The Indian Institute of Technology Bombay (IITB) will soon offer several tailor-made diploma and master's courses for working professionals seeking to upgrade their educational qualifications. The programmes will largely be offered in online mode, though there can be some physical sessions, allowing those working in the industry to study at their convenience.
These 'executive' courses, which will cover areas as diverse as artificial intelligence, electric vehicles and entrepreneurship, will likely be rolled out as early as the next month. The fees for the six-month long programmes is estimated to be around Rs 1 lakh, which is tad higher compared to the regular courses.
The initiative is a part of a new education outreach drive of the tech school, which was recently ranked third in the National Institutional Ranking Framework (NIRF) 2024. While the courses are primarily intended for the working group, there won't be any bar on admission for others.
Speaking to media persons, IIT-B authorities said the institute has joined hands with three ed-tech companies to create and run the executive programmes. “The students who couldn't crack the Joint Entrance Examination will also get an opportunity to learn from the institute,” said Director Shireesh Kedare. “Due to Covid, we started recording all the classroom lectures, which can also be provided to students,” said Krisha Kaliappan, Dean (Strategy).
IIT-B has also appointed Professor Siddhartha Ghosh as a dedicated dean for educational outreach, while a full-time chief executive officer has to carry out the executive courses and similar plans. Currently, there are only a couple of IIT-B courses available to those who are not regular students. The Shailesh J Mehta School of Management at the institute offers an 18-month executive MBA jointly with Washington University in St Louis. Many of the learning resources at the institute, including video lectures, have been made available through the National Programme on Technology Enhanced Learning platform.
Among the premier engineering varsities of the country, IIT Madras, ranked first in the NIRF 2024, has been the pioneer in educational outreach. The institute's Centre for Outreach and Digital Education (CODE) offers numerous web-enabled MTech, Bachelor of Science (BS), diploma and certificate programmes.
However, a senior faculty member at IIT-B said that unlike IIT Madras' offerings, which are meant for a wider section of students, the city institute will focus on those already working in the industry.
