The Kerala University of Digital Sciences, Innovation and Technology (Digital University Kerala – DUK) and the Kerala Council for Historical Research (KCHR) have signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to jointly develop an AI-powered digital archival platform aimed at preserving, organizing, and enabling intelligent access to Kerala’s rich historical heritage. The MoU was signed on  January 06, 2026 by Prof. Mujeeb, Registrar, DUK, and Prof. Dinesan V, Director, KCHR, in the presence of Prof. Saji Gopinath, Honourable Vice Chancellor of DUK, and Prof. K. N. Ganesh, Honourable Chairman of the Kerala Council for Historical Research. Prof. T Radhakrishnan, Chair, SoDS was also present in the function. The project will be carried out by the DUK investigation team comprising Prof. Ajith Kumar, Prof. Satheesh Kumar, Prof. Anoop, and Prof. Manoj Kumar.

As part of this collaboration, Digital University Kerala will design and implement an advanced digital platform that leverages Artificial Intelligence and Generative AI technologies to process and interpret KCHR’s extensive collection of digitized historical documents. These include historical books, handwritten diaries, letters, newspapers, official records, and documents spanning multiple languages and scripts.

The proposed platform will go beyond conventional digitization by enabling automated transcription of handwritten and printed materials, AI-driven metadata generation, entity extraction, document classification, and semantic search. Researchers and the public will be able to explore historical materials through an intuitive interface with advanced search and discovery features, making Kerala’s archival wealth more accessible, searchable, and research ready.

Speaking on the occasion, representatives from both institutions emphasized that the initiative marks a significant step towards modernizing historical research and preserving institutional memory using cutting-edge digital technologies. The project is also expected to lay the foundation for large-scale collaborative research, interdisciplinary scholarship, and public engagement with history.

The collaboration brings together KCHR’s deep domain expertise in historical research and Digital University Kerala’s strengths in AI, data analytics, and digital transformation, positioning the initiative as a model for technology-enabled heritage preservation in India. This partnership reflects a shared commitment by DUK and KCHR to harness technology for societal impact and to ensure that Kerala’s historical legacy is preserved and made accessible for future.