As India's appetite for Artificial Intelligence (AI) grows, so does it's need for trained manpower. To help create more talent in this field, the Indian Institute of Technology Madras (IITM) will start offering two free online courses on AI. These courses will be available on the National Program on Technology Enhanced Learning (NPTEL) platform. The courses shall begin in January 2021 under the tutelage of Professor Deepak Khemani, from IITM's Department of Computer Science and Engineering. 

While students will be able to take the course for free, for e-certification, they will need to pay Rs 1000 and clear an examination which will be conducted by IITM. The certificate will be awarded by IITM in collaboration with the NPTEL platform.

The instructor, Prof Khemani, is an alumnus of IIT Bombay whose research focus is Knowledge & Memory-Based Reasoning, NLP, ANN. While sharing his views on the importance of AI as a skill, he said, "A famous computer scientist from Ireland once said AI is the holy grail of computer science. It's a common person's view of computers, they feel that computers can do everything. The user states the problem and the computer solves, that is the broad goal of AI. It is a pretty long-term goal and we are not yet nearly close. However, the availability of data, increase in computing power, use of AI solutions in fields like medical diagnosis, has brought it into the limelight. I personally feel that it is important for students and specifically computer science students to opt for AI courses."

Professor Khemani further goes on to add that, "IIT Madras recently began an online BSc programme in Data Science. We have seen the rising demand for such courses and the AI courses are mainly aimed at people who are working professionals or are pursuing another degree elsewhere. They can attend these courses part-time online and thus increase their qualification. This programme is aimed at helping people acquire new skills and thus become job-ready."

The two courses - AI: Constraint Satisfaction and Artificial Intelligence: Knowledge Representation and Reasoning - are eight and 12 weeks long. The course, AI: Constraint Satisfaction aims to teach learners AI-centric diverse problem-solving methods. The curriculum will include constraint networks, equivalent and projection networks, search methods for solving CSPs, lookahead methods, dynamic variable and value order, model-based systems, model-based diagnosis, truth maintenance systems and more.

The course, Artificial Intelligence: Knowledge Representation and Reasoning, is meant for slightly advanced learners, who already have an understanding of formal languages, programming and logic. The course is designed to train learners to become problem-solvers. The course curriculum includes Proof Systems, Natural Deduction, Tableau Method, Resolution Method, Description Logic (DL), Structure Matching, Classification, Default Logic, Autoepistemic Logic, Epistemic Logic, Multi-Agent Scenarios and more.

The course has garnered interest from various age groups, a majority of them are professionals. Prof Khemani says, "Among the people who have registered, the oldest learners are over 80 years and the majority are around 30 years of age...These courses are not designed to be a primary degree but a secondary one. If you are already pursuing another full-fledged degree even then one can apply for this. It is mainly to help upgrade ones' skills," adds professor Khemani.