NPTEL is an acronym for National Programme on Technology Enhanced Learning which is an initiative by seven Indian Institutes of Technology (IIT Bombay, Delhi, Guwahati, Kanpur, Kharagpur, Madras and Roorkee) and Indian Institute of Science (IISc) for creating course contents in engineering and science. NPTEL provides E-learning through online Web and Video courses in Engineering, Science and Humanities streams

NPTEL web and video courses across 23 disciplines are available on our portal archive.nptel.ac.in. In 2014 process of getting certified from NPTEL courses was initiated, so that learners get a tangible end result in the form of a certificate from the IITs/IISc for their effort.

Certification courses are offered twice a year (Jan-Jun, Jul-Dec). Joining a course is free. Anyone can learn from these courses anywhere anytime. No pre-requisites, no age limit, no entrance criteria to enroll.

Learning can be done by watching videos and this is tested by the weekly assignments, that are to be submitted online within the prescribed deadline. Any queries/doubts you may have, you can post in the respective discussion forum, which will be answered by the faculty and his/her team.

There is an optional proctored certification exam that the learner can take for a nominal fee at the end of the course to earn certificates from the IITs. The learner has to be present in person for the exam and currently exams are conducted only in India in about 130+ cities in two shifts. Learner has to appear at the designated exam centre to participate in the exam, where his/her id is verified. 25% of the final marks comes from the Assignments and 75% from the final exam.

The main benefits of participating in an online course under NPTEL are:

1. Students: credit transfer and better resume

2. Faculty: Refresher courses, AICTE recognized FDP courses

3. Working professionals: For upskilling and reskilling