They were welcomed by enthusiastic students and faculty members with open arms and were thrilled to interact with them. During the event, the actors shared their experiences of working on the movie. They engaged in a lively Q&A session, where the students had the opportunity to ask them about their journey in the film industry and upcoming projects.

Nushrratt Bharuccha, recognized for her remarkable performances in movies such as Pyaar Ka Punchnama and Sonu Ke Titu Ki Sweety, and Bellamkonda Sreenivas, known for his outstanding work in films like Alludu Seenu and Saakshyam, were keenly interested in interacting with the young minds of Swarrnim University.

““At Swarrnim Startup and Innovation University, we place a high value on providing practical experiences to our students and are dedicated to this commitment. The opportunity for our students to learn from professionals in the film industry is invaluable.”, said Mr. Adi Jain, Vice President of Swarrnim Startup and Innovation University.”

The film, directed by V.V. Vinayak and produced by Dil Raju, is a Telugu-language action thriller featuring Bellamkonda Sreenivas and Nushrratt Bharuccha in lead roles. Chatrapathi tells the story of a young man named Siva who is wrongly imprisoned and subsequently becomes a gang leader to fight for prisoner rights. Upon his release, he seeks revenge against those who have wronged him and his family. The film is known for its high-octane action sequences and intense drama.

Swarrnim University’s students and faculty extend their best wishes to the Chatrapathi team for the success of their film.

The post Swarrnim University Hosts Chatrapathi Stars Nushrratt Bharuccha & Bellamkonda Sai Sreenivas for their film Promotion appeared first on Higher Education Plus.

Skillshare has raised more than $108 million in venture funding from investors, including Union Square Ventures, OMERS Growth Equity, Amasia, Spero Ventures, Adobe, and Burda Principal Investors.

The platform has more than 13 million registered members and over 30,000 video-based classes spanning a wide range of creative disciplines from graphic design to photography to painting and illustration to interior design taught by experts in their fields.

Skillshare has a team of over 180 employees and continues to expand its operations globally. The brand has also been hiring talent locally with relevant experience in the space. As part of this plan, Aayur Kaul has been onboarded as the Market Head for India. Aayur Kaul is the co-founder of India’s first digital creative learning ecosystem, Chase, which was acquired by Bitclass in 2021.

“India has a flourishing edtech sector valued at over $15 billion. Combined with a growing population of millennials looking to pursue and monetize their creative passions, and the rising demand for creative classes, the Indian market presents huge opportunities for Skillshare to widen our online learning community,” said Matt Cooper, CEO, Skillshare. “We’re excited to launch our operations in India and we see this as a crucial part of our global growth strategy .”

“India is a unique market for Skillshare. The sheer number of new internet users coupled with the demand for microlearning, promises more growth opportunities,” said Aayur Kaul, Market Head, India, Skillshare, “Our focus in India is to bring our platform to the growing number of creators looking to level up in their careers or deepen their creative interests – as a hobby or as a step to monetize their passions. We also plan to invest in initiatives to recruit local talent to get started as teachers — creatively inclined people, who are experts in their areas of interest.”

Founded in 2010 by Micheal Karnjanaprakorn, Skillshare now sits firmly within the booming, $100 billion creator economy. Skillshare fosters a powerful global community of creators and learners. Its two-sided marketplace connects teachers, who create online video-based classes and related content, with members, who subscribe to Skillshare to further their career and passions. The company publishes original content and is an open platform, anyone who meets the editorial standards can upload a class and earn a passive income.

Skillshare already has over 1000 creators based in India producing authentic content that resonates with individuals locally. The company plans to add more teachers in the coming year by investing in a number of different initiatives to recruit local talents to be part of our platform – for them to monetize their passions and be an active part of the growing creative economy. Skillshare provides comprehensive resources and programs to support teachers wanting to create content and share their expertise. Not only that, but Skillshare helps them to earn passive income while doing what they love, grow their following, and give back to society by teaching other people skills so that they can also follow their passion. In 2021 Skillshare witnessed a growth of 35% in onboarding new local teachers.

Skillshare has already tapped into the market of creators and influencers in India in the Illustration, Film & Video, Fine Art and Lifestyle spaces. The platform has several creators, who are also social media influencers, teaching specialized segments related to their area of expertise.

