IIT Madras to launch 'Out of the Box Thinking' course, targets one million students

The Indian Institute of Technology (IIT), Madras will launch a first-of-its-kind free course on "Out of the Box Thinking" through mathematics to encourage innovative thinking, officials said on Monday. The institute is targeting as many as one million school and college students, besides working professionals and researchers through the online course, they said.
"This course is the first of its kind in India and will make a major impact in the days to come. We will see the benefits of this course in the next few years," Director of IIT Madras V Kamakoti said.

The course is being offered free of cost, he said, adding that it will greatly benefit school and college students, especially those residing in rural India.

"Out of the box thinking is solving problems through an indirect and creative approach, using reasoning that is not immediately obvious and involving ideas that may not be obtainable by using only traditional step-by-step logic," Kamakoti said.

In this unique course, such thinking is emphasised through rediscovering the known and unknown facts of mathematics logically with an interesting, broader perception of the manner of doing it, he added.

Kamakoti explained that the course will present multiple approaches to problem-solving and debunk the myth that problem-solving is only for a select few. It will introduce new techniques in an easy-to-understand fashion.

"With logic being the undercurrent in the study of mathematics, it is essential to develop broader thinking through its applications in the expanding world of technology. From solving a fun Sudoku puzzle to completing an important scheduled project, the logic of working is much more important than the arithmetic involved in it. This requires creative thinking and a broader perception that is often known as 'out of the box' thinking," he said.

The course is being made available in India as well as in foreign countries. The four graded independent levels of the course will be easily accessible to students, professionals and researchers.

The courses will be taught by Sadagopan Rajesh, mathematics educator and founder-director of the Aryabhatta Institute of Mathematical Sciences.

Rajesh has been teaching mathematics for the past 30 years to both school and college students.

"If we approach mathematics with discipline and passion... we can broaden our thinking. The important output is the development of skills which are essential to fit and effectively contribute to a rapidly changing technological world," Rajesh said.

The first batch of the course is scheduled to commence on July 1 and registrations will close on June 24.