M.Tech. Data Science and Engineering

Semester-wise Pattern

Students need to take at least 12 courses towards coursework and complete one Dissertation. The coursework requirement for the programme would consist of a set of core courses and electives. Core courses are compulsory for all students, while electives can be chosen based on individual learning preferences.

* Machine Learning course is a prerequisite for Deep Learning elective course.

Mode of Learning

The Mode of Learning used in this programme is called - Work Integrated Learning. Internationally, Work Integrated Learning (WIL) is defined as "An educational approach involving three parties - the student, educational institution, and employer organization(s) - consisting of authentic work-focused experiences as an intentional component of the curriculum. Students learn through active engagement in purposeful work tasks, which enable the integration of theory with meaningful practice that is relevant to the students' discipline of study and/or professional development*.

An education model can be considered as WIL if and only if:

1. The programs are designed and developed by the institute in collaboration with industry.
2. Work-focused experiences form an active part of the curriculum.
3. The program structure, pedagogy and assessment enable integration of theory-with relevant practice.

The innovative Work Integrated Learning Programs (WILP) of BITS Pilani are quite aligned with the above definition and requirements. The programs are designed in collaboration with its industry partners, subject matter experts from industry and academia that enable the students to remain relevant in their chosen profession, grow in their career and retain the habit of lifelong learning. The continued availability of workplace related experiences along with the weekly instruction sessions promote integration of theory with practice. An active participation of the organization mentor in the learning process of the student plays a key role. Case studies, simulation exercises, labs and projects further strengthen this integration.

The WILP of BITS Pilani is comparable to its campus-based programs in terms of structure, rigor, instruction, labs, assessment, faculty profile and learning support. The pervasive adoption of technology in all its academic processes makes the same high-quality education of BITS Pilani available to the aspirants at scale with the required flexibility. 

Key Benefits of BITS Pilani WILP

1) Can pursue the programme without any career break and along with the job.

2) The programme curriculum is highly relevant to sectors, industries and organisations they work for

3) In addition to the institute, the learning experience of working professionals in the programme is also supported by the employer organisation and Industry Mentors.

4) Effective use of technology to deliver a range of learning interventions at the location of the working professional such as faculty contact sessions, asynchronous learning materials, remote, virtual and cloud labs, Learner support, peer to peer collaboration etc. 

5) Contact sessions with faculty take place mostly over weekends or after business hours and are conducted over a technology platform that can be accessed from anywhere. 

6) Mid semester and End semester examinations for every semester are conducted mostly at designated examination centres distributed across the country (for details refer to link mode of examinations) 

7) Learners can access engaging learning material which includes recorded lectures from BITS Pilani faculty members, course handouts and recorded lab content where applicable.

EXPERIENTIAL LEARNING

The programme emphasises on Experiential Learning that allows learners to apply concepts learnt in classroom in simulated and real work situations. This is achieved through:

• Tools & Technologies: Apache Spark, Apache Storm for Big Data Systems/ Real time Processing; Tableau for data visualisation; Tensorflow for Deep Learning and various Python libraries for data processing, machine learning, OpenCV for computer vision, NLTK for NLP etc..

CONTINUOUS ASSESSMENT

Continuous Assessment includes graded Assignments/ Quizzes, Mid-semester exam, and Comprehensive Exam.

CASE STUDIES AND ASSIGNMENTS

Carefully chosen real-world cases & assignments are both discussed and used as problem-solving exercises during the programme.

DISSERTATION/ PROJECT WORK

The fourth semester offers an opportunity for learners to apply their knowledge gained during the programme to a real-world like complex project. The learner is expected to demonstrate understanding of vital principles learnt across semesters and their ability to successfully apply these concepts.

For fee details, programme information and application instructions, please click here to download the Programme Brochure.

For application instructions, programme information and fee structure, please click here to download the Programme Brochure

Mode Of Examination

Mode of Examinations applicable for students admitted in Batch starting in Oct/Nov 2024:

Semester 1, 2 and 3 have Mid-Semester Examinations and Comprehensive Examinations for each course. These examinations are mostly scheduled on Friday, Saturday or Sunday. Students need to appear in person for taking the examinations at the institution’s designated examination centres as per the examination schedule, Instructions, rules and guidelines announced before every examination. 

For Indian Students:

Students can take their examination at any of our 33 designated examination centres in India at the following locations:

1. South Zone: Bangalore - North, Bangalore - Central, Bangalore - South, Bangalore - East, Chennai - North, Chennai - Central, Chennai - South, Hyderabad, Secunderabad, Vijayawada, Visakhapatnam, Kochi, Thiruvananthapuram and Coimbatore.
2. North Zone: Delhi, Gurugram, Noida, Jaipur, Chandigarh, Lucknow and Pilani.
3. West Zone: Mumbai, Navi-Mumbai, Pune, Pune - Pimpri Chinchwad, Goa, Ahmedabad, Indore and Nagpur.
4. East Zone: Kolkata, Bhubaneswar, Guwahati and Jamshedpur.

For International Students: 

• In addition to the above locations, the institution also has a designated international examination centre, located in Dubai.
• To facilitate the learning of international students, applying from any other location except India and Dubai, the mode of examinations will be online, which can be availed by meeting the requirements of the institute.
• To know more about the requirements for online examinations, Click here

• Indian students, who are temporarily based out of India, can also avail of online examinations on request by meeting the above-mentioned requirements of the institute.