In collaboration with NPTEL, IIT Madras is preparing to launch seven new online courses in the field of Sports Science in India. These free courses aim to bridge the gap between theoretical understanding and practical applications. According to an official statement, the courses, which are specifically tailored for the Indian and South Asian body structure and cultural nuances, seek to cater to a diverse audience, including coaches, athletes, trainers, physiotherapists, and nutritionists.
The first sessions of these seven courses will begin on February 19, 2023. Interested individuals can apply for the courses on the NPTEL website before this date. These online courses, which cover essential topics such as biomechanics, injury prevention, sports psychology, strength training for Indians, and cultural aspects of sports, are available through SWAYAM, India’s National MOOCs portal. While SWAYAM enrollment is free, the final exam for each course will be in-person, centre-based, and proctored for a nominal fee of Rs 1,000 per course.
Highlighting the importance of this course, Andrew Thangaraj, Coordinator, NPTEL, IIT Madras, said:
These NPTEL courses aim to equip learners to understand how to enhance performance, monitor diet and training frequencies, formulate recovery programmes and offer a holistic approach to sports science.
The courses, delivered by IIT Madras’s Centre of Excellence in Sports Science and Analytics, cover various topics, including exercise physiology, movement science, sports nutrition, injury prevention, training fundamentals, strength conditioning, and sports psychology. Attendees can acquire foundational and in-depth knowledge, culminating in a domain certification in Sports Science upon completion of five core courses and two elective courses, as per the release.
Mahesh Panchagnula, Co-Principal Investigator, Centre of Excellence, Sports Science and Analytics, IIT Madras, stated:
These courses are for everyone. This is for anybody who is an enthusiast, a sports person, or interested in topics like strengthening, fitness, conditioning, sports, nutrition, and psychology.
NPTEL (National Programme on Technology Enhanced Learning) is a joint venture of the IITs and IISc launched in 2003 and is funded by the Ministry of Education (MoE) of the Government of India. NPTEL began as a project to bring quality education to all corners of the country, but it now offers over 600 courses for certification in about 22 disciplines each semester. In March 2014, the platform began offering open online courses. Anyone outside the IIT System can now take an online certification course from NPTEL and receive a certificate from the IITs. Through this initiative, IITs are reaching out and bringing education to people’s homes. Allowing students to obtain course certificates is to make them employable in the industry or pursue a suitable higher education programme.
