Worried by IT layoffs? Open online courses can future-proof your career

IITs' NPTEL platform sees increasing number of professionals self-train through online open courses

After being laid-off by an information technology (IT) major in Chennai, Ashir Sharma (name changed) recently bagged a job at Tata Consultancy Services (TCS), in Pune, after training himself in data analytics using the National Programme on Technology Enhanced Learning (NPTEL).

Sharma is part of a rising number of professionals in the layoffs-marred IT industry who are turning to massive open online courses (MOOCs) platform NPTEL, which is run by seven Indian Institutes of Technology (IITs), including IIT Bombay, IIT Delhi, IIT Guwahati, IIT Kanpur, IIT Kharagpur, IIT Madras, and IIT Roorkee, along with IISc Bangalore. 

In fact, on the