The Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Guwahati, today launched an online Bachelor of Science (Hons) degree programme in Data Science and Artificial Intelligence on Coursera. Interested students can apply at the official website — iitg.ac.in/acad/ — to apply for this programme.
As per the official schedule, the applications for the BSc (Honours) in Data Science and Artificial Intelligence programme will commence on July 19, 2023, and classes are scheduled to start in October 2023.
Eligibility
“In this course, we don’t have an upper limit. Any student who had Mathematics in Class 12, irrespective of their stream (it may be Science, Commerce or Humanities), if they have mathematics as a composite subject, they are eligible to get admitted to this programme,” IIT Guwahati director, Parameswar K. Iyer, told indianexpress.com.
This new programme will also provide multiple entry and exit options. If the candidate leaves the programme after year one, he/she will get an Advanced Certificate as part of the programme. If they leave after the second year, then they get a diploma, a normal BSc degree after third years and a complete BSc honours degree for completion of four years, Prof Iyer explained.
Additionally, JEE Main score is not compulsory but those eligible and registered for JEE Advanced (in any year) will get direct admission, while those without can complete an online course and gain entry based on their performance.
Internship, placements
As a part of this programme, students will also be encouraged to get experience in the form of an internship, and the institute will also offer a campus immersive programme for interested candidates. Additionally, all the course material has been designed by IIT Guwahati’s faculty, and other experts in the field.
“One big benefit that IIT Guwahati is adding to this programme is that candidates have a total of eight years to complete this degree. Also, all the components of this course will be online, and students need not worry about travelling or other issues,” Prof Iyer added.
Additionally, both IIT Guwahati and Coursera will come together to provide carrier and counselling advice, to help enrolled students get placed.
Is Artificial Intelligence the new threat?
When asked if this course is in direct contrast with the recent belief that Artificial Intelligence will take over jobs for humans, the IIT Guwahati director rubbished these notions.
“I would like to highlight that every time a technology has come up, the thought that this will take away our jobs or create problems has always popped up, but humans have always found ways to use the technology in the most appropriate way and to enhance our capability, and make things simpler and more efficient,” he said.
“We have the means to generate a load of data to do a lot of things. But now if you want to manage so much data, and if you want to manage so much of things around, we need additional support, which comes in the form of both the data science, the analysis of the data science, and artificial intelligence. AI will help us become more efficient,” he concluded.
Courtesy : The Indian Express
