NTT West and Kyoto University to jointly develop physical AI talent development program

prtimes.jp reported on November 13, 2026, that NTT West and Kyoto University would jointly develop a physical AI talent development program. We have not been able to verify the primary source, so please refer to the original for details.

NTT West says the real-world deployment of physical AI requires talent able to work across AI and robotics as well as image recognition and motion control. The program combines classroom instruction with hands-on work using actual equipment, placing both knowledge acquisition and practical development and verification in the same educational design. It is an effort to address the talent needs identified by the company.

The focus of this initiative is not the introduction of robots or AI models, but the joint development of a curriculum to train people to develop and verify physical AI. NTT West commissioned Kyoto University's Growth Strategy Headquarters to develop the program, with XPAC playing a central role in designing and building the curriculum. The announcement outlines a division of responsibilities that brings a university organization and the operating entity of a community based at Kyoto University into the program's development. The program combines classroom instruction with hands-on work using actual equipment. NTT West says there is a need for talent who can understand image recognition, motion control, machine learning and other fields across disciplines, and develop, implement and verify models suited to challenges in the field. Accordingly, incorporating practical work with real equipment, as well as knowledge acquisition, appears to be a key element of the curriculum design. However, the announcement does not specify what equipment participants will use or how model development and operational verification will be evaluated. The broader industry implication is that the initiative seeks to address, through education, the range of technical fields required to deploy physical AI. NTT West's explanation that operating robots involves not only AI but also areas such as recognition and control underscores the challenge of training people whose expertise is not confined to a single field. At the same time, the program's launch date, target participants, enrollment, duration and cost have not been disclosed, and how its content will connect to real-world challenges remains to be seen. Two trade shows have been announced as opportunities for hands-on experience, but details of the exhibits, participant feedback and the relationship between the shows and subsequent program offerings have not been made clear. Going forward, the specifics of the practical training and program format, as well as how participants' skills will be assessed, will be key to evaluating the initiative's effectiveness.