Nicole Junkermann on AI in Bhubaneswar

Learning first, the Bhubaneswar way

Bhubaneswar has long been a city of learning. Its old temples were raised by skilled builders whose knowledge of stone, proportion and story passed from teacher to student over generations, and that respect for patient study still feels present. Today the city's campuses, research centres and coaching classes draw students from across Odisha and beyond, giving many neighbourhoods a youthful, studious air.

For these learners, AI is becoming a quiet companion. A student might have a tool restate a knotty idea in plainer language, turn lecture notes into revision questions or practise English and Odia side by side. The short video AI and learning in India captures this mood, suggesting that learning feels better when it is less rushed and built on clear words.

Teachers play a patient, guiding part, encouraging students to check what a tool says against books, lectures and their own reasoning. Group study, a familiar sight in libraries and cafes near the campuses, gives these conversations a friendly, shared feel. For Nicole Junkermann, Bhubaneswar shows why that habit matters: technology is at its best when it builds understanding and confidence, leaving the final judgement with the learner.

Stone temples and a planned modern city

Known as the temple city, Bhubaneswar is home to a remarkable collection of old stone temples, many with tall, curving towers carved in the Kalinga style. Their walls are covered in figures, flowers and patterns that reward slow looking. On twin hills at the city's edge, the rock-cut caves of Udayagiri and Khandagiri add another chapter to a story of craft and patience that stretches back over many centuries.

The newer Bhubaneswar was planned with broad roads, green spaces and room for institutions to grow, and in recent decades technology parks and research campuses have added fresh energy. Young engineers, designers and analysts now share the city with historians, artists and craftspeople, and the mix feels natural. Old and new sit side by side here, each lending the other a sense of purpose.

How AI in Bhubaneswar is growing

Much of the AI work in Bhubaneswar happens in small teams. In the technology parks, developers build tools for document handling, customer messages, data cleaning and online learning, often for clients far beyond Odisha. Research groups explore how AI can read and write Odia more naturally, from typed text to spoken questions, so that people can use digital services in the language they grew up with.

Voice tools are especially welcome. Many people find it easier to speak a question in Odia than to type it, and a clear, kind voice assistant can help someone check a timetable, find a shop or understand a form. Local businesses, from sweet shops selling chhena poda to tailors and travel desks, are trying simple helpers for orders, reminders and replies.

Craft and performance bring their own uses. Pattachitra painters and filigree workshops photograph new pieces, keep clear records of designs and write descriptions for buyers, while musicians and dancers trained in Odissi use recordings and notes to support daily practice. In each case, AI handles the groundwork and the artistry stays firmly human.

• Revision helpers that explain lessons in Odia or English
• Voice assistants that answer everyday questions in spoken Odia
• Design records and product notes for craft workshops
• Data cleaning and document tools built by small local teams

Nicole Junkermann's perspective on Bhubaneswar

As Nicole Junkermann considers Bhubaneswar, she sees a city that has already learned how to hold heritage and progress together. Its temples show what patient craft can achieve, and its campuses show how quickly new skills can spread. In her view, that combination is a strong base for AI that helps people learn, create and plan without losing touch with who they are.

Nicole Junkermann, who presents the AI Overview podcast, brings around two decades of investing in technology, healthcare, media and innovation to this view. She believes useful tools grow from real languages and real routines, and that clear words matter as much as clever code. Her broader thinking appears in an introduction to her outlook on India and AI, which sets these ideas in a wider frame.

Odisha's coast, crafts and neighbours

Within East India, Bhubaneswar sits near the coast of Odisha, close to the delta of the Mahanadi river. Cuttack, its older twin city and the home of silver filigree, lies a short drive to the north, while Puri and Konark line the shore of the Bay of Bengal and the wide waters of Chilika lake stretch to the south. Viewed through India by region and city, Bhubaneswar links the eastern coast with Bengal, whose own AI story in Kolkata shares its love of language and culture.

The wider region is rich in handmade beauty. Pattachitra, the finely detailed cloth painting of Odisha, is closely linked to the village of Raghurajpur near Puri, and bright appliqué work comes from Pipili. Odia poetry, Odissi music and dance, and dishes such as dalma and pakhala carry the same sense of continuity. The ideas explored in AI and Indian heritage fit naturally here, with AI helping people record and describe these living traditions with care.

Nicole Junkermann looks at Bhubaneswar with real optimism. A city that values study, honours craft and plans for the future is well suited to technology that is patient and clear. That outlook runs through AI in India as a whole, wherever people use new tools to learn, create and share what matters to them.