KSOU plans MIT model for online science courses
In a move that will benefit scores of students in the state, the Karnataka State Open University (KSOU) plans to emulate the Massachusetts Institute of Technology’s (MIT) OpenCourseWare - the online delivery of text, audio and video study materials.
Vice-Chancellor K S Rangappa told Express that the university is working on the modalities required to put in place a system akin to MIT. “The process will be ready in the next 3-4 months. We will float tenders to rope in IT professionals who can help us on this front,” he said.
To start with, KSOU plans to offer postgraduate science (MSc) courses through the MIT model. Prof Rangappa, a chemist by training, said that he has been consulting experts for the preparation of course materials.
“The project has been delayed due to technical issues. However, half of the work has been completed. We want to reach out to more students who are in need of quality education. Besides, why is that only MIT is involved in this? We believe KSOU can also do something similar for the students,” he said, adding that the project is likely to cost KSOU about `5 crore.
Study materials for nearly 10 PG science courses, including Chemistry, Physics, Biotechnology and Biochemistry, will be offered online. The proposed fee for this mode of education has been set at `20,000 per candidate.
KSOU already offers an online MBA programme and diploma in Kannada for non-domicile candidates. “For science courses, we intend to start the first batch with around 200 students. Each student will be given a unique code with which a student can login to our website to access the study materials,” he said.