IIT Madras to take online BSc Data Science course to school students

The institute aims to reach out to students from rural areas to help them with upskilling and getting jobs. 

As per a report published in The Hindu, the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Madras is planning to take BSc data science online programme to government and aided schools. A team comprising Director V Kamakoti, coordinator of National Programme On Technology Enhanced Learning (NPTEL), Vignesh Muthuvijayan, Registrar Jane Prasad, and Dean of Administration Koshy Varghese visited Chief Minister MK Stalin to discuss methods of its implementation. 

The four-year online B.Sc programme was introduced last year and is open to all. The IIT Madras’ BSc data science allows a candidate to earn an IIT degree without going through the Joint Entrance Exam (JEE) route. Candidates are provided study material and can take up the course on clearing the qualifier exam. 

Vignesh said at present, there are around 10,000 students enrolled in the programme and another 5,000 are appearing for the qualifier exam shortly. Of them, around 2,100 are from Tamil Nadu and 370 have done their schooling in government and aided schools. “We are aiming to increase this number significantly to around 1,000 students from government schools,” he said. 

“We will reach out to students from rural areas. It helps a lot with upskilling and getting jobs. Since it is an online programme, students can pursue this while doing another degree or in-between jobs. The training has a lot of project components and hands-on training. It is a proper degree approved by IIT Madras,” he added.  

Kamakoti said the aim is to interact with the students in the state. The institute has proposed an interactive programme to inform the students and teachers that IIT is within their reach. “Unlike JEE which is a selection exam this (BSc Data Science) is a qualifying exam. We will work closely with the state government and enable it. We look forward to working with the Education Department. Data science is a growing field and for at least 15 to 20 years there will be no dearth of jobs,” he said. 

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