IIT Madras Launches 2 Courses in Data Science, AI & Electronic Systems For School Students

New Delhi: The Indian Institute of Technology Madras ( IIT Madras) has launched the ‘IIT-M School Connect’ program to help school students make informed choices about their higher education and careers. Under this programme, two certificate courses in ‘Data Science and Artificial Intelligence’ and ‘Electronic Systems’ are launched for school students of classes 11 and 12. 

The courses are designed by IIT Madras professors, and the content is specifically tailored for school students. The classes will be online. The course aims to provide hands-on career experience to the students. 

These introductory courses are designed to provide students with insight into these fields, helping them make informed decisions about their higher education and career paths.

IIT Madras Course Details

The next batch will commence on 21st October 2024. Registrations for this batch have already commenced on 16th September 2024. Schools interested in partnering with IIT Madras can register through the following link:-https://school-connect.study.iitm.ac.in/. The cost of the workshop is Rs. 500/- per course

Programme Details 

• Recorded lecture videos for for 30 minutes each will be released every Monday, the content will be for 1 hour, which students can watch anytime throughout the week.
• Live interactive sessions once per month - on Saturday / Sunday
• Online assignment once in 2 weeks with 2 weeks timeline for submission. 
• 8 weeks of this schedule will be administrated from Oct 21, 2024.

Highlighting the importance of this program to the development of students, Prof. Andrew Thangaraj, Chair, Centre for Outreach and Digital Education (CODE), IIT Madras, said, “As India’s top institute, IIT Madras sees it as our social responsibility to help school students explore various career options at an early stage while they are still in school. Currently, we are offering two key courses — Data Science and AI and Electronic Systems; we are planning to introduce more such hands-on programs in the coming months, catering to a wider range of interests.”

The courses will be for eight weeks. The initiative has already attracted substantial interest, with over 500 schools across India partnering with IIT Madras. As many as 11,000 students across India have already been enrolled in the first batch. These certification programs are open to all classes XI & XII students of partnered schools.

Speaking about this program, Prof. Prathap Haridoss, Dean (Academic Courses), IIT Madras, said, “It is heartening to see school students independently building remotely-controlled robots. Students pursuing the Data Science course have engaged in hands-on projects, using datasets to extract meaningful insights. Courses such as these, expose the students to the various disciplines and help children identify their interests and strengths."

Highlighting the benefit for school students, Prof. Vignesh Muthuvijayan, Faculty Coordinator, BS Degree, IIT Madras, said, “The response from schools and students has been overwhelmingly positive. We are thrilled to collaborate with schools nationwide to offer these short programs for school children.  Children are naturally inquisitive, and it's always a pleasure to interact with them as they come up with a multitude of questions. Nurturing their curiosity is both fulfilling and essential for shaping their future.”

The Key Highlights of the certificate course programs include:

1.  Recorded lecture videos
2. Hands-on training
3. Live Interactions
4. Assignments
5. Computer-based assessment for certification

As India’s No. 1 institute, IIT Madras is committed to helping young minds make informed decisions about their higher education choices. The Institute will be launching more short-term programs across various disciplines in the coming days, to introduce students to diverse fields of study. These programs will offer a unique opportunity for your students to explore different career paths and gain practical insights into their future academic journeys.