Skillshare has Alicia Souza, artist, illustrator and co-creator of Chumbak, teaching an Illustration class for merchandising. Ankit Bhatia and Lilly Singh teach classes under the film & video category; Chaytania Limaye and Khadija Karachiwala bring us into their imagination through their compelling drawing and fine art classes, and Ekta Chaudhary imparts her expertise on gardening as a lifestyle. Regardless of the topic, Skillshare classes are personable and approachable and they seek to let people explore their creativity at different stages and in different capacities. “On Skillshare, I get to share what I learned over the last decade in the illustration sphere, interact with new students and also see their wonderful work. [Going from student to teacher has]  been a great experience so far,” Alicia Souza said.

About Skillshare

Skillshare is the world’s largest online learning community for creativity. With more than 13 million registered members across the world, Skillshare brings together the power of creative exploration, personal growth and skill development. As the largest global community for creativity, Skillshare offers over 30,000 video-based classes in a wide range of creative disciplines from graphic design to photography to painting and illustration to interior design taught by industry experts. Skillshare’s mission is to make creative life possible for everyone around the world. To learn more, go to: https://www.skillshare.com/

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The Oxford dictionary has defined the term ‘Globalization’ as the increasing worldwide integration of economic, cultural, political, religious, and social systems. This makes true sense in today’s world where there are numerous modes for trade, travel, and communication.

Design thinking and innovation of new technologies are bridging the gap with globalization in education as well. Integration of education systems, new age knowledge sharing, and teaching methods are some of the positive outcomes in this process. Classroom, online, and hybrid models have been well adopted from pre-school to higher education in India.

The new globalized Masters in Business Administration (MBA) programs impart theoretical knowledge along with practical knowledge that helps chase the world in real-time. Conventional MBA programs typically had specialization in Finance, Marketing, and Human Resources. These plain vanilla MBA courses have been redefined to specialize in segments dominating the current economic scenario.

• Banking & Finance– Banking is the core of the financial domain. An MBA degree in this sector helps master the nuances of the banking system and its allied investment avenues.
• Digital Marketing – Digital Marketing is the enhanced version that focuses on new marketing avenues. This covers social media marketing, advertising, and branding.
• Human Resource Management – Managers today handle the millennial workforce. The curriculum focuses on soft skills that help managers grow as motivational leaders in their careers. HRM emphasizes people management and a sustainable organizational structure.

The new-gen curriculum is designed such that aspirants are prepared to take on leadership roles in the corporate world. Successful entrepreneurs are equipped with a strong backbone through startup education. The following are a few MBA courses that are redefined by globalization:

• International Business – Globalization has opened doors for international trade. The course specializes in International Business Management and helps understand the dynamic global scenario.
• E-commerce Management – E-commerce management has all the learning tools that drive businesses to grow online. This program is to master various aspects of the online business, from funding to marketing. Start-up entrepreneurs can establish successful online businesses by pursuing MBA in E-commerce management
• Business Analytics – In this data-driven world, an MBA in Business Analytics is the need of the hour. This program helps make strategic business decisions backed by strong data sets. The course brings forth key career opportunities like Business Intelligence Analyst, Data Scientist, Market Research Analyst to name a few.
• IT Project Management – IT Project management requires great management skills along with sound technical knowledge. This is an apt course for an IT Project Manager that blends both the requirements.
• Travel and Tourism – With the world becoming a smaller place each day, travel and tourism have gained utmost relevance. Travel and Tourism Management emphasizes the business aspect of the hospitality and tourism industry.
• Healthcare – Education in healthcare was all about becoming doctors and nurses until a few years ago. Who could have thought of this sector having a management program? With the advancement in healthcare technology, MBA in Healthcare is the perfect fit.

All these MBA courses look very intriguing. But what about working professionals who can’t quit their jobs to resume studies. Hybrid and Online MBA programs are curated for corporate executives and senior managers who need not quit their existing jobs. These models are adopted by top universities across the globe. They offer complete flexibility to suit the busy schedules of working professionals.

• Hybrid / Part-Time MBA – These programs are a blend of on-campus and online study formats. They have workshops and interactive sessions with subject matter experts that bring immense networking opportunities. Professionals with at least two years of work experience are eligible to enrol in part-time MBA courses.
• Distance/ Correspondence MBA – One can attend the best MBA college irrespective of its location. These courses have 24*7 online access to all sessions and study material. They are cost-effective as compared to traditional full-time MBA courses.

Globalization in education has been a boon for developed as well as developing nations. In addition to income disparity, literacy levels differ between both worlds. Equal education opportunities bring the young talent pool closer to their dream aspirations. It’s rightly said, new globalization redefines MBA.

