Rohit Thomas Koshy, Director of the management consultant giant EY, expressed his admiration towards the Indian Institute of Technology, (IIT) for its BSc Data Science and Application programme.

In a LinkedIn post, talking about the educational qualifications of someone who sent him a Connection request, Koshy called the course, which is an online programme, a “game changer” in Indian education.

He adds that he saw many students in Tier-I colleges in India enhance their skills with this course, which also confers them with the status of an IIT Madras alumnus.

Referring to a podcast episode by YouTuber Raj Shamani, Koshy wrote universities below the top 100 in India were “mostly real estate plays backed by politicians,” and that studying in them “made no sense.”

“With the IITs and IIMs (and other tier 1 universities) now offering online degree programs, students who do not get into their target colleges for full time courses now have another chance of high quality education (.sic),” he wrote in his LinkedIn post.

IIT Madras introduced the degree in June 2020, and more than 27,000 students were enrolled in the programme as of May 2024. Aspirants do not have to appear for the Joint Entrance Exam (JEE) to seek admission into the course.