NPTEL Star Award Experience 2023

Hey there! One of the computer science enthusiasts who is going to share a wonderful experience of giving the power of NPTEL exams 2023. First, let me tell you my educational background I am pursuing a BE in CSE, currently in the pre-final year, and my area of interest results in Full-stack development of computer systems, and so on. So in this particular article, we would like to see the value of the NPTEL exam and also I will tell you how to score higher marks and get medals (with awards). Before that first, let me tell you the importance of NPTEL and its benefits. But also i will tell you how to prepare for any competitive or certification exam.

About NPTEL

NPTEL (National Programme on Technology Enhanced Learning) is one of the best online platforms for certifications and for enhancing depth knowledge in various domains such as computer science, metallurgy, electrical & electronics, and psychology, etc, It is conducted by the government of India (MHRD) which is conducted twice every year in which candidates may apply for their credit transfer courses or for domain certification interest in (area of specialization) such as Data Science, Artificial Intelligence, Computer Systems and foundations of computing. It is a Universal Certification Program because students from India can also apply and Students outside India such as USA, UK, and Australia can also enroll and get their prestigious certification from IIT and IISc.

What made me and How i Started to prepare?

At the beginning of my first year, my Mom insisted me to give more NPTEL exams and get certified by IIT, however, I was not that much aware and didn’t felt interested to do those thing like this and like that first year flew away. It was like focusing only on academics and being an class representative etc, While stepping into second year of my college, One day while scrolling through linked in posts one of the professor is awarded with Discipline star in the field of computer science and engineering. He posted in LinkedIn and actually the certificate of this particular NPTEL is somewhat high valued and different. At that time i just thought that Am i having that much capacity to get those award and certificates? and after some days NPTEL course registrations has been started. Enrolled in 6 courses at that time January-April 2023 but cant able to manage both academics, Gate preparation and NPTEL exam so i decide to give only 4 exams in that semester the courses which i enrolled are :

• Social Networks (for credit transfer weeks)
• Problem-solving through C programming – 12 weeks.
• Fundamental Algorithms: Design and Analysis – 4 weeks.
• Python for Data Science – 4 weeks.

The first course Social networks which i took is for my credit transfer and other courses for my skill enhancement. The important thing is i just thought that i will just become certified in enrolled courses but great challenges and achievements happened that you are going to see here now.

Consequences that i faced (opportunities)

The first thing I faced after getting enrolled in these courses was that i felt more lack of confidence and consistency at the beginning and afterwards as the time goes day by day i have make day plans on an hourly basis after that watched more tutorials not only in you-tube but also referred some articles and websites in GeeksforGeeks which is related subject concepts (NPTEL). I also approached some persons on linked in who gave same exams on last year on same subjects .Their feedback was like “More questions are conceptual, Minimum questions are from assignment” Some persons shared some short notes related to the course which made me helpful for last hours preparations. But got more confused and shattered totally. After that at some point I realized Enough! No more gathering information related to the exams because everyone has shared based on their particular opinion and preparation strategy(experience). Only thing that matters is Hard work + Smart work and presence of mind but sometimes i felt why i need to stress on certain educational platforms. Already having many plans like Gate, Interview preparation and balancing academics but one thing i realized is you need to make yourself unique and stand out rather than being like other students who prior focus is only on academics to home and home to academics.

My preparations and Objectives that i followed to Achieve

Initially there is no good support and motivation for this preparation of my exams, the only mistake i made was i didn’t listen to my mom earlier but if i done at that time now i have enough experience of giving NPTEL exams and get discipline star award. There is an old saying in bible (commandment) which exists now also that is “Honor your father and mother, that your days may be long in the land that the lord your god is giving you“. My school taught this. Now here comes the preparation strategy that I mentioned. Every morning I prepared for 2 hours 5 am to 6 am for one subject and 6:30 am to 7:30 am for another subject. However this time my mom supported me at some points and said don’t always focus on results son you will get what you want! So just prepare and get relaxed. So as I said earlier it was 4 exams and these exams were from the same discipline which is Computer Science Engineering which is somewhat i felt hard to balance. The first maximum focus goes for 4 weeks of courses “Python for Data ScienceThe First and Fundamental Algorithms” prepared and made short notes watched YouTube tutorials and practised some PYQs these exams happened on March 25 and 26th. Both exams were done well but I felt Python for data science was somewhat more complex because it involves a lot of ML models and Python libraries & frameworks used during the course. This particular course is fully logical and conceptual on the other hand Algorithms course is as easy as I expected because the questions were tricky and conceptual. If one has gone through all video lectures they can easily pass this particular exam. After that, the same thing followed for 12 weeks of courses.

