IIT Madras' Programme To Skill Women In Technical Profession

Indian Institute of Technology Madras (IIT Madras) on Saturday launched a "Career Back 2 Women (CB2Women)" initiative through its "Digital Skills Academy" to skill women who aspire to return to a technical profession after a break in their career.

Overall, as many as 150 hours of training will be offered to skill the women on their journey back to their careers.

Candidates will get a choice to opt for any level as certificates will be issued for each level.

The IIT Madras Digital Skills Academy is using latest platforms and has tied-up with the Forensic Intelligence Surveillance and Security Technologies (FISST) to offer this programme, the Institute said in a statement.

"All participants will take "Back To Technical Track (BTCUBE)", which is a 20 hour programme that will bring them up-to-date on technologies and demystifies latest jargons.

At the end of this programme, they will have a choice to select a specialisation. There are 4 tracks offered initially," said C. Mohan Ram, Chief Mission Integrator and Innovator, FISST.

"Track 1 - Data Science and Big Data, Track 2 - Artificial Intelligence/Machine Learning (AI/ML), Track 3 - Cyber Security with Digital Forensics, Track 4 - Software Engineering with Programming in Python with MongoDB. Each track has a Basic (40 hours) and Advanced modules (90 hours)," Mr Ram added.

"CB2W from IIT Madras' Digital Skills Academy is a progressive step that would help in getting more women into STEM occupations and I look forward to the positive impact this will make in the years to come," said Bhaskar Ramamurthi, Director, IIT Madras.

According to the Institute, job placement assistance will be provided to all candidates who complete the advance module in selected tracks.

"CB2W from IIT Madras' Digital Skills Academy is a progressive step that would help in getting more women into STEM occupations and I look forward to the positive impact this will make in the years to come," Amit Aggarwal, VP and CEO, IT-ITeS Sector Skills Council, NASSCOM, said.

The Institute also plans to offer more courses at various levels for students and working professionals in association with NASSCOM and in partnership with training companies incubated at IIT Madras Research Park and industry partners.