About Swarrnim Startup and Innovation University

• Swarrnim Startup and Innovation University is a knowledge hub where disciplines like Engineering, Architecture, Design, Science, Management, Paramedical, Agriculture among other streams are taught with value enhancement through innovation, startup and entrepreneurship.
• Through education, research, and innovation, their vision is to drive up the spirit of entrepreneurship amongst students and help them tap into their creative minds to curate businessmen and businesswomen.
• Wanting to bring a ‘change’ in the education system, Swarrnim is the first of its kind university in India committed to promoting startups and encouraging young minds to become leading entrepreneurs. By providing rigorous learning experiences, the institute contributes to the university’s outstanding retention, graduation, and career placement rates.
• They aim to enable youngsters to think innovatively so that they can help in contributing to the betterment of the nation. The degree programs provided by Swarrnim are designed according to the modules based on core and elective units.

The post New Globalization Redefines MBA appeared first on Higher Education Plus.

upGrad – Asia’s higher EdTech major takes an aggressive route to further strengthen its Study Abroad vertical and partners with the US’s Clark University to offer a Master’s degree in Data Analytics, Information Technology, and Project Management. Designed carefully, keeping in mind the evolving requirements of the professionals, the course provides Dual Certification from IIIT Bangalore and Clark University where learners get to pursue the program online from India’s leading university in the first year, followed by the on-campus learning in the US in the final year.

The hybrid learning arrangement gives learners up to 3 years of optional practical training (OPT) Post Study Work Visa, and high-earning opportunities. Clark University is top-ranked, coming 103rd in National Universities in the US, and 601 – 650 as per QS World Ranking 2022.

There have been tectonic shifts in the job market in the post-pandemic world, with a strong demand for niche skills and courses stacked with hands-on experience and advanced technology. As per World Economic Forum, in the next few years, half of the global workforce will need to upskill or reskill to be relevant in the technologically advanced world. Eighty-four percent of employers are set to rapidly digitalize working processes. This indicates the potential and demand for tech-driven roles.

To further solidify its position in the North American market and strengthen its leadership team, upGrad has appointed Jerry Czub as the Vice President – University Partnership, North America. Jerry comes with almost 20 years of experience in international education and with a wealth of experience in international admissions, marketing and recruitment focused on the Asia region, the EdTech major looks forward to using his market and cultural understanding for scaling the business.

Talking about the partnership, and welcoming Jerry to his new role, Ankur Dhawan, President, Study Abroad, upGrad, said, “Aligned with our aim of providing quality hybrid education to our learners, and also with an opportunity to build a meaningful career outside of India, we are thrilled to have partnered with one of the US’s top-ranked Clark University.

This expansion will further strengthen our university network in the region and shall help a million of individuals create a rewarding career for themselves at a significantly lesser cost which otherwise would have been huge. Also, it gives me immense pleasure to welcome Jerry to the upGrad’s family and we look forward to using his business expertise and experiences in setting up our business footprints across the globe.”

“We’re very excited about our relationship with upGrad. They’ve built a suite of very compelling online programs that fits well with several of Clark’s STEM graduate programs. I expect students who graduate from both programs will find a significant demand in the marketplace for their skills, thus leading to a positive professional growth,” commented Rich Aroian – Executive Director of Corporate Outreach and Assistant Dean for STEM Programming School of Professional Studies, Clark University

Jerry Czub, Vice President – University Partnership, USA, added, “I have been in the education sector for over two decades and it has been on a growth trajectory ever since. I am excited to start my new innings with upGrad that is moving strongly with a mission of powering career success for every member of the global workforce and creating a strong & cohesive business network across geographies.”

All the programs under study abroad are in-built with personalised mentorship from upGrad to offer continuous hand holding throughout and include end-to-end counselling/visa support and ease of financial burden through EMI options to make the entire process and learning experience hassle-free for its learners.

The partnership comes soon after the EdTech had made a consolidation announcement, thus solidifying its stature in the Life LongLearning space.

About upGrad:

upGrad – started in 2015 – is a pioneer in the online education revolution, focused on powering career success for a global workforce of over 1.3 billion. It is one of the few Integrated LifeLongLearning Tech Companies in the world – spanning the college learner to the working professional from the age group of 18-60years and across Undergrad courses, Campus & JobLinked Programs, Studying Abroad, short form to executive programs to Degrees, Masters and Doctoral – with a learner base of over 2 million across 50 countries and over 300 Univ partners & a robust enterprise business with a client base of 1000 companies worldwide.

