IIT Madras Offers Free Online Courses on Computer Science to Students in India

IIT Madras is offering free online courses on computer science to educational institutions and students across India

IIT Madras is offering high-quality free online courses in computer science available to everyone. The Faculty from the Department of Computer Science and Engineering have created a portal containing the core courses that can be accessed by Educational Institutions, students and anyone else interested. This initiative is also a major step towards realising the vision of Prof V Kamakoti, Director, IIT Madras, who is keen to make high quality education accessible to rural India, said a statement from the institute.

The core Computer Science courses that are available on the official website are on programming, Data Structures, Computer Organisation and  Algorithms.  Each course has YouTube recordings of live lectures taught to the students at IIT Madras during the pandemic.

Speaking about this initiative, Prof C Chandra Sekhar, Head, Department of Computer Science and Engineering (CSE), IIT Madras, said: “The recordings of live lectures for CSE core courses at the undergraduate level and the graduate level, by the faculty of the Department are expected to be helpful to the students in Engineering Colleges to learn the underlying concepts and principles of the subjects of these courses in the right manner.”  

“It will also be beneficial to the teachers in Engineering Colleges to get to know how to effectively teach the important and fundamental subjects in Computer Science and Engineering and how to equip the students with the problem solving skills. It is hoped that the portal will be used to improve the quality of teaching and learning the CSE core subjects in Engineering Colleges in India,” added the professor.

Computer Science is one of the most sought-after engineering disciplines in India, especially in the IITs, and is of high interest to the students. Although a large proportion of students apply for this stream in IITs, there are only a limited number of seats available in the Department of Computer Science and Engineering.

Highlighting the unique aspects of this initiative, Dr. Rupesh Nasre, Associate Professor, Department of Computer Science and Engineering, IIT Madras, said, “The portal has been created to help students who could not study at IIT Madras, especially those from remote and rural areas of the country. They will have access to the same curriculum that is taught in the institute. This initiative will ensure that quality material is accessible to all students.”

The Department is also planning to engage senior students to conduct live tutorial sessions where they will also clarify the doubts of students. Those availing of this initiative can also attend quizzes on the Portal for self-assessment and ascertain their level of understanding of the courses. The department plans to create randomised quizzes in the future for better evaluation. All the elements together will provide a comprehensive package to the students to learn the course.

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