Digital Initiatives

UGC MOOCs: A Vertical of SWAYAM

SWAYAM is an instrument for self-actualisation providing opportunities for a life-long learning. Here learner can choose from hundreds of courses. SWAYAM is a programme initiated by Government of India and designed to achieve the three cardinal principles of Education Policy viz., access, equity and quality. The objective of this effort is to take the best teaching learning resources to all, including the most disadvantaged. SWAYAM seeks to bridge the digital divide for students who have hitherto remained untouched by the digital revolution and have not been able to join the mainstream of the knowledge economy. This is done through an indigenous developed IT platform that facilitates hosting of all the courses, taught in classrooms from 9th class till post-graduation to be accessed by anyone, anywhere at any time.

National Programme on Technology Enhanced Learning (NPTEL)

The National Programme on Technology Enhanced Learning (NPTEL) was initiated by seven Indian Institutes of Technology (Bombay, Delhi, Kanpur, Kharagpur, Madras, Guwahati and Roorkee) along with the Indian Institute of Science, Bangalore in 2003. Five core disciplines were identified, namely, civil engineering, computer science and engineering, electrical engineering, electronics and communication engineering and mechanical engineering and 235 courses in web / video format were developed in this phase.

The National Programme on Technology Enhanced Learning (NPTEL) is a joint venture of the IITs and IISc, funded by the Ministry of Education (MoE) Government of India, and was launched in 2003. Initially started as a project to take quality education to all corners of the country, NPTEL now offers close to 600+ courses for certification every semester in about 22 disciplines. The main goal of NPTEL Phase II (2009-14) was to build on the engineering and core science courses launched previously in NPTEL Phase I. An additional 600 web and video courses E-learning through online Web and Video courses in Engineering, Science and Humanities streams. The mission of NPTEL is to were created in all major branches of engineering, physical sciences at the undergraduate and postgraduate levels and management courses at the postgraduate level. Several improvements such as indexing of all video and web courses and keyword search were implemented.

NPTEL provides enhance the quality of Engineering education in the country by providing free online courseware. The standalone versions of these lectures are available with respective departments.

Study Webs of Active–Learning for Young Aspiring Minds (SWAYAM)

SWAYAM (Study Webs of Active–Learning for Young Aspiring Minds) is a programme initiated by Government of India and designed to achieve the three cardinal principles of Education Policy viz., access, equity and quality. The objective of this effort is to take the best teaching learning resources to all, including the most disadvantaged. SWAYAM seeks to bridge the digital divide for students who have hitherto remained untouched by the digital revolution and have not been able to join the mainstream of the knowledge economy.

This is done through an indigenous developed IT platform that facilitates hosting of all the courses, taught in classrooms from 9thclass till post-graduation to be accessed by anyone, anywhere at any time. All the courses are interactive, prepared by the best teachers in the country and are available, free of cost to the residents in India. More than 1,000 specially chosen faculty and teachers from across the Country have participated in preparing these courses.

The courses hosted on SWAYAM will be in 4 quadrants-(1) video lecture, (2) specially prepared reading material that can be downloaded / printed (3) self-assessment tests through tests and quizzes and (4) an online discussion forum for clearing the doubts. Steps have been taken to enrich the learning experience by using audio-video and multi-media and state of the art pedagogy / technology. In order to ensure best quality content are produced and delivered, seven National Coordinators have been appointed: They are NPTEL for engineering, UGC for post-graduation education, CEC for under-graduate education, NCERT & NIOS for school education, IGNOU for out of the school students and, for management studies.