IIT Madras NPTEL translates thousands of technical courses into multiple vernacular languages of India
207 technical Courses have been translated into Hindi, including highly sought-after courses such as ‘Introduction to Internet of Things’, all of which are offered free of charge
CHENNAI : IIT Madras NPTEL has translated to Hindi Language as many as 207 technical courses including the highly sought-after courses like ‘Introduction to Internet of Things’. To ensure the accuracy and quality of translations, NPTEL has a team of 1,029 Hindi translators and 139 quality controllers (QCs).
Furthermore, NPTEL has published 199 e-books in Hindi on its website, expanding access to educational resources in the language. Additionally, audio recordings totalling 1,200 hours of video content are available in Hindi, further enriching the learning experience for Hindi-speaking learners.
NPTEL has prioritized key disciplines, notably Computer Science (35 courses), Social Sciences (32 courses), and Electrical Engineering (29 courses). NPTEL actively solicits feedback from course participants, with overwhelmingly positive responses received for translations such as ‘The Joy of Computing using Python’.
Efforts are underway to expand the translation efforts, with courses like ‘Introduction to Machine Learning’ being translated into Hindi using machine learning tools, accompanied by voiceovers for enhanced accessibility.
NPTEL has translated its courses into 11 languages, including Assamese, Bengali, Gujarati, Hindi, Kannada, Malayalam, Marathi, Odia, Punjabi, Tamil and Telugu. The objective is to help learners who completed their schooling in regional languages and are transitioning to English for technical education.
Further information and access to NPTEL’s translated courses can be obtained from the following web page – https://nptel.ac.in/translation
Highlighting the initiative to translate technical content into vernacular languages, NPTEL Translation Coordinator Prof. Rajesh Kumar, Department of Humanities and Social Sciences, IIT Madras said, “Every language is a world in itself. Without translation, I would be confined to the borders of my own world. NPTEL strives to break this barrier.”
Further, Prof. Abhijit P Deshpande, also a NPTEL Translation Coordinator and a faculty, Department of Chemical Engineering, IIT Madras said, “NPTEL-IIT Madras is adopting innovative ways to make the translated content available to learners in India. They include the use of subtitles, video Text tracks, Transcripts, Books with slides and Audio tracks, among others. The key objective is to build capacity in India in high quality translation of science/engineering content.”
NPTEL (National Programme on Technology Enhanced Learning), is a joint venture of the IITs and IISc, funded by the Ministry of Education (MoE) Government of India, and was launched in 2003. Initially started as a project to take quality education to all corners of the country, NPTEL now offers hundreds of courses for certification every semester to students and working professionals across India.
NPTEL has significantly broadened its scope. While originally conceived to democratise access to quality education nationwide, NPTEL now offers a diverse catalogue of over 700 courses for certification every semester across 22 disciplines.
These translated materials undergo rigorous review by NPTEL Quality Control (QC) experts and are made available on the SWAMYAM and NPTEL websites in various formats, such as PDF transcripts, e-books, subtitles, scrolling text, and even audio formats, all accessible free of charge.
As on date, over 20,000 hours of video content spanning 244 NPTEL courses including 163 engineering courses have been successfully translated. Technical terminology is retained in English (transliterated) to ensure accuracy and enhance the overall learning experience. These translated transcripts are compiled into books for easy reference, with 980 such books currently available in various regional languages on the NPTEL website, the translation book site, and the Swayam portal.
USER FEEDBACK
Commending NPTEL’s translation initiative for democratizing education and breaking down barriers for students, Dr. Prachi Agarwal, Head, School of Management and Commerce, Sanskriti University, Mathura, who has collaborated with NPTEL as a QC expert for the past three years, said, “The meticulous attention to detail and commitment to accuracy is commendable and evident in NPTEL’s translations. The team has a profound understanding of both source and target languages along with their remarkable ability to capture the nuances and intricacies of the original text, making the translations more than just words on a page.”
Ms. Sandhya Pandey, NPTEL’s Single Point of Contact (SPOC) at The S.I.A. College of Higher Education Dombivli(E), emphasized the inclusive nature of NPTEL courses, which transcend age and academic backgrounds. She attributed the platform’s growing success to its high-quality content and the recent breakthrough in breaking language barriers with regional translations.