Free online programmes in vogue among students

PATNA: Several city students, who have some time on their hands after attending regular classes, are getting themselves enrolled into free online programmes that are not part of their curricula. Virtual courses on digital marketing, data science, coding, software development and business management are quite popular among collegians.
Akansha Sonal, an undergraduate student of St Xavier’s College of Management and Technology, took up an online course on digital marketing recently, thinking “it will help me in future”.“The course, which was absolutely free, threw light on the fundamentals of digital marketing with the help of numerous examples and videos. Now, I will enrol myself into a programme on data analysis,” Akansha told this newspaper and added that the highlight of the programme was receiving a certificate in the end.
A Patna University student, Arnab Chatterjee, wanted to learn the basics of digital journalism and opted for an online course by Reuters a few days ago. After getting a certificate, he enrolled himself into another programme on human resource management. “Both the courses were short, but quite helpful. I am happy I utilised my free time in a constructive manner,” an elated Arnab said.
Sawan Gupta, a student of Patliputra University, has taken up a few creative writing courses. He said, “I looked for organizations that offer free online courses, read the reviews, gained an overview of the programmes and learnt the nitty-gritty of creative writing.”
Another student, Richa Singh, selected a course on the basis of its popularity on the internet. She pointed out, “There are numerous free courses to choose from. I took up a virtual programme that dealt with each and every aspect of software development.”
Dileep Kumar, a professor who conducts virtual mathematics classes, asked students to prefer quality to quantity. “They should take up online courses that are trending and offer certificates as well,” he advised.