IIT Kanpur launches e-Masters in Commodity Markets

Lucknow, 4 June 2021

The Indian Institute of Technology (IIT), Kanpur, has launched four new e-Masters programmes to overcome Covid-19 norms and enable seamless remote learning during the pandemic.

The four courses are Communication Systems, Cybersecurity, Power Sector Regulation, Economics & Management, and Commodity Markets & Risk Management. These are expected to commence from mid-August while the admissions will take place in July.

These programmes will provide an online learning environment and help up-skilling of working professionals with industry experience and expand their career options.

“To remain effective and relevant in the evolving scenarios, professionals are required to continually upgrade their knowledge and keep up with the latest developments in diverse fields. It has, therefore, become imperative to provide access to a complete ecosystem of knowledge,” IIT Kanpur Director Prof. Abhay Karandikar noted.

He said the new programmes are expected to help employed personnel from industry and other backgrounds enhance their skill sets and improve their employability. “It will also help people enhance their qualification by obtaining a formal degree in the state-of-the-art areas.”

The e-Masters in Commodity Markets and Risk Management will tap the growing demand for commodity derivatives specialists. The rising share of commodity derivatives trading and India’s rising role in global commodity markets requires trained experts to navigate the highs and lows to emerge successful. The e-Masters will provide sustained training opportunities to the budding traders, commodity market specialists and experienced professionals.

The programme in Cyber Security addresses the increasing need for securing information in the digital world. The demand for professionals trained in cybersecurity tools is projected to be more than a million from defence, banking, retail, power, transportation, computing and related fields. With the strongest expert group in cybersecurity as faculty drawn from the Centre for Cyber Security of Critical Infrastructure and the Technology Innovation Hub in Cyber Security, working professionals would be able to equip themselves with skills necessary to be successful in roles that involve securing networks against attackers.

The new e-Masters in Communication Systems would arm working professionals with a comprehensive appreciation and knowledge of modern digital communications systems. It will address the need for trained professionals given the rapid developments in the field of communications with 5G, 6G and Edge Computing being introduced in the country.

The e-Masters in Power Sector Regulation, Economics and Management would be a multi-disciplinary programme providing a conceptual understanding of power sector regulation from an engineering, economic and regulatory perspective covering electricity markets, regulatory process, etc. This would be beneficial to working professionals from engineering, management, finance, economics, law, and public administration.

The e-Masters would be a completely online module with industry-relevant content, assignments, and projects, designed and delivered by the best faculty at IIT Kanpur. The programmes will include two weeks of on-campus practical training involving lab sessions.

(Virendra Singh Rawat is a Lucknow-based journalist who writes on contemporary issues of industry, economy, agriculture, infrastructure, budget etc.)