After making headlines by claiming the presence of a Chinese-made “robot dog” at an AI summit, Galgotias University, based in Uttar Pradesh’s Greater Noida, said the professor at the head of the controversy has not been suspended and asked to stay on until the investigation is completed to ascertain why such a “mistake” was made.
Galgotias University’s booth emerged as a major attraction at the AI Impact Summit 2026 at Bharat Mandapam in Delhi after one of its professors, Neha Singh, claimed the robots are robots made to resemble actual pets which she said were developed at the university’s Center of Excellence.
The professor was heard saying: “This is Orion. It was developed at the Galgotias University Center of Excellence.”
Soon after, media outlets from China began reporting that the robotic dog, which is actually a product of Chinese robotics company Unitree, was misrepresented as a robot developed by students at the university.
Did Galgotias suspend the professor who made a mistake with the robot?
Amid the global embarrassment that forced Galgotias University to vacate its booth at the India AI Impact Summit, the university said in a statement that it would like to “profusely apologize for the confusion caused at the recent AL Summit.”
The university said in its statement earlier this week that one of our representatives, who manages the pavilion, was not aware of the matter. “She was not aware of the technical origins of the product and, in her zeal to appear in front of the camera, provided incorrect information even though she was not authorized to speak to the press,” Galgotias University said.
Nitin Kumar Gaur, registrar of Galgotias University, said on Thursday that they had given their explanation, adding that destroying the country’s image was never the intention. He added that the professor who falsely claimed that the robotic dog was a robot developed by the university was not suspended.
“We (Galgotias University) have already given our explanation. I told you yesterday that it was a mistake, and we regret it… We never want the image of the university or the country to be ruined… We have vacated the booth from there (India AI Impact Summit). We will definitely investigate the rest of the things. We will see why this mistake was made and we will ensure that such a mistake is not repeated… If the image is ruined due to one mistake, it is unacceptable…”, Gaur said, speaking to news agency ANI.
He added about university professor Neha: “She has not been suspended, she has been asked to stay… Until a full investigation is conducted into why such a mistake was made, such actions will continue… Because of the mistake of one person, the entire university should not be questioned… We are also Indian citizens, and we certainly want our country to move forward.”
In its statement, Galgotias University asked for “kind understanding that there was no institutional intention to distort this innovation.”
“Galgotias University remains firmly committed to academic integrity, transparency and responsible representation of our work. Understanding the sentiments of the organizers, we have vacated the building,” it said in its statement.
Hours after the controversy over robotic dogs at the India AI Impact Summit 2026 turned into a national debate and led to Galgotias University’s exit from the event, fresh speculation erupted on social media about the future career of Professor Neha Singh.
The uproar began after Singh’s LinkedIn profile showed her status as “open to work,” raising questions about her employment status at the university.
