IIT Madras Joins Hand With State Government To Build High Tech Labs In 6,000 Schools & Improve Educational Quality

The prestigious Indian Institute of Technology, Madras (IIT-M) has partnered with Tamil Nadu's Department of School Education for an aspirational project of building high-tech labs in 6,000 government schools. The labs, once completed, are projected to benefit approximately 90 lakh students. Researchers from IIT-M will be developing a new learning management system and updating the existing platforms through the project.

The upgrade is expected to boost the learning experience of both students and teachers through the application of modern technologies such as Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Machine Learning (ML). It comes along with the idea that the quality of education systems can be improved by building a data-driven framework.

Focus On Assessment

As per information released by the officials, IIT-M will be upgrading the current digital learning platform - Education Management Information System, into one that is more assessment-focused. The researchers would be incorporating modern technologies of AI and their data science expertise to look into ways to 'improve the way assessments are conducted and the framework for the dissemination of educational material.'

IIT Madras will use AI and data science expertise to transform the Education Management Information System that Tamil Nadu students currently use so that assessments are better and the framework for education material distribution is updated. According to a report by India Today, it would be further equipped with a range of tools such as assessment creation, performance evaluation including fraud detection, and various dashboards to monitor the learning progression of students, as well as school and district-level monitoring. The revamped system is expected to be deployed through the newly-built high-tech labs in about 6,000 government schools.

Carrying Out The Herculean Task

This ambitious and large-scale project is expected to benefit and improve the learning experience of about 90 lakh students in the state. Keeping its scale in mind, the initiative will be collaboratively carried out by the IIT-M faculty, students, project associates, and channel partners of the Robert Bosch Centre of Data Science and AI (RBCDSAI).

Talking about the project, an Associate Professor at the Department of Management Studies and core member of the RBCDSAI said that "the digital medium would allow us to customise content and monitor progress in ways that would otherwise be unimaginable." Dr Sudarsanam also happens to be the Principal Investigator of this collaborative project.

The project will reportedly be executed in three phases. Initially, the focus would be on content management for the Educational material and Assessment, the second phase would work towards delivery and feedback for the prepared material, and the final phase would emphasise upon data analytics, Dashboards, and the Reporting system. This form of technological exercise would incorporate AI and ML to make it easier to carry out personalised mentoring for students based on their weak areas, assist the administration in grading papers, assess learning patterns, and venture into a lot more possibilities.

Also Read: Tamil Nadu To Offer Free JEE, NEET Coaching for Govt School Aspirants