NPTEL-IIT Madras Opens Applications for 720 Online Courses in Jan-Apr 2024 Semester, New Courses Added

An important development in the realm of online education is that the Ministry of Education’s National Programme on Technology Enhanced Learning (NPTEL) at IIT Madras is now officially accepting applications for the next January–April 2024 semester. With more than 2.5 crore students, NPTEL has a stellar reputation as a pioneer in the broad offering of easily accessible, recognized online education.

With 720 courses offered in engineering, science, humanities, and management, NPTEL is dedicated to expanding its educational offerings. The objective for this semester is to provide more than 30 lakh students improved learning experiences. Enrollment is available for free on the SWAYAM and NPTEL platforms until February 19, 2024, for those who are interested.

To enroll for the January 2024 semester, prospective students may visit the official websites of SWAYAM at http://swayam.gov.in/ and NPTEL at http://nptel.ac.in/. While enrollment is free, students have the option to pay a nominal fee of Rs. 1000 to take an optional certification test.

The NPTEL Coordinator at IIT Madras, Prof. Andrew Thangaraj, emphasized the value of NPTEL courses by stating that they have made it feasible to provide extensive, accredited, and reasonably priced online education. “We anticipate that our broadened course offering will enable our students to enhance their abilities and improve their employment opportunities,” he said.

To build on the success of the previous semester, NPTEL is offering a number of new courses this semester, including Research Methodology for Planning and Architectural Studies, Computational Genomics, Structural Vibration, Games and Information, and Experimental Robotics.

This semester is particularly significant since it marks the beginning of NPTEL’s 20th year of operation and its 10th year of offering certification. The platform has grown significantly, with 690 courses and over 6.75 lakh students taking proctored tests in centers during the past semester.

NPTEL has attracted a considerable degree of teacher engagement in addition to students. More than 66,000 faculty members from various Indian educational institutions enrolled for NPTEL courses in 2023 as part of their Faculty Development Programme, improving the quality of teaching at colleges throughout the country.