Savitribai Phule Pune University (SPPU) is urging students to enroll in its Degree Plus program in order to "industry-ready" candidates.

The curriculum is offered in addition to the students' regular enrollment in the BA, BCom, and BSc degrees. The website offers more than 300 certificate programs, the majority of which are free.

Spearheaded in 2021 by the then Vice-Chancellor of SPPU, Nitin Karmalkar, the initiative has made 300 to 350 courses available to students at less than the original fee. The courses have been made available in the university through tie-ups with educational and social organisations which include Harvard Business Online, Stanford University, AWS, Simply Learn, and Celebrity School as well as courses by companies like IBM.

“Through ‘Degree Plus’, students at the university will be able to get updated knowledge in information technology, artificial intelligence, cloud computing, economics, culture etc. Maximum number of students should avail this opportunity,” said Karbhari Kale, Vice-Chancellor of SPPU.

All the courses are online, and many are available free of cost.  The course schedule for 2022-23 has been released on the website and students are granted certificates upon completion of the course. In its pilot run, nearly 26,000 students had enrolled for it and 5,000 students had taken admissions. The students pursuing degrees from SPPU, and its affiliated colleges can seek admission into the course and apply at http://degreeplus.in.