UpGrad’s Global Learning Engine rests on four pillars – (a) its large repository of original & owned content and IP – (b) its own best-in-class proprietary tech platform – (c) its high touch human-led delivery service backed by coaches & mentors – and – (d) an 85% course completion track record, backed by a further 80% career outcomes guaranteed performance.

Already termed Asia’s higher EdTech leader it has offices in UK, US, Middle East, India, Singapore & Vietnam, and presence in many more countries.

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In conversation with Tom Gifford, Assistant Director, International Recruitment, within the Experience, Operations portfolio at RMIT University

How learning programming/ Python is important for any career in the post-COVID-19 times?

One of the prevalent impact of lockdown due to the COVID-19 outbreak is the faster embracing of technology across the globe. The pandemic has made everyone realize the shifting nature of jobs and that technology is the future. This turnaround of events will lead to a sharper rise in the demand for digital skills moving forward. The future of jobs would involve Artificial Intelligence, Machine Learning, Big Data, Data Science, Data analytics, automation and more technologies in one way or the other.

In my view, for aspirants/ students, this lockdown period has presented an opportunity to choose and learn from the plethora of tech programmes and learn the tech skills they want. Python has been observed as a popular programming language among students during this phase and it will continue to gain further momentum. With an introduction to Python, students can start building the base for data science, analytics and machine learning. Moreover, this programming language is very user friendly. A student with knowledge and hands-on experience in Python gets a head-start for his/her career in computer science, gaming and information technology.

Why is it imperative to introduce programming to every student at the school level itself? How soon a student (which class) can be introduced to the subject?

In my opinion, everyone should learn programming predominantly school students. Programming aids students learn to analyse, think critically and creatively solve problems. Understanding computers and learning the basics of programming would help students to grow an appreciation for how things work.

More importantly, they will learn while learning programming, the essential life skills besides the tech skills. They will learn to think and solve problems in a logical and creative manner. Students would also learn to nosedive but at the same time acquire the ability to spring back post failures. Making mistakes serves as breaks for gaining wisdom.

Students starting from early years should start getting an introduction to the programming language. In India, both CBSE and ICSE boards have announced programming as a part of their computer science course as optional, for most schools. We are ensuing to a point where everything, every job would amalgamate into Computer Science and IT across fields to realize the next level of excellence. Picking up programming skills early on will only help students, at a later stage.

What are the new-age career prospects for students after pursuing a course in programming/ Python course?

The demand and application of programming/ python are anticipated to fast-track in the times to come. A course in programming/ Python would expose to abundant new-age career avenues as a Software Developer, Data Scientist, Data Analyst, Big data, Machine learning, Automation, Networking and more. Though attaining the right skills from a good educational institution would be crucial to an affluent career.

How getting international exposure will add value to students’ education and career path?

Studying in a foreign institution is excellent to expand your horizons for both personal growth and professional development. International exposure allows getting to ascertain new things, learning in a dynamic environment where a student acquires better cultural consciousness and understanding of peer students coming from different nations. Learners who study abroad display initiative, the desire to learn and the courage to enter into the unfamiliar terrain. This way a student can develop advanced social skills as well. International student exchange is not just about academic learning but the growth of life skills that goes a long way in an ever more globalized world aiding to build a generation of more leaders and innovators. I believe that getting international exposure is becoming a necessity for resolving grander problems in the world. Businesses across the globe too favour hiring candidates with international experience. The more experience you have abroad, the more you can assist a company to magnify its reach worldwide.

What is the idea behind introducing the GES programme? How is it different from other similar programmes/workshops offered during this COVID era, as every academic institution is proposing something similar either with nominal fees or free of cost?

In this swiftly moving world, it is vital to prepare students for the future of what’s next in computer science, gaming and information technology at a young age. We wanted to provide students with the taste of skills and experience that the industry needs through our special Global Extension Studies (GES) programme. This is an introductory-level programming principles, design and development course in Python. We envisioned delivering experiential learning with hands-on experience through the GES programme.

It is a world-first IT course giving Indian school students a passageway to programming, equips them for careers in IT in the Post COVID-19 World. To save their time and money on undergraduate studies, RMIT University would provide students with one subject of credit towards Bachelor degrees in Computer Science and Information Technology at the University.

Students aiming to build a career in the IT field and high achieving students can look forward to a completion certificate, scholarships with a maximum of 20% waiver on tuition fee to study at RMIT University, along with potential internship opportunities and selection for summer school programmes in India.

In programming, live experiences in a computer lab make sense. How did you manage to deliver 100% learning to the students? What were your success factors?

