‘V PROPEL’ aims to support students whose annual family income is less than Rs 1 lakh. Through this scholarship programme, select students will receive financial assistance for four academic terms.

Launched in 2020 by IIT Madras, this is a first-of-its-kind BSc in Programming and Data Science, which aims to eliminate barriers of age, discipline, or geographic location and provide access to curriculum to aspirants in programming and data science.

IIT sources here said that the course will provide an opportunity for learners to pursue an undergraduate degree/diploma from IIT Madras regardless of age, location, or academic background. In addition, the scholarship will give preference to meritorious women students and students with disabilities.

Verizon India is the first corporate to partner with IIT Madras to support this novel initiative with an objective to aid the learning journey of students from economically disadvantaged families.

This unique virtual learning programme will be offered in three different stages - Foundation Level, Diploma Level, and Degree Level.

Highlighting the aspects of this initiative, Prof Mahesh Panchagnula, Dean (Alumni and Corporate Relations), IIT Madras, said, “Verizon India has been a long-time supporter of our efforts in helping deserving students on their education journey. We are partner with them again to support financially distressed students in the BSc programme in Programming and Data Science.”

He also pointed out that according to the US Bureau of Labour Statistics; Data Science is one of the fastest-growing sectors that is predicted to create 11.5 million jobs by 2026. The World Economic Forum predicts that by 2022, data analysts and scientists will be the most emerging job roles, globally. Hence, we chose a specialisation in programming and data science.”

Verizon India and IIT Madras will be hosting a webinar on March 25, 2021, bringing together students and young aspirants who wish to explore this scholarship programme. Link to the webinar will be made available on https://onlinedegree.iitm.ac.in.