IIT Madras translates over 200 technical courses into multiple vernacular languages

NEW DELHI: The Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Madras' National Programme on Technology Enhanced Learning (NPTEL) has translated over 207 technical courses including courses like 'Introduction to Internet of Things,’ into Hindi. This initiative aims to bridge the language gap and empower students who receive in regional languages.

As per the institute, NPTEL has prioritized core subjects like computer science (35 courses), social sciences (32 courses), and electrical engineering (29 courses) for translation. A team of 1,029 Hindi translators and 139 quality controllers review the translated materials to ensure the accuracy and quality of translations. Additionally, 199 e-books and 1,200 hours of audio recordings of video content are available in Hindi.

The NPTEL is also trying to translate courses like ‘Introduction to Machine Learning’ into Hindi using machine learning tools, accompanied by voiceovers for enhanced accessibility, the institute said.

Over 20,000 hours of video content spread across 244 NPTEL courses, which include 163 engineering courses, have been effectively translated so far. These translated materials will be made available on the SWAMYAM and NPTEL websites in various formats, such as PDF transcripts, e-books, subtitles, scrolling text, and even audio formats, all accessible free of charge.

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NPTEL has translated its courses into 11 languages, namely Assamese, Bengali, Gujarati, Hindi, Kannada, Malayalam, Marathi, Odia, Punjabi, Tamil, and Telugu.

Highlighting the initiative, the NPTEL translation coordinator at IIT Madras, Abhijit P Deshpande, said, “NPTEL-IIT Madras is adopting ways to make the translated content available to learners in India. They include the use of subtitles, video text tracks, transcripts, books with slides and audio tracks, among others.”