Master Fine-Tuning LLMs & Inference Optimization
An intensive 6-day residential summer school hosted by Department of CSE (AI & ML), PCCOE. Learn from leading researchers and industry experts how to build, optimize, and deploy large language models for real-world applications.
Organized & Supported By
Designed for Builders, Researchers, and AI Engineers
A 6-day intensive residential program at Pimpri Chinchwad College of Engineering. Learn from world-class researchers and industry experts in fine-tuning LLMs and inference optimization.
Fine-tune open-source LLMs (LLaMA, Mistral, Phi) using LoRA/QLoRA
Apply quantization (GPTQ, AWQ) to reduce model size and latency
Set up and benchmark LLM serving with vLLM and TGI
Build end-to-end fine-tuning and deployment pipelines
Develop production-grade capstone projects with real applications
Network with industry leaders and earn IEEE CIS certificate
Sept 26–Oct 1, 2026 • Pune, India
Supported by IEEE CIS and hosted at PCCoE with state-of-the-art GPU-enabled facilities.
What You'll Learn
Comprehensive curriculum covering all major areas of computational intelligence with practical applications.
Neural Networks
Deep dive into artificial neural networks, architectures, and modern deep learning frameworks.
Evolutionary Algorithms
Master genetic algorithms, particle swarm optimization, and other bio-inspired techniques.
Fuzzy Logic
Learn fuzzy systems, inference engines, and control applications.
Hands-on Labs
Build real systems using Python, TensorFlow, PyTorch, and scikit-learn.
Expert Networking
Connect with leading researchers and industry professionals in the field.
Career Growth
Advance your skills and credentials with an IEEE CIS certificate.
Full-day learning with tutorials, labs, and discussions
Comprehensive coverage of core CI topics
Leading researchers and industry practitioners
A 6-day journey from LLM fundamentals to production inference.
Program Structure
Foundations of LLM Fine-Tuning
Day 01 • Sept 26, 2026
Kick off the summer school with an opening ceremony followed by foundational lectures on transformer architectures, attention mechanisms, tokenization, and pretraining objectives.
Includes a plenary keynote by Dr. Debmalya Biswas (UBS Switzerland) on Privacy & Security in LLM Systems, followed by hands-on GPU environment setup using PyTorch, HuggingFace, and PEFT libraries.
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Parameter-Efficient Fine-Tuning (PEFT)
Day 02 • Sept 27, 2026
Deep dive into Low-Rank Adaptation (LoRA) and Quantized LoRA (QLoRA) with Prof. Nikhil R. Pal (Fellow IEEE, ISI Kolkata). Learn why parameter-efficient tuning is essential for resource-constrained training.
Hands-on clinic debugging and training domain-specific models, followed by a guest industry talk on AI in Healthcare by Dr. Aniruddha Joshi (IIT Bombay / Atreya Innovations).
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Advanced Fine-Tuning and Alignment
Day 03 • Sept 28, 2026
Master instruction tuning, chat model adaptation, and modern alignment techniques including RLHF, Direct Preference Optimization (DPO), and ORPO with Dr. Leelavati Narlikar (IISER Pune).
Analyze foundation model architectures (LLaMA, Mistral, Phi) with Dr. Sachin Pawar (TCS Research) and participate in a poster session with peer review.
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Inference Optimization and Quantization
Day 04 • Sept 29, 2026
Learn post-training quantization techniques (INT8, INT4, GPTQ, AWQ, GGUF) with Ms. Mita Gaware (Dassault Systèmes) to reduce model memory footprint and inference latency.
Plenary session with Prof. Dr. Surya Durbha (IIT Bombay) on efficient inference, pruning, and knowledge distillation for edge and enterprise deployment.
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Serving, Deployment, and Production Systems
Day 05 • Sept 30, 2026
Master production serving frameworks (vLLM, TGI, TensorRT-LLM) and continuous batching strategies with Dr. Pratap Sanap (Neilsoft, Pune).
Build production RAG pipelines with Rakshit Jain (PTC / IEEE YP Pune Chair), followed by dedicated capstone team project implementation with instructor mentorship.
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Capstone Projects and Final Presentations
Day 06 • Oct 1, 2026
Teams present their end-to-end fine-tuned LLM capstone projects evaluated by industry and academic judges with live demonstration and Q&A.
Features a closing keynote on Building AI Ecosystems by Dr. Yogesh Kulkarni, followed by the Certificate distribution, best project awards ceremony, and banquet.
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Plenary Presenters
Our comprehensive six-day curriculum features talks, tutorials, and hands-on clinics led by preeminent researchers and practitioners from top academic institutes and global tech pioneers.
Featured Institutions & Industry Pioneers
What prerequisites do I need?
Basic understanding of programming (Python) and mathematics (linear algebra, calculus) is recommended. No prior experience with LLM fine-tuning is required.
Will the course be recorded?
Yes! Plenary sessions will be live-streamed and recorded, and made available to all registered participants.
Do I get a refund if I cannot attend?
Cancellations made before Sept 15 receive a full refund. After Sept 15, we offer a 50% refund or credit toward next year's program.
Can I attend only some days?
The course is designed as a sequential 6-day program. To receive the certificate, full attendance is required.
Is there accommodation provided?
Free on-campus accommodation at the PCCoE hostel/guest house is provided for registered offline participants on a first-come, first-served basis.
What software/tools do I need?
We use Python with HuggingFace, PyTorch, bitsandbytes, and vLLM. All instructions for setting up the environment will be shared 2 weeks before the program.
Can I network with instructors after the course?
Yes! All participants will have access to the dedicated Slack and Discord channels for six months post-program to collaborate and seek guidance.
Is there financial assistance available?
Yes, there are student travel and accommodation grants available for participants travelling from outside Pune. Email the organizers with your details.
What is the language of instruction?
The course is taught entirely in English. All slides, code notebooks, and plenary discussions are delivered in English.
Is accommodation included in the registration fee?
Free hostel guest house accommodation is available on campus for offline attendees on a first-come, first-served basis.
What happens if I need to withdraw after the program starts?
If unforeseen circumstances force you to withdraw, please reach out to the organizing team to discuss options on a case-by-case basis.
Will I receive an IEEE certificate?
Yes! Upon successful completion of the 6-day program, you will receive an official IEEE CIS Certificate of Completion, validating your specialized training.
Are GPU compute resources provided for the practical labs?
Yes, participants will have access to GPU cloud environments pre-configured with all necessary frameworks, datasets, and pretrained model weights.
What is the venue like? Will it be comfortable for learning?
The summer school is held at PCCoE Pune, featuring state-of-the-art air-conditioned computing laboratories, auditoriums, high-speed Wi-Fi, and collaborative workspaces.
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Join 500+ participants who have advanced their careers through the PCCOE School.
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