During these extraordinary times, we had to embrace ourselves to deliver an authentic programming experience to our students using a multitude of remote learning environments. The primary tool we used is an interactive textbook on the trinket platform. This is a novel approach in remotely teaching programming where students can experiment with all programming exercises within the textbook which can be remotely accessible from the web browser. This obliterated the need for any software installed on students’ computers. Moreover, we integrated this interactive textbook within our Learning Management System (LMS) and Collaborative Learning Platform, creating it a one-stop learning environment. This way students were able to experience an authentic learning environment as if they were studying together with an instructor in a traditional laboratory setup.

We have received encouraging feedback from students and a high completion rate of these unrestrained programs.

The post Demand of python is anticipated to fast-track in future: Tom Gifford appeared first on Higher Education Plus.

In conversation with Om Narayan, Head- Enterprise Business Solutions and Academia Relations, Mytat

How is Mytat aiming to contribute to workforce transformation in rural India? Have you started any initiatives?

India has very vast and diverse geography as well as population. India presented some of the world’s best education initiatives and outputs, however, resource crunch and accessibility to the training/ workforce transformation resources are still the major issues. To add, scarcity of credible internship opportunities even after being mandated by relevant bodies like MoHRD, NSDC, MoRD, MoUD, and bodies like AICTE, DGT, NSDC, poses a big challenge in the career path of youths. A huge struggle to gain applied knowledge for students has been observed. The issue of students failing to secure a job even after campus selections or internships led to the genesis of thought to build Mytat back in 2015. Mytat has been in beta use for the past 2-3 years and so far, has reached out to 50,000 candidates across India and helped placed over 1700 students. Recently, we have signed partnerships in Rajasthan with various higher education institutions and will be reaching out to 50,000 candidates in the next one year.

MYTAT has been developed to help students to identify their skill gaps, practice employability related assessments as per industry standards and join live and current theme/technology / problem-based projects that are mentored by industry experienced professionals with a pre and post skill assessment process.

We followed this approach for helping students in the rural rungs of the country earlier however, as the same problem is observed with candidates in urban cities as well, we are reaching out to students across demographics at one go.

How technology can help revive the traditional skill assessment/ SWOT analysis for students?

Traditional assessments were limited to a set of aptitude, functional tests or personality assessment and with a very limited fresher intake. With technological advancement, organizations have started focusing on a 360-degree talent assessment approach, thus, witnessing a shift in the recruitment/ talent acquisition process. A candidate is now being tested basis a series of assessments that are an amalgamation of aptitude, psychometric, coding/technical/non-technical, soft skills, MCQs, Subjective, simulation-based or hackathons, communication skill test– audio, and written etc. Employers use these assessments to take a view on each candidature to determine their long association and success potential in that role.

With technology disrupting the traditional assessments methods, students can benefit not only from skill acquisition initiatives but would also receive insight into their competitiveness in the talent market. This understanding helps him/her make an informed career decision.

How technology can be used to enhance the employability of students, making the platform accessible and scalable across India?

We all are aware that organizations are concentrated in limited cities and so are the professionals. It is impossible to burden organizations to enable students with credible project exposure. Therefore – it is now a necessity to ensure that such opportunities are accessible online during their education or training period, under a professional mentor.

With repetitive project exposure students not only get familiarised with technology but also acclimatise themselves to the process of problem-solving, teamwork and interpersonal relations. Therefore, it is a complete transitional experience for them while they are still on campus.

Technological learning and skill assessment platforms are the way forward. With low-cost data packages, basic laptop and mobile phones. Simple device agnostics, platforms are putting efforts to become scalable while providing easy access to students even in the rural rungs of India.

What are some of the USPs of Mytat and Lrnable vis-a-vis benefits to users?

Mytat has been in a unique position playing a critical role of connecting academia, students and industry. MYTAT’s robust AI/ML-powered assessment engine is being used by the top employer brands across the country.

Our assessment platforms help students to understand their employability and skill gaps. Students can further benefit from the self-paced and gamified learning backed by the inbuilt assessments to gauge their progress. The platform provides access to unlimited practice assessments with unique features of tracking previous scores, mistakes and practising further. These are necessary to acquire the desired technical, soft and new-age skills which are a pre-requisite to be job-ready nowadays. Students on the Mytat platform can also take the advantage of getting connected to the industry through internships or working on projects and learn real-time.