Here are the points to remember during your exam:

Before going to prepare for any competitive exam follow some tips I mentioned below:

• Initially pray first and take a deep breath. The main thing is to keep your body hydrated as your body consists of 70 % of water.
• When you are going to study, Make sure everything like study materials and books is ready and in an approachable manner.
• Refer to YouTube videos for tutorial and doubt purposes, and make sure you use Chat-GPT by writing meaningful prompts to get expected answers in a simplified manner.
• Practice Practice Practice and Maximize whatever you study just write it down on plain paper so that you will get a good grasp of concepts (My dad always used to say this).
• The main thing is to believe in yourself and keep one quote in mind “Nothing is impossible the word itself says I am possible“

By following these steps I covered 80 % of my course syllabus and I was confident enough to crack those exams which also helped me and shaped my future career purposes.

Exams Experience

At last, the time has arrived. NPTEL exams 2023 were conducted on March 25 and 26 for 4-week courses and April 29 and 30 for 12-week courses in between there are also 8-week courses that are conducted. My exam center was PTR College of Engineering, Austinpatti, and while I was on the way to my exam center with my friends my friends were in panic mode that they hadn’t studied well but I was confident enough that I didn’t listen to anyone, and didn’t have a long talk before the examination. I just remembered one thing I will do my best only and let the outcomes come based on my smart work and hard work that’s it with this thought I started and finished my exams. After that I wished the exam duration to be 3 hours for each paper (courses) however I finished all exams within 2 hours that’s one of my talents and after that left that exam hall with the thought that believing that better results would come the consistent hard work that I have done every day for this exams.

NPTEL Award structure and eligibility

We all know that being certified is not enough and having skills is ok! But the most important thing is the identity that you create by facing any exams (awards, medals).NPTEL not only provides certificates but also provides Domain-oriented studies and much more here I will share the awards certification structure which is mentioned below.

1. NPTEL BELEIVER – To be eligible for this award, you need to appear for 4/5 exams and you guys need to pass at least 4 exams of any domain.
2. NPTEL DISCIPLINE STAR – To get this reward, you guys need to complete 50 weeks of immense learning in any suitable domain. For example domains such as CSE, EEE, MECHATRONICS, etc.
3. NPTEL SUPERSTAR – To be eligible for this prestigious award you guys need to take 4 or 5 exams and be a topper at least in 4 exams that you gave.
4. NPTEL DOMAIN SCHOLAR – Students or Working professionals who want to specialize in their area of interest can opt for this course. Students need to complete 4 core courses and 2 elective courses NOTE you need to complete the courses within 3 years from the starting period.

Results

Well, all exams cleared which is the best thing. I have passed 4 exams with two Elite ranks. It took almost a month to publish those exam results by the NPTEL Team. The score for 4 – week courses that is Python for Data Science and Algorithms course the course is 56 % and 63 % (Elite) respectively, and for 12 – weeks course in Social Networks I got 67 %, and last in C Programming I got 59 % however some questions are more complicated. It’s like questions are somewhat more into research areas also being asked. With these best results and for the NPTEL STAR award I got a surprise t-shirt as well as testimonials on the NPTEL website.

After this Award I believe that even though I can do all things what matters a lot is your Determination, Consistency, and Discipline which are the most important factors that will shape you. So one thing don’t doubt yourself that you can do this thing and you cannot. just have a strong mindset and get into the action phase that you will achieve surely. Don’t feel down Great things take time so keep moving forward in life. Just believe in yourself and Never give up.

Benefits of giving NPTEL

• Higher chances of promotion in any organization (corporate industry).
• For credit transfer in college academics.
• Chance of doing a Master’s in any foreign university (this certification matters a lot).
• Learn from experts from IIT/IISc.
• Get certified by IIT and NPTEL.
• Get internship opportunities at NPTEL (for toppers).

Best certification that computer science students should have is mentioned below:

1. Oracle certified associate (Cloud Foundations).
2. Oracle Junior associate (Java EE and Java fundamentals).
3. Oracle Database foundations.
4. Accenture virtual software development (forage program)
5. UDEMY – A complete full stack web development by Angela yu
6. Coursera – Python for everyone.
7. Hacker rank Software developer certification.