The lockdown may have been a time for many to relax or catch up with their reading. Some turned it productive by learning new art or developing new hobbies like Shafi Vikraman of Thiruvananthapuram, Kerala who enrolled in new courses and today has more than 130 online certifications – all from universities based overseas.
Among the institutions he got enrolled into included the Ivy League ones like Yale, Princeton, Columbia and Wharton.
Following the pandemic, Vikraman joined virtual courses which were offered by Coursera and the World Health Organisation’s online learning wing and in all he completed 145 courses. Interestingly, a large number of courses deal with the medical sector.
Talking to New Indian Express he said: “I preferred to do courses in marketing but ended up with a lot of medical courses. A university like Yale is a dream for us. Now I have certifications from those universities. I can’t tell you how thrilled I am to have studied all these subjects.”
Not wanting to waste time or stay idle, he joined the courses during the first lockdown in July 2020. “It threw open a huge world for me,” he said.
The courses done by him range from two days to two months and he attended more than 20 simultaneously in the beginning. All the courses have made him learn about varied subjects and topics ranging from medical to finance, artificial intelligence, forensics, cryptocurrency, food and beverage management, psychology, robotics, blockchain and more.
Initially, he studied from 6 p.m. to 4 a.m. and later quit his job as a deputy general manager in a foreign exchange firm to concentrate on studies. Describing his experience he said: “The change in time zone was the only issue and I couldn’t get proper sleep. There were months when I slept for barely two hours.”
Having received certification from so many universities, Vikraman feels good. “You can now learn from the best universities world over. Everyone should make use of the opportunity. I used to love the medical field when I was younger. Now I am able to learn a variety of subjects from prestigious universities.”
Vikraman wants to continue his learning spree and at present is doing 22 courses.
