In a bid to support the Skill India and Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan movements, 'aisectmoocs.com' has been launched as India's largest free online open learning platform. This Massive Open Online Course (MOOC) portal, launched by the Bhopal-based education group AISECT, will offer over 2,000 courses including school courses, skill courses and higher education courses. This is the largest number of courses introduced on an Indian MOOC platform till date. All courses on aisectmoocs.com will be free of cost.

AISECT has partnered with Ireland-based ALISON, a global leader in free online certified skills training for the workplace with 7 million registered learners and 800,000 graduates worldwide. All 750+ diplomas and certificate level ALISON courses will be offered through the AISECT MOOC portal. Additionally, AISECT will offer courses on school curriculum as well as courses on higher education subjects. Initially, the course curriculum will be available in English and Hindi but more regional language content will be added to the MOOC platform over the next few months.

Enclucive Eduction

AISECT's Director (Business Services) Abhishek Pandit said, “I feel that 2016 is going to be an inflection year for MOOCs in India as our portal encourages inclusivity in education by giving students in the remotest corners of the country an easy and frees access to world-class course curriculum. Unlike other MOOC platforms which don't have a scope for learning with peers, we will give students access to our widespread network of education centres across the country so that they will have the option of utilizing the infrastructure and take guidance from the faculty. Moreover, regional language content will help in deeper penetration of the courses at the below district level areas across the country.”

According the a press release, over the years, the response of students and teachers in India towards MOOCs has been tremendous resulting in Indian students forming the second largest group in the world availing the MOOC facilities. Initiatives like AISECT MOOC not only meet the rising demand for viable modes of digital learning, but also hold immense potential of transforming the status of education in the country, especially in the regions that are in dire need of education of international standards. Aisectmoocs.com offers a range of short-term courses in areas like Digital Literacy & IT Skills, Health Literacy, Financial & Economic Literacy, Languages, Personal Development & Soft Skills, Business & Enterprise Skills, Beauty & Wellness, Retail, Electronics, etc. The duration of the courses ranges from three hours to six months and students get an online certificate on successful completion of the course.

Speaking on the launch, Mike Feerick, CEO & Founder, ALISON said, "ALISON is delighted to partner with AISECT, opening up direct access for Indian learners through AISECT's 23,000 training centres across India to ALISON's free learning resources. The need for what we can provide together has never been greater in India, and we look forward to pioneering transformative and highly scalable learning solutions for workforce training in India in the months ahead."

This MOOC platform is the latest in a series of initiatives that AISECT has taken over the last three decades for uplifting the semi-urban and rural population and bridging the education, employment and entrepreneurship inequalities in the nation.