The Union Education Minister, Dharmendra Pradhan, officially launched the SWAYAM Plus platform on Tuesday,, ushering in a new era of employability and professional development-focused programmes. This initiative is the result of collaborative efforts with leading industry players such as L&T, Microsoft, and CISCO.
This platform, called “SWAYAM Plus,” will be run by Indian Institute of Technology Madras (IIT Madras). IIT Madras was one of the founding institutions of Swayam-NPTEL, a Massive Open Online Course (MOOC) platform that offers educational opportunities to a large number of learners. With over 72 lakh students enrolled by the end of 2023, the e-learning platform SWAYAM has the largest enrolment base with enrolments increasing from 31 lakh back in 2017.
Dharmendra Pradhan shed light on the significance of SWAYAM Plus stating that the platform offers “employability, entrepreneurial mode, and job-centric courses, emphasising practical, hands-on learning.” “Our goal is to make education industry-fit, providing learners with the skills and knowledge needed to succeed in the professional world,” Pradhan said.
Aligned with the provisions of the National Education Policy (NEP) 2020, which supports multiple entry and exit points, SWAYAM Plus allows individuals to tailor their educational journey at their own pace. This concept is particularly beneficial for working professionals, providing a variety of online courses that enable them to balance work and studies effectively.
During the launch event, Prof. V. Kamakoti, Director of IIT Madras, highlighted the growing demand for trained manpower in core sectors such as healthcare, logistics, technology, energy, infrastructure, and manufacturing.
Speaking during the launch event, Prof. V. Kamakoti, Director, IIT Madras, said, “With rapid changes in these areas, there is a need to augment certain recent topics for fresh students and upskilling for the already employed. Swayam Plus will be a single window solution serving the above National cause,” Kamakoti added.
The key features of SWAYAM Plus are that the platform offers multilingual content, promoting inclusivity and attracting a diverse audience. An AI-enabled chatbot has also been integrated to assist students in selecting courses tailored to their individual needs. Moreover, SWAYAM Plus ensures credit recognition, establishing credit equivalency for courses offered by industry players. This feature allows students to earn credits simultaneously for their degree requirements, offering academic flexibility and practical benefits.
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