Union education minister Dharmendra Pradhan launches SWAYAM Plus platform; AICTE signs agreement for jobs

NEW DELHI: Union education minister Dharmendra Pradhan has launched the ‘SWAYAM Plus’ platform, which will offer courses developed in collaboration with the industry players such as Larsen and Toubro, Microsoft, CISCO and others. The Indian Institute of Technology Madras (IIT Madras) will operate the ‘Swayam Plus’ Platform.

IIT Madras is among the founder institutions of SWAYAM-NPTEL, the massive open online course (MOOC) platform, providing educational opportunities for a vast number of learners. IIT Madras said the enrolment on SWAYAM portal has increased from 31 lakh in 2017 to more than 72 lakh by end of 2023.

The establishment of SWAYAM Plus would enhance employability of both college students and lifelong learners. The Industry-academia partnership would combine the academic rigour of SWAYAM's educational platform with the real-world expertise and relevance offered by industry partners.

Key Features of SWAYAM Plus

Students will be able to access multilingual content through the SWAYAM Plus. The highlights of the platforms are following:

• Multilingual content: The platform will be multilingual, encouraging a diverse audience to choose SWAYAM Plus as a platform of choice.
• AI-Enabled chatbot: An AI-enabled chatbot will assist the students choose the right courses based on their needs.
• Credit Recognition: Credit equivalency shall be established for courses offered by industry players. It also enables students of HEIs to earn credits simultaneously for their degree requirement, thereby providing academic flexibility.

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AICTE inks pact with apna.co

On the sidelines of the event, AICTE Chairman TG Sitharam signed an with Nirmit Parikh, CEO, apna.co job portal. The partnership aims at providing employment and internship opportunities to students of AICTE-affiliated institutions. The agreement was exchanged in the presence of Union education minister Dharmendra Pradhan, higher education secretary K Sanjay Murthy, UGC chairperson Mamidala Jagadesh Kumar and other dignitaries.

As per the agreement, apna.co will offer design, development and upkeep of the AICTE career portal for 5 years. Tailored for aspiring job seekers, the platform will also include an AI-based resume builder, real-time notifications for new opportunities and community engagement through specialized affinity-based groups on apna.co. Additionally, by third quarter of 2024, the portal will introduce AI-aided interview preparation and salary assessment by leveraging apna.co’s broad network to provide actionable insights and benchmark salary trends across industries.

Dharmendra Pradhan said, “The National Education Policy (NEP) is on roll and for the first time, reputed industrial houses will be coming with their own academy, partnering with the UGC, esteemed education departments, and prestigious institutes like IIT Madras. All these courses will be accredited.”