforms in curriculum design, research orientation, institutional governance, global collaborations, exchange programmes and innovation ecosystems. Its objectives include promoting academic innovation and breakthrough research, establishing innovation clusters with industry, strengthening international collaborations, enhancing faculty leadership development and positioning Indian health universities for globally competitive and nobel-class scientific contributions.

Under the MoU, the BFUHS will participate in CIHU-led initiatives, nominate representatives to working groups, collaborate in joint research and innovation programmes, engage in global partnerships and share institutional best practices.

The Secretariat, jointly hosted by Health Parliament and the Academy of Digital Health Sciences, will coordinate consortium activities, including global outreach and international collaborations. The consortium will be governed by a governing board comprising co-chairs, representatives from public and private institutions, zonal members across India and Secretariat members.

BFUHS said membership in CIHU reinforces its commitment to advancing digital health capacity building, academic excellence, research innovation and ethical governance frameworks. The university said the collaboration aligns with the national vision of leveraging AI and digital transformation to modernise healthcare education and service delivery systems.

BFUHS VC Prof Rajeev Sood said the collaboration marks an important milestone in positioning the university among globally integrated and innovation-driven health institutions, reflecting BFUHS's approach towards embracing Artificial Intelligence, digital health transformation and collaborative excellence for the future of healthcare education in India.

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