The first batch of the Career Back 2 Women (CB2Women) programme by IIT-Madras Pravartak, The Innovation Hub of IIT Madras, enabled 42 women to return to the IT profession after a career break, and got placed in multinational companies like Volvo, Saint Gobain Research, and Coca-Cola. The eldest in the group was 52 years old Ph.D and youngest was a 23-year old engineer, with annual salary ranges between ₹4 and ₹24 lakh.

Data Science and Cyber Security tracks for specialisation have been the top choices of these women, and Artificial Intelligence/Machine Learning (AI/ML) comes next, said C Mohan Ram, Mission Integrator & Innovator at Forensics, Intelligence, Surveillance and Security Technologies (FISST), which developed the whole concept.

FISST, which has a database with over 4 lakh women, does the acquisition of the candidates and manages the whole delivery, including assessments, assignments, and mandatory capstone projects by students, recommends them for the certification, he told businessline.

Ram said that feedback from the first batch has been extremely encouraging, with 97 per cent of participants having marked that the “course from IIT-M met their expectations” and also that “the course provided them the confidence and courage to face tough interviews with MNCs to get their jobs back”. Another encouraging aspect is that 100 per cent attendance was achieved by the first batch.

Anjaly Divakaran, who completed the BTCUBE Data Science and Big Data Analytics Advanced Programme, got placed at Saint Gobain Research India. “The hands-on training offered by the trainers has given a competitive edge over others in getting placed with an industry giant like Saint Gobain Research India,” she said.

Tara Praveen, who completed the CB2WOMEN Advanced Cybersecurity course, was immediately absorbed into Tevel Cyber Corp after completing the course. She is currently placed at Infosys Ltd. in Bengaluru, as an Associate Network Security Engineer & PMO. “The guidance and hands-on training, Boot Camp at IIT-Madras and project case studies helped me gain back my career,” she said.

K Mangala Sunder, Head of Digital Skills Academy (DSA) @ IIT-Madras Pravartak, said that the first batch of CB2W full cycle of completion saw 87 women complete the BTCUBE (Foundation) course and 42 complete the advanced programme, which will help them achieve their goal of regaining a career. The women have also been in IT firms like 3i Infotech, Inspira, Infosys, and Mphasis. A lot of women are expressing their interest in joining the programme.

IIT-Madras Pravartak announced the next batch of the CB2W programme for Future IT Skills Development from October 30, says a release.

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