IIT Madras Launches NIPTA Portal for Skills & Job Training

• IIT Madras launches NIPTA portal for free training, assessments, job placements.
• New Medical Physics department bridges engineering and healthcare research.
• National data portal to link innovations with investors for commercialization.

According to ETV Bharat, IIT Madras has launched the National Internship Placement Training and Assessment (NIPTA) portal (nipta.iitm.ac.in) to improve the training of students, assess their skills, and help them with placements for jobs with companies at home and abroad.

The portal was announced by Director V Kamakoti at a function on 21 September 2023, attended by Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan, and it seeks to tackle challenges faced by companies during recruitment by offering free training, certifications, and then selecting candidates directly for internships and jobs.

Kamakoti pointed out that three MOUs were signed at the event and the NIPTA MoU is the most noteworthy. “Some companies have a variety of tests as part of their recruitment process, while some companies have zero.

NIPTA gives companies a resource for assessing candidates which can simplify the process," he said, according to ETV Bharat. “Students will be able to register, go through pre-assessment training, and take an online exam. Companies will be able to have candidates pre-assessed so they could draw candidates from that pool.”

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At the same time, IIT Madras created a new Department of Medical Physics to connect engineering and medicine. "All medical tests use technology so engineers should be working in healthcare and, as a particular train of thought, specialists can pursue their doctorate here," said Kamakoti in the context of collaborative innovation around MD, MS, DM.

IIT Madras is also planning a national-level data portal designed to connect innovations developed in engineering colleges to investors, building on the success of a state-level data portal for Tamil Nadu. “This single-window platform will house information about a range of technologies for industry and entrepreneurs, that can be transformed from research into products available in the market,” Kamakoti said. Initiatives like this are in line with India's push for skill development and tech integration, as the country produces 1.5 million engineering graduates per year and is aiming for a digital economy to reach 1 trillion dollars by 2028.