On August 12, the Indian Institute of Technology Madras (IIT-M) introduced an online portal National Programme on Technology Enhanced Learning (NPTEL) for GATE (Graduate Aptitude Test in Engineering) preparation. GATE exam is a national-level entrance exam for aspirants to seek admission for Master's or PhD in IITs, Indian Institute of Sciences (IISc) and other top institutions besides applying for jobs at Multiple PSUs (Public Sector Undertakings).
As per a press note released by the institute, the aim of this initiative is to provide students with preparation for the GATE exam. The NPTEL GATE Portal was made freely accessible to all the students with the help of CSR (Corporate Social Responsibility) support from India’s leading travel technology organisation, Amadeus Labs Bengaluru. Additionally, NPTEL is a joint initiative of IITs and IIScs to provide free online certificate courses.
The press note read, "Through the new portal, NPTEL aims to leverage its existing course content on Engineering and Science domains from its 2,400+ courses portfolio, to provide video solutions, practice tests and online assistance in line with the GATE syllabus. The GATE preparation portal can be accessed through the following link - https://gate.nptel.ac.in."
"The GATE examination tests the knowledge in fundamentals acquired by a candidate during the undergraduate education. Success in GATE enables both higher education and employment options," said the Director of IIT Madras. Further appreciating the efforts of NPTEL, the Director said, "NPTEL is leveraging its content to guide and help candidates prepare and create a level playing field by providing equal opportunities for people to attempt the GATE exam."
Talking about the inception of the idea, NPTEL Coordinator, IIT Madras Dr Ramkrishna Pasumarthy, said, “In the NPTEL course discussion forums, many learners would ask whether the course content would be enough to clear the GATE exam. The learners would request to solve GATE-related problems or provide some assistance in preparing for GATE. We then came up with the idea of creating a comprehensive one-stop platform, covering everything from concepts to tricks for cracking the GATE exam. We recently launched live mentoring sessions as well, enabling active learning for GATE aspirants.”
Additionally, as nearly 9 to 10 lakh students take the GATE exams next year, this portal will make the preparation journey easier for the aspirants. Also, the GATE preparation portal was launched during an event conducted by IIT-M PALS. PALS is an educational initiative by volunteers from the Alumni Fraternity of various IITs, for the benefit of students of engineering colleges in Tamil Nadu.