IIM Bengaluru just won an award from the President for their contribution to making education accessible to all

Through their MOOC courses, IIMB ensures that people across the country get free access to management education
IIMB offers online courses on three platforms: SWAYAM, edX and IIMBx
IIMB offers online courses on three platforms: SWAYAM, edX and IIMBx

Imagine how wonderful it would be if every child in India could get access to all the education they need, unlike the present scenario, where these opportunities are limited to a privileged few. IIM Bengaluru has made this their mission and has been working towards fulfilling it through their MOOC courses. Recently, President Pranab Mukherjee honoured their contribution in making management education accessible to all during the launch of the Government’s SWAYAM platform at Vignan Bhavan in New Delhi. IIMB is also the national coordinator for management education on SWAYAM and has completed five MOOCs on the platform to date. Excerpts from a conversation with Ramya Srinivasan, Programme Manager, IIMBx.

Why are MOOC courses significant in this day and age, especially in our country?

India’s brick-and-mortar based educational system is not equipped to meet the demands of millions of Indian youth. Moreover, there is an urgent need to democratise education and make it accessible. MOOCs, by their ‘massive’ and ‘open’ nature, can help take education to every interested Indian student through the digital medium with the aim of creating job-ready youth. The other significant benefit of MOOCs is faculty capacity building through fostering adoption of blended learning and digital learning in the Indian classroom.

India’s brick-and-mortar based educational system is not equipped to meet the demands of millions of Indian youth. Moreover, there is an urgent need to democratise education and make it accessible.

 Ramya Srinivasan, Programme Manager, IIMBx

How has IIMB contributed to making management education accessible?

IIMB offers online courses on three platforms: SWAYAM, edX and IIMBx to learners in India and around the world. To date, IIMB has launched more than 25 MOOCs to 5 lakh global learners. Access to these courses is completely free with nominal charges for the certification. Another dimension in which IIMB is making an impact is through a strong focus on faculty development in digital pedagogy. IIMB has trained more than 750 faculty to date in incorporating blended MOOCs in the traditional classroom.

IIMB focuses on faculty development in digital pedagogy. IIMB has trained more than 750 faculty to date in incorporating blended MOOCs in the traditional classroom.

How is the content for all these courses generated and compiled?

The content for IIMB’s MOOCs is created by IIMB faculty and based on courses that are offered in our long duration academic programmes. These MOOCs are designed and produced completely in-house by a 35-member team comprising people with various skillsets in research, pedagogy, instructional design, video production and graphic design. The digital courseware comprising videos, online tests, readings and discussion questions is produced in-house and uploaded onto learning platforms like SWAYAM and edX by the team.

Do these courses provide certificates as well?

IIMB provides certificates for MOOCs for a nominal price. These certificates are in subjects in the business and management domain and are aimed at equipping learners with business and managerial skills to make them job-ready.

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