Indian Institute of Technology Madras has launched a new initiative to make computer science courses on subjects such as programming, data structures, computer organisation, and algorithm, available online for free. Each course has YouTube recordings of live lectures taught to the students at IIT Madras during the pandemic.
The faculty from the department of computer science and engineering have created a YouTube playlist containing the core courses that can be accessed by students, educational institutions, teachers, and anyone interested.
This initiative is a step towards realising the vision of Prof V Kamakoti, Director, IIT Madras, who is keen to make high-quality education accessible to rural India, a press release from the institute, said.
Sought-after subjects
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 computer science 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.”
Further, Prof C Chandra Sekhar said, “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 core subjects in engineering colleges in India.”
Highlighting the unique aspects of this initiative, 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.”
Expanding scope of reach
Further, Nasre said, “Apart from helping students, the initiative will also benefit faculty of other educational institutions by providing access to lectures taught at IIT Madras.”
The department is also planning to engage senior students to conduct live tutorial sessions where they will also clarify the doubts of students.
Abhishek Dhiman, a student who benefitted from the portal, thanked the faculty for taking this initiative, and said, “Even if I am not an IIT Madras student, I am able to access the Institute’s lectures mainly because of this amazing initiative.”
Rajesh Chandra, another beneficiary of the portal, said, “This is a really helpful initiative from IIT Madras as it helps anyone who wants to improve their expertise in Computer Science stream.”
Those availing of this initiative can also attend quizzes on the Portal for self-assessment and ascertain their level of understanding of the courses.