Bengaluru: The Karnataka State Knowledge Portal (KSKP), to be hosted by the Karnataka Knowledge Commission and the state higher education department, is expected to start functioning shortly, most probabaly in June. “KKC has given a presentation on the Karnataka State Knowledge Portal. We will hold a meeting on this by the month-end and launch it in June”, says RV Deshpande, higher education minister
The portal is designed to help under graduate and post graduate students in Karnataka access global education. It will be a one stop portal for study material and classroom proceedings of universities from around the globe. The portal will also enable them to pursue certificate courses. It is expected to have at least 50 foreign universities on board at its launch.
Explaining how the portal works, TV Mohandas Pai, Knowledge Commission member, told a local daily that students can pick from study material offered by different universities and also pursue programmes not part of their courses. For instance, a mechanical engineering student fascinated by robotics can study the subject. One also has the option of getting a certificate after finishing the course. For example, if a professor from a varsity is offering a three-month course on robotics, a student can register for it. However, he/she has to pass an exam to get the certificate. Some of these courses could be free. Pai said the portal is a “flipped classroom”, providing classroom proceedings online. Students will get to interact with lecturers.
This is how it works: A student has to register on the website of his/her university. After logging on, he/she will be directed to the knowledge portal. He/she can select from the study material available.
“Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), Cambridge, offers a similar facility to its students. Such portals provide a variety of content to students. This is the future of education, because pursuing such open-source courses and obtaining certificates will add weightage to resumes and help students during placements. It’ll be an added bonus for those applying to foreign universities for higher studies. Many of our students are pursuing such courses offered by MIT. But students must not depend on this completely since they won’t get hands-on experience. However, it’s always good to learn additional courses”, says GK Prabhu, registrar, Manipal University.
