Startup to launch data science and machine learning courses in Kannada

MANGALURU: MicroDegree, a city-based Edu-tech platform that upskills students on emerging technologies will soon be launching data science and machine learning courses in Kannada.
Gaurav Kamath, a co-founder, told TOI, that tailwinds from the Covid-19 pandemic have helped this start-up that launched the platform and courses in the last week of June. Currently, the platform offers five courses including JavaScript Master Class, Python, Java, C++, PHP, and all courses clubbed together. The duration of the online courses that can be taken anytime, varies from 3-6 hours of self-paced learning, priced at Rs 249-499. They have also launched a free six-hour Javascript Skillathon Program
Rakesh Kothari, co-founder said, “We are trying to reach out to engineering students from across Karnataka, especially from the rural belt. Since students lack conceptual clarity and programming foundations, they end up mugging programs. We are aiming at creating top engineering talent in software engineering by simplifying programming that is achieved by teaching in our native language – Kannada,” he said. This provides concept clarity, analogies, and some local flavour. He stressed that coding would be done using standard integrated development environments in simple English, but the courses are taught in Kannada for a better understanding of fundamentals.
“Though the target audience is engineering students, interestingly, those who have taken up courses include graduates with at least a couple of years of work experience and high school students too. In September we will be launching data science and machine engineering in Kannada and these courses will be based on applications such as python,” said Manikanta Nair, co-founder.
The Startup was selected for a grant under Elevate Call-2, an initiative of the Department of Information Technology and Biotechnology, that aims to provide a comprehensive entrepreneurship platform for startups. They plan to launch courses in Hindi and other regional languages.