SWAYAM Free Online Courses: Study Webs of Active Learning for Young Aspiring Minds (SWAYAM) is an integrated MOOCs (free online courses) platform for distance education that is intended at offering all the courses from class 9 to post-graduation level. The platform has been developed collaboratively by MHRD (Ministry of Human Resource Development) and AICTE (All India Council for Technical Education) with the help of Microsoft and is capable of hosting 2,000 courses. It is created to achieve the three cardinal principles of Education Policy - access, equity, and quality. Students and professionals can take up these courses as per their choice and preferences.
Free Online Courses for Computer Science and Engineering
Computer Science and Engineering is an interesting and diverse field that can teach students the skills that are in demand across almost every industry in the tech-driven world. It is one of the emerging branches of engineering studies. Computer Science & IT impacts everything, from scientific research to health development, transport, banking, communications, you name it. Students are looking forward to upgrading their knowledge through various courses and SWAYAM provides multiple online courses for short term as well as long duration.
SWAYAM Portal: Credit vs Non- Credit Courses
There are two types of courses offered through SWAYAM - Credit and Non-Credit. The credit-based courses are taught for at least one semester as part of a subject. Non-credit courses include courses such as an awareness programme and specific skill-set training, which are not part of any set curriculum. Such courses can be of shorter duration, usually ranging from two to four months. University Grants Commission has already issued the guidelines advising the Universities to identify courses where credits can be transferred. Students can check below the free online courses available for computer science and engineering on the SWAYAM platform -
- Python for Data Science by Professor Ragunathan Rengasamy from IIT Madras
- Big Data Computing by Prof. Rajiv Misra from IIT Patna
- Introduction to Quantum Computing: Quantum Algorithms and Qiskit by Professor Prabha Mandayam from IIT Madras, Professor Anupama Ray from IBM Research and Professor Sheshashayee Raghunathan from IBM Systems
- Demystifying Networking by Professor Sridhar Iyer, IIT Bombay
- C Programming and Assembly Language by Professor Janakiraman from IIT Madras
- Introduction to Machine Learning by Prof. Sudeshna Sarkar from IIT Kharagpur
- Computer Science by - Punjabi University- Panjab University- Anna University- Gujarat University- IIT Madras- IGNOU
- Instrumentation-and-Control by IIT Madras
- Electronics by IIT Madras- Anna University- IIT Mumbai- IIT Kanpur- IIT Roorkee- IIT Kharagpur- IISc- IIT Delhi- IIT Guwahati- IISER Kolkata- IIIT Delhi
- Bioengineering by IIT Madras
These are some of few courses of Computer Science and Engineering. The complete list can be checked at the official website of SWAYAM. These courses are offered by the faculties of leading colleges and universities in India. Also, the courses hosted on SWAYAM are available for students in four components - video lectures, downloadable/printable reading material, self-assessment tests through quizzes and tests, and an online discussion forum for clearing doubts. The advantage of these online courses are offered through the portal of SWAYAM (swayam.gov.in) can be accessed by anyone, anywhere, any time.
To Sum Up...
Many Indian students and working professionals have now started embracing online platforms to develop more extensive knowledge in their respective subjects. Considering the popularity and relevance of the online platform, the Government of India launched an indigenous platform, SWAYAM. By the end of 2018, more than 900 universities around the world had announced or launched 11,400 MOOCs, with around 2,000 new courses added to the list this year. SWAYAM bridges the gap between the students or professionals socio-economic condition. It offers courses across various branches to keep students informed about emerging technologies.
