Union Minister of Education and Skill Development & Entrepreneurship, Shri Dharmendra Pradhan, launched the SWAYAM Plus Platform today in New Delhi. Secretary, Department of Higher Education, Ministry of Education Shri K. Sanjay Murthy; Chairperson, UGC, Prof. Mamidala Jagadesh Kumar; Chairperson, NCVET, Dr. Nirmaljeet Singh Kalsi; Chairperson, NASSCOM, Shri Rajesh Nambiar; Director, IIT Madras, Prof. V Kamakoti; Chairman, AICTE, Prof. T.G. Sitharam; Joint Secretary, Ministry of Education, Shri Govind Jaiswal, other academician and dignitaries were also present at the event. A video on SWAYAM PLUS was shown during the launch event. MoUs were exchanged with Swayam and industry partners including Apnatime Tech Pvt. Ltd., L&T EduTech, Tata Consultancy Services Limited, The Job Plus and People’s Network, Wadhwani Foundation (Skill Development Network), Medvarsity Online Limited, Smartbridge Educational Services Pvt. Ltd, Anaadi Foundation, 360Digi TMG, and Balani Infotech Private Limited for launching industry courses on SWAYAM Plus.

Shri Dharmendra Pradhan while addressing the audience said that with the implementation of NEP2020, an entire new generation has to be prepared. He expressed his gratitude to Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi for envisioning the roadmap for the coming 25 years. He also emphasized how female enrolment in STEM education in India has become the highest in the world.

Working professionals to participate in the SWAYAM platform using it as a vehicle and take advantage of the multiple-entry-multiple-exit of NEP2020, he added. He also said that the Platform will widen the scope of the classroom adding 43 million students of Higher Education students and working professionals.

He also said that courses are needed for the industry, futuristic courses such as semi-conductors, Artificial Intelligence, etc. for the youth of the country. Applied education with SWAYAM Plus, employability, entrepreneurship, job-centric and hands-on training is a move towards that direction, he said.

Courses are to be in local languages to empower every student in order to realize the dream of Viksit Bharat, as innovation has no language, Shri Pradhan said. Going beyond STEM education, courses involving music, painting, creative arts, humanities, and liberal arts, are to be part of the Platform to bring about all-round development in our youth, he stressed.

Shri K. Sanjay Murthy in his address urged for greater participation from the industry leaders and also subject matter experts from Universities and Institutions to contribute courses on separate verticals, which will be certified by IIT Madras. There will be a multitude of institutional mechanisms, which will examine such types of proposals to ensure need-based and timely responses, he added. Shri Murthy also informed that content will be available in 12 major Indian languages of the country.

Prof. T.G. Sitharam; Prof. Mamidala Jagadesh Kumar; Dr. Nirmaljeet Singh Kalsi; Shri Rajesh Nambiar; Prof. V Kamakoti; and Shri K. Sanjay Murthy also shared their insight in a session titled ‘Role of SWAYAM Plus to enhance employability of Students and the learners’. Two more sessions on ‘From SWAYAM to SWAYAM Plus - Join the Digital India Story (Presentation and Q&A)’ and ‘The Role of SWAYAM Plus in Fostering Sustainable Industry-Academia’ during the event were also held during the event.

SWAYAM, the Massive Open Online Course (MOOC) platform providing educational opportunities for a vast number of learners, was launched by the Ministry of Education in 2017. In alignment with NEP 2020, the SWAYAM Plus platform will now include courses supporting industry needs that enhance learners’ employability. Developed in collaboration with industry giants like L&T, Microsoft, CISCO, and more, SWAYAM Plus features innovative elements such as multilingual content, AI-enabled guidance, credit recognition, and pathways to employment.

SWAYAM Plus primarily focuses on achieving the following: Building an ecosystem for all stakeholders in professional and career development, including learners, course providers, industry, academia, and strategic partners; Enabling a mechanism that provides credit recognition for high‐quality certifications and courses offered by the best industry and academia partners; Reaching a large learner base by catering to learning across the country, with a focus on reaching learners from tier 2 and 3 towns and rural areas and Offering employment focused courses, based on learner needs – across chosen disciplines with options to learn through resources in vernacular languages. SWAYAM Plus also envisions bringing in features such as access to mentorship, scholarships, and job placements as value-added services in due course of time, thus building a digital ecosystem for learners to pursue upskilling/re-skilling at all levels, namely certificate, diploma or degree. This event is a testament to the collective resolve to nurture a digitally empowered society, underpinned by education that is accessible, equitable, and aligned with the demands of the future.

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