IIT Madras conducted the 2nd edition of the Diploma and Degree Distribution for the students of 4-year BS in Data Science and Applications program on May 27, in the presence of Venkat Viswanathan, CEO – Latentview Analytics, Prof.V.Kamakoti, Director – IIT Madras, faculty, and students.
Launched in 2020, this programme has evolved as one of the top non-campus degree programmes in India with more than 16,500 students currently enrolled. The BS program has now completed seven academic terms. With 18 students completing the credit requirements of the BSc degree in less than 2.5 years, the program has achieved a major milestone. These students are now progressing to the BS level.
During the event, Provisional Certificates were distributed to 275 students, who have completed the foundation and two diplomas, and 531 students, who have completed the foundation level and one diploma. The students who completed the foundation and two diplomas are now entering the degree level of the program.
The BS students were from diverse backgrounds in terms of demographics, geography, and careers. One of the students includes an IAS Officer – Prateek Bayal, who is the Deputy Commissioner, Land Acquisition and Development Rights, Bangalore City Corporation.
In addition, 43 students who were directly admitted to the Diplomas also received their certificates. Out of the 867 students, 164 students, who came from families with annual income less than ₹5 lakhs, were provided financial support from IIT Madras. Amongst these students, 150 students were fully funded through CSR support.
For the first time, IIT Madras has also introduced recognition of the academic achievements of the students in this Programme. Students with the highest CGPA (Cumulative Grade Point Average), students with CGPA greater than 9.5, and students with CGPA between 9 and 9.5 received Certificates of Academic Excellence, Academic Distinction, and Merit, respectively.
A total of 41 students received the certificate for these academic achievements. As a testament to the diversity in this Program, the age of the award winners ranged from 20 to 55.
This program does not require a JEE score to join. Admission to the program is possible through an in-built qualifier process where the candidates have to successfully complete the qualifier exam based on four weeks of content provided by IIT Madras. All those who obtain the minimum required score in the qualifier exam can continue with the program as there is no limit on the number of seats in the program.
