Indian Institute of Technology Madras (IIT Madras) has won key recognition in Wharton-QS Reimagine Education Awards, referred to as ‘the Oscars of Education’.

The BS in Data Science and Applications won Silver in the ‘Best Online Program’ category, while NPTEL (National Programme on Technology Enhanced Learning), a joint initiative of IITs and IISc, won the Gold in the ‘Lifelong Learning category.’

The Wharton-QS Reimagine Education Awards recognize and celebrate outstanding achievements of educators, institutions and organizations that drive innovation and excellence in education. The award categories are designed to reflect the diversity and breadth of education sector. The winners are selected by an expert panel. This year’s award ceremony was held recently at the Wharton Campus, Philadelphia, USA.

The IIT Madras BS Degree program currently has more than 15,000 students enrolled at various levels. It aims to help them stay ahead in their career journeys. The program is in a hybrid mode that has online delivery and in-person assessment.

To date, NPTEL offers more than 4,000 courses for certification, having over two crore enrolments and more than 23 lakh examination registrations.

Congratulating BS Degree Program and NPTEL, Prof. V. Kamakoti, Director, IIT Madras, said, “We are honoured to receive these awards from Wharton-QS Reimagine Education. Our BS program and NPTEL are examples of how technology can be leveraged to deliver high- quality education to students, regardless of their location. We are committed to continuing to innovate and find new ways to enhance the learning experience for our students.”

‘Hybrid Mode of Teaching/Learning’

The IIT Madras BS in Data Science and Applications has been awarded the best online degree program for providing a hybrid mode of teaching/learning utilizing multimedia and a combination of electronic and traditional educational models.

This BS program is a highly sought-after undergraduate degree that is uniquely designed to address the employability of undergraduates in the areas of Data Science and Application Development. This innovative degree program has attracted learners from even remote parts of India where outreach of digital literacy is minimal.

Unlike the highly competitive Joint Entrance Examinations (JEE), in which very few of overall candidates qualify, the BS Degree program is more open and has an inclusive qualifier process.

As the field of Data Science is highly interdisciplinary, the program also does not differentiate between the diverse backgrounds of the students (in terms of age, educational and socio-economic backgrounds, and location).

‘Opportunities for Upskilling & Reskilling’

NPTEL won Gold in the Lifelong Learning category for providing opportunities for personal and professional development, including upskilling and re-skilling. NPTEL is India’s largest technical dissemination program. It is a consortium of seven IITs and IISc, and IIT Madras leads this effort.

The project is funded by the Ministry of Education, Government of India, and aims to enhance the quality of engineering education in India by providing free online courses and video lectures.

Highlighting the unique aspects of the IIT Madras BS degree program, Prof. Vignesh Muthuvijayan, Coordinator, IIT Madras, said, “The BS Program opens the door to the world of data science and programming where the demand for skilled resources is very high, to anyone from any background and of any age group. This tailormade program provides core employment-oriented skills to students who are looking to venture into the data science domain.”

Speaking about NPTEL, Prof. Andrew Thangaraj, NPTEL Coordinator at IIT Madras, said, “NPTEL has become a pillar of the open education community. NPTEL certification courses enable quality and equitable access to a wide variety of learners from different social, economic, and demographic backgrounds who are able to benefit from these courses to up-skill and re-skill.”

NPTEL has developed an educational ecosystem consisting of online courses, videos, translations, industry associate programs, and college partnership initiatives. With the college partnership (local chapter) initiative, NPTEL has helped in the seamless integration of online courses within the higher education system of the country.

The awards are a testament to the hard work and dedication of the faculty and staff at IIT Madras and their commitment to providing a world-class education to their students. Further, it also is a testament to the efforts put in by the Institute to democratize the higher education landscape.

IIT Madras is proud to be at the forefront of education innovation and looks forward to continuing to serve as a leader in the field.

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