After Professor's 'Open To Work' Status, Galgotias Says She's Not Suspended

The evolving "robodog" story featuring Galgotias University has gone from being a viral blunder to an empty stall and damage control. Days after the controversy, Galgotias University has confirmed it has not suspended Professor Neha Singh, even as her LinkedIn status shows that she is 'open to work'.

This comes as the university is currently navigating a PR crisis after Singh presented a mass-produced Chinese robot as a varsity-developed "Centre of Excellence" technology.

During the India AI Impact Summit 2026, Professor Neha Singh introduced "Orion," a quadruped robot, as an in-house innovation. However, it was quickly pointed out that the robot in question was the Unitree Go2, a commercially available model from the Chinese robotics company Unitree that is sold online in India, priced between Rs 2 lakh and Rs 3 lakh. By the next day, the summit organisers had asked Galgotias University to remove its exhibit entirely. 

In its formal apology, Galgotias University directly attributed the incident to Neha Singh, describing her as "one of our representatives manning the pavilion" who was "ill-informed" and "not authorised to speak to the press".

"She was not aware of the technical origins of the product and in her enthusiasm of being on camera, gave factually incorrect information... We request your kind understanding as there was no institutional intent to misrepresent this innovation," a statement from Galgotias University read. 

Open To Work?

The professor in the centre of the controversy allegedly updated her LinkedIn status showing she is "Open to Work," leading to rumours of her being fired, but Nitin Kumar Gaur, the University Registrar, told the ANI news agency on Thursday that she wasn't suspended.

Gaur added, "She is not suspended and has been told to stay. Proceedings will continue until we understand why this mistake was committed. The entire university shouldn't be questioned because of one person's wrongdoing."

"It was a mistake, and we are sorry for that," Gaur said. "We are investigating why this happened to ensure it isn't repeated. If the university's image is ruined because of one mistake, it is unacceptable."

#WATCH | Noida, UP: On Galgotias University asked to vacate India AI Impact Summit expo, Nitin Kumar Gaur, Galgotias University Registrar says, "We (Galgotias University) have already given our explanation. I told you yesterday that it was a mistake, we are sorry for that... We… pic.twitter.com/rVDLMUfSMb

— ANI (@ANI) February 19, 2026

For her part, Neha Singh maintained that the misunderstanding arose from unclear communication. 

"The controversy happened because things may not have been expressed clearly and the intent may not have been properly understood," she told news agency PTI.

She stressed that the university had never claimed to have manufactured the robot. "We cannot claim that we manufactured it. I have told everyone that we introduced it to our students to inspire them to create something better on their own," she said, adding that Galgotias would continue providing access to cutting-edge AI technologies.