The NDLI is a widely used national portal of digital knowledge resources, built on an open-source platform with open learning contents and open policies. Its website and mobile app allow instant access to over 35 million open educational resources (OER) in a wide range of digital formats. These OER cover school, college and university level education, and lifelong learning and research across all disciplines.
In March 2020, the COVID-19 outbreak in India caused 900 universities, 40,000 colleges and 1.3 million schools across the country to enter into complete lockdown.
Faced with the COVID crisis and the widespread closure of educational institutions, the NDLI demonstrated remarkable resilience and creativity. Within weeks, it launched a ‘Study at Home’ service for school and university students, covering all subject categories. Next came a ‘National COVID Research Repository’ – the only dedicated service of its kind in India – for researchers and entrepreneurs seeking to develop COVID-related solutions.
These were followed by an ‘Examination Preparatory’ service for the 12-million-plus Indian students preparing specifically for their school board examinations. The NDLI also began to curate and make available teacher-sourced videos of online lectures, and learning resources newly made available as OER by publishers.
Very importantly, the NDLI portal was revamped. What was earlier a content repository was transformed into a dynamic and user-responsive open education service platform, leading to a massive surge in document views and downloads. The NDLI’s vibrant program of online advocacy has helped build mass engagement with its OER and services, and firmly established it as a trusted, resilient and agile national knowledge asset.
