Fretting over quarantine boredom? Vaishali Vijaykumar compiles a list of online certificate courses for every kind of seeker.
Technical skills
Several online platforms have made their courses and webinars, free and available to all. Pluralsight is one such. Free interactive video sessions will be offered until this month-end. Some of the courses are python, JavaScript, Java, C#, web development and mobile development. There are multiple sub-courses within each course. For details, visit: pluralsight.com
Academic allure
It’s not often that you get to take up courses from top schools abroad for free. The Ivy League Schools — Penn, Columbia, Harvard, Dartmouth, Yale, Cornell, Brown and Princeton — has made 450 certificate courses available. The topics are categorised under personal development, health and medicine, humanities, education and training, social science and art. For details, visit: classcentral.com
Kids’ corner
Learn from home’ has been the new catchphrase since schools and colleges shut down. BYJU’s is simplifying your daily lessons by offering free online classes on its learning app. All you have to do is pick a topic and reserve a seat. The classes are available for students from classes 4-12. There are video lessons, live sessions and revision sessions. For details, visit: byjus.com
Corona check
Scientists who’re part of AACC Learning have come up with a course on COVID-19. This free course will cover aspects such as the origin of the disease, how it is transmitted, complications, diagnosis and prevention. The module is available for healthcare and non-healthcare professionals. More than 70,000 people have completed the course. For details, visit: aacc.org
Life skills
Udemy has released the Udemy Free Resource Center — a curated collection of more than 150 free courses to help students learn new skills during the lockdown. Here, individual learners and leaders can find key resources about adapting to working from home, hunting for a job, staying active and maintaining balance while spending time at home. For details, visit: Udemy.com
For the joy of baking
Smriti’s Special, started by Smriti Iyer, is offering online baking classes. Expect egg-free, traditional, diabetic-friendly, cream cakes, jams and spreads. Each category has a syllabus and flavours covered under that. The price differs based on the topic. Five out of the 14 courses are being offered for free during the lockdown. For details, visit: smritisspecial.in
Get tech smart
Guvi, an incubated company by IIT Madras and IIM Ahmedabad is offering free webinars for 30 days until April 15. The idea behind this is to help students and professionals add soft skills to their resumes. The video sessions address topics such as how to build your LinkedIn profile and increase your reach and other digital marketing skills. For details, visit: www.guvi.io/webinar
Drawing delights
Deep Blue Stories is organising a 20-day art course with Bhagwan Shankar Chavan, an abstract artist who lives and works out of Cholamandal Artists Village. There will be 10-15 sessions. The first batch started on April 5. “We feel art can help us cope with the current situation,” says, Deepthi Chavan, founder of Deep Blue Stories. Fee is `10,000. For details, call: 9488672158
Mind matters
One Future Collective, a Mumbai-based NGO has put together certificate courses to help people cope with the pandemic and other mental health problems. There are weekly and monthly courses. The topics include mental health and crisis management, queer sexual health and pleasure, and introduction to feminist lawyering among many. The fee per course is `3,500.
Play it write
Crea-Shakthi, a theatre club, is organising a free playwright workshop for kids aged 5-14, with one-on-one classes. “Assignments are sent through e-mail. Kids are encouraged to come up with characters and stories. We attend to their doubts through WhatsApp and video calls. The stories will be compiled into a book,” says Yugesh RV, head of contents. Details on: books@creashakthi.com