For educational institutions, MYTAT can help, gamify their curriculum and learning assessments. This will help raise students’ performance in the same class; section topic may be used for FDP delayering insights and growth. Mytat will also ease the struggle to facilitate credible internship and placements for these institutions.

On the other hand, corporates will get students who would understand processes and technologies, complementing them with good interpersonal skills and therefore presenting a better human resource tapping/retention opportunity which would indirectly save cost hiring and training cost, adding to the corporates’ overall profitability.

Once a candidate gets hired, Lrnable will further use the insights of MYTAT hiring assessments as development initiative input, facilitating timely learning interventions workshops while gauging the effectiveness of programs and continue to support employees at each career stage.

Thus, organisations with a handy skill matrix can take important business decisions at any given time.

The post Traditional assessments were limited to a set of aptitude: Om Narayan appeared first on Higher Education Plus.

By Prerna Jhunjhunwala, Founder, Creative Galileo

Education has undergone a sea change in the last five years. Children between the ages of three and eight years are instinctively tuned to use technology effortlessly. Combining education and entertainment is the most effective means to leverage young kids’ unique curiosity for their overall development.

Indian children have tremendous exposure to app-based education. After the pandemic-induced lockdown, the usage of apps and computers has increased in cities and villages alike. Innovative e-learning apps bring tremendous advantages such as providing quality interaction, reducing the need for rote memorization, 24 x 7 availability, fostering systematic learning activity, and bridging communication gaps between parents and teachers.

The Universe of Learning: Changed Forever

The role of entertainment in teaching has always been unmistakable. Through music, drama, songs, and nursery rhymes, we have transferred material knowledge and moral values to generations across centuries.

Today, entertainment in education stands redefined through apps ubiquitously available on Android and iOS devices. The technology-led learn-having-fun strategy is thoroughly engaging and immersive. It encourages children to spend more time learning and leaves them craving for more.

Learning is no longer limited to classroom sessions. Children are already familiar with mobile phones, video games and digital culture. Therefore, introducing them to an e-learning app is the most appropriate way to reinforce concepts while having fun.

Children of the impressionable ages from three years onwards love to discover things on their own. It makes sense to acquire mental and physical skills by presenting virtual stories, quizzes, can-do-it videos, and games to explore their world. This age-specific, child-sensitive strategy brings in higher confidence to face challenges in society as they learn to collaborate and achieve goals. One critical aspect to keep in mind is that the content must be safe for children to remain unsupervised while using the apps.

Kids have a fertile imagination. With creative learning, we can boost their cognitive skills. Children seem to understand visual data more than long grey text. In an interactive game experience, they recognize words and concepts through games. They easily recall and emulate the characters that they interact with on the apps.

This makes boring lessons easy and fun. Kids remember the words, numbers, plants, animals, shapes, and figures along with the essence of the story. They place each of these in the natural setting and relate to them in the real world. The use of elements such as images, sounds, and animations helps target the senses better and stimulates diverse types of learning among kids.

Learning apps serve as a crucial element of reinforcement for little minds to absorb knowledge. Compelling storytelling eliminates the burden of serious studies and helps to build easy recall. Entertainment apps have the power and versatility to create a fun learning experience.

Games like chess and robotics may sound like adult intellectual games, but we have seen kids pick up such complex games and activities with ease. Likewise, constructive thinking, problem-solving, pattern recognition, retention, and curiosity are just some of the facets of brain development that get a great push through edutainment.

In Conclusion

Technology-enabled learning disrupts the traditional sage-on-the-stage role of the teacher. It takes it closer to the oft-touted facilitator’ role in its real sense, many decades after the term found its way into the jargon of pedagogical philosophy. The ‘Connected World’ allows for technology-mediated globalization of education where governments, private players, and societies try to reconcile the blurred borders of entertainment and education. From music, drama, songs, and nursery rhymes, we have travelled far into the domains of virtual reality and augmented reality.

We still struggle to resolve the long-standing ‘education is not fun enough—entertainment is not serious enough’ debates. However, edutainment asserts itself as a profound enabler of learning. The versatile mobile and web apps can weave learning and gaming seamlessly into a single fabric on the warp and weft enabled by digital technology. Game developers, teachers, and students together create content and experiences. Collaborative creation and collaborative consumption have become native to the new paradigm of gaming and learning, like never before.

True globalization is in the offing. Digital technology facilitates the new edutainment model that makes learning fun and is the true leveller of all socio-economic barriers. It makes learning accessible to all.

The post Edutainment: A profound enabler of learning and equal opportunity appeared first on Higher Education Plus.

In conversation with Varun Kohