Cognizant hires 489 B-school graduates, over 37% from non-STEM backgrounds

non-STEM backgrounds. Their academic disciplines include sociology, psychology, office management, secretarial practice and industrial design.

Women make up more than 42% of the new batch.

“As an AI Builder, Cognizant believes cognitive diversity is essential to creating value for both clients and associates,” Rajesh Varrier, President, Global Operations and Chairman and Managing Director, Cognizant India, was quoted by TOI as saying.

According to Varrier, bringing people from different academic backgrounds together at the start of their careers can help them understand how AI capabilities can be applied to specific business requirements.

The hiring comes as Cognizant works towards its target of developing 5,000 Frontier Certified Engineers and 10,000 Frontier Business Operators.

As per the company, it has positioned these roles around helping businesses turn AI capabilities into practical outcomes. The latest hiring also reflects Cognizant’s focus on bringing non-engineering talent into AI-related work.

The two-week Talent Accelerator programme is designed to give the new associates exposure to the company, functional areas and leadership teams early in their careers.