IIT Kharagpur to teach BS courses in AI and Data Science in Bengali

Kolkata, Sep 15 (IANS) In a new initiative, IIT Kharagpur will now teach its four-year BS (Bachelor of Science) degree in Bengali, keeping in mind the students speaking the language from India, Bangladesh and across the world and giving importance to the National Education Policy 2020.

"Now the demand and importance of contemporary courses like Artificial Intelligence or AI, Data Science, and Electronic Systems are high. These courses can be done online or through NPTEL (National Programme on Technology Enhanced Learning). This time we have taken the initiative to teach these courses in the Bengali language," IIT Kharagpur Director Suman Chakraborty said.

According to the director, if someone studies the courses for four years, they will get a BS degree (equivalent to BTech and BSc). There is also the advantage of getting a diploma or certificate degree through short courses, which will also be offered in the Bengali language.

Recently, discussions were held between IIT Kharagpur Director Chakraborty and IIT Madras Director V. Kamakoti regarding the joint management of these BS degrees or NPTEL courses. Following the discussion, a high-level team from IIT Madras’ NPTEL and BS programmes came to IIT Kharagpur last Friday for a meeting.

Sources said that the issue of teaching the BS (Bachelor of Science) course in local or regional languages through NPTEL was discussed, keeping in mind the interest of students from marginalised backgrounds and those who are weak in English. Professor Chakraborty proposed that IIT Kharagpur is keen on offering BS degree, diploma and certificate courses on AI, Data Science in the Bengali language. Similarly, he also proposed to translate these courses into the Bengali language.

However, the technical part will have to be taught in English. According to the IIT Kharagpur director, the institute has skilled professors to translate and teach such courses in Bengali. They are quite proficient in Bengali as well as in English.

--IANS

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