Those who did not gain admission into the IITs need not fret as IIT Madras (IIT-M) has now decided to offer certificate courses for students of engineering.

Speaking on the sidelines of the PanIIT Alu­mni Leadership Series on Saturday, IIT-M director Professor Bhaskar Rama­murthi said that the IIT’s National Programme on Technology Enhanced Learning (NPTEL) had turned out to be huge success, not only among engineering students, but also among those who aspired to take up the Graduate Aptitude Test in Engin­eering (GATE) exam.

Prof Ramamurthi pointed out that IIT-M would initially offer 40 hours of course content online for three subjects in computer science — data structure, algorithm and programming. “We will conduct a proctored exam to award certificates. The institute has joined hands with Nasscom to start this course by October this year,” he said.

IIT-M has taken this step even though online education has its own modalities, such as a common curriculum, credit transfer between institutes and a university structure.

The institute also had plans to go in for an open university or virtual university model, he added. “We may also teach some advanced courses to engineering students, using the remote video conference method,” said Prof Ramamurthi, who is talking to college principals.

He said that since public sector units (PSUs) had started recruiting students who took the GATE, he noted that the test, which was in February, could be shifted to December. “We are still working on this and the decision needs to be taken by the IIT council,” he said.

source: http://www.deccanchronicle.com / Deccan Chronicle / Home> News> Current Affairs / DC / by N. Arun Kumar / July 28th, 2013