Beyond Engineering: Why BTech students are rushing to enrol in short-term online courses

NEW DELHI: "I did around 20 National Programme on Technology Enhanced Learning (NPTEL) courses during my BTech at Sathyabama University," said Rizwan Ahmed Nijamudeen, who graduated last year with a BTech in biotechnology. The courses were instrumental in helping him secure a pre-doctoral fellowship at the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Kharagpur’s School of Medical Science and Technology.

The fellowship lasts one year and so Nijamudeen aimed for a full-fledged postgraduate programme to join after. Very recently, he received an offer for a master’s in biotechnology from the University of Malaya, Malaysia. “The fellowship is for one year and so, I secured my seat in Malaysia,” he said.

The NPTEL was launched and is managed by IIT Madras.

Like him, Renuka Igade also found value in online learning. A BTech graduate in computer science and engineering from NK Orchid College of Engineering and Technology, Solapur, Maharashtra, Igade had taken five courses on the Internet of Things (IoT).

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"I did this course because I felt it would help me in my research work later," she said. Igade is also a fellow, in IIT Kharagpur’s Department of Agriculture and Food Engineering.

Having completed five courses in a semester, both Nizamudeen and Igade were “NPTEL stars” – a fact that gave them a distinct advantage in fellowship admissions. However, completing a variety of online courses is now integral to BTech student life. They not only support the regular curriculum but give them an edge in placements.

BTech and online courses: The rush

According to Andrews Samraj, a professor at Chikka Muniyappa Reddy (CMR) University, students are rushing to join short-term online courses as they want to enhance their on-demand skills. They want to enhance their skills in areas like Java, Python, artificial intelligence, machine learning, data science, and multimedia. Courses that include an internship or a capstone project are more attractive as they afford hands-on practical experience.

Yogesh, who goes by a single name, is in third-year of BTech at CMR University and has done courses in Java and data structures and algorithms from Simplilearn. “It helped me to build problem-solving skills, how to process work at the back end,” he said.

Samraj has observed that third-year students are especially eager. “Their ultimate goal is to land their dream job, and they are willing to undergo all kinds of training and certification that can help them achieve it. Students show a much higher interest if the course is closely linked to innovation and placements,” said Samraj. Placements consume much of their time and energy in the fourth year.

IIT Kharagpur professor Haimanti Banerjee pointed out that higher education regulators, All India Council for Technical Education (AICTE) and University Grants Commission (UGC) have allowed as much as 40% of the course credits to be obtained through online courses. That and the push for online learning has meant that students now have access to high-quality classes taught by IIT and Indian Institute of Science (IISc) faculty members.

“Although the NPTEL courses are free to access, students who wish to transfer credits need to pay about Rs. 1,000 to appear for a certification exam,” Banerjee said.

She also said courses like cloud computing, programming in Java, introduction to the internet of things (IoT), and Python for data science are especially popular among BTech students. “Cloud computing continues to be the top choice because it is so closely linked to industry needs. Students who complete these courses and earn certificates improve their job prospects considerably because the certificates are issued by IIT faculty, which adds strong credibility.”

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Support from universities

Deepak Sinha, professor at the School of Computer Science and Engineering, Jain Deemed to be University, said that students prefer short-term online courses that offer genuine certification and can be linked to their Academic Bank of Credits. Platforms like NPTEL, SWAYAM, Coursera, and other MOOCs are highly popular for this reason.

Jain offers a structured system to encourage students to take online courses. The university has signed an agreement with Coursera, allowing students to integrate online learning with their regular studies. Faculty members select Coursera courses that match around 70-80% of the university syllabus. Students are then assigned these courses as part of their regular assessments.

Sinha listed much the same courses that other academics did. The most popular courses have to do with AI, data sciences, blockchain and allied fields.

“They choose these subjects because they are closely linked to job market demands. Recruiters today are more concerned about a student’s actual skills and knowledge rather than what is formally covered in their syllabus,” he said. “Besides technical subjects, there is also a growing interest in data analytics, Power BI, Tableau, advanced Excel, and data visualisation. Students know that these skills can boost their employability and help them perform better during placement interviews.”

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Popular courses along with BTech

Many students today pursue online certifications to strengthen their technical expertise and also help them to be industry ready.

• Artificial Intelligence

• Machine Learning

• Data Science, Analysis

• Data Visualisation

• Python

• Internet of Things

• Java

• Cloud Computing

• Block Chain

• Soft Skills

• Digital Marketing

• Social Media Marketing

• Principals of Management

• Cyber Security

• Environmental Studies

• Internet Protocol

• Nanotechnology

• Energy and Technology

Online courses: A trend

According to Banerjee, it is not just students who are taking advantage of short-term online courses. Faculty members and industry professionals are also enrolling to upgrade their skills and stay abreast of new technologies.

Last year, NPTEL enrolled around 36 lakh students. The courses come in 12, eight and four-week formats.

“Each lecture lasts about 30 minutes, making it easier for students to stay focused. Around eight lakh students registered for certification exams last year. NPTEL also makes it easy for students to find exam centres by setting up a centre wherever at least 200 students register,” Banerjee further added.