Chennai: IIT Madras Pravartak Technologies Foundation has opened registrations for the latest batch of the Out of the Box Thinking (OOBT) through mathematics course. The online course, which is free of cost, is expected to nurture creativity, critical thinking and problem-solving skills among school and college students, educators.The course will commence from Aug 7 and the last date to register for the course is Aug 6.Students will study about solving puzzles, arrangement of date numbers, interesting properties based on repetition of weekdays, odd-even numbers, visual interpretation, missing digits, mask math in the first level.The course has four independent levels and students from Classes V to XI can enrol for free. Students have to study 10 weeks online with two-hour lessons every week. They will be given periodic assignments. For more details students can visit: https://iitmpravartak.org.in/out-of-box-thinkingIn a release, IIT Madras director V Kamakoti said applying out-of-the-box thinking in mathematics fosters creativity and encourages thinking beyond standard formulae and methods.“Individuals can learn to question assumptions, explore alternatives and evaluate solutions from different perspectives. Many technological and scientific advancements are the results of innovative mathematical thinking. Thinking differently is crucial to our country’s development and prosperity,” Kamakoti said.“Mathematics is not just about finding the right answer, it is about exploring different ways of thinking and understanding concepts deeply,” said Sadagopan Rajesh, course instructor.“Through this free initiative, we hope to make quality mathematical learning accessible to every learner and inspire students across the country to think beyond conventional methods,” he added.Learners will also have the option to appear for an in-person proctored examination to be conducted at selected centres across India.
