NASSCOM offers Free AI Foundation Course amid Covid-19 Lockdown

Amid Covid-19 lockdown in India, NASSCOM is offering a free AI foundation course under its future skills initiative, reports BusinessWorld.

The Foundational Artificial Intelligence course from SkillUp Online is available free only till May 15, 2020.

The courses are available at https://fslearning.nasscom.in/

Executive Opinion

BusinessWorld reports noted as a statement from Secretary, Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology, Government of India, Shri Ajay Prakash Sawhney,  who said, "COVID -19 has thrown unprecedented challenges for the world and industries alike. While we continue to fight these challenges as a nation, it’s important to use this opportunity to upgrade our skills, in order to remain industry-relevant and future-ready. This campaign will urge IT professionals, students and everybody else interested in technology to enhance their understanding of emerging tech. We are starting with artificial intelligence, as this is one skill that every professional will need. We hope to see many users signing up to avail of these courses. All the best for learning and be safe!"

In the same report, President, NASSCOM, Debjani Ghosh, said, "The novel coronavirus has thrown up exceptional challenges across the world and industries alike. While we continue to fight these challenges as a nation, amidst lockdown and remote working scenarios, it is extremely important that we continue harnessing our skill sets on emerging technologies to become future-ready.  Through NASSCOM and MeitY’s `Unlock your skills during the lockdown’ campaign, we would encourage all stakeholders to use this opportunity of working from home to upskill themselves in the skills of the future. We are confident that together we will be able to overcome this phase and emerge stronger post the crisis."

FutureSkills Initiative and AI Foundation Courses

FutureSkills initiative brings industry-driven learning resource.  National Association of Software and Services Companies (NASSCOM) is aiming to add around 90 million working professionals to the industry by 2030. The Future Skills platform enables students to learn the skills required in emerging technologies.

In 2019, Union Minister of Electronics and Information Technology, Ravi Shankar Prasad, approved INR 436 crore for the expansion of Future Skills initiative.

In the coming month, NASSCOM will also bring learning modules on Big Data, IoT, Cybersecurity, notes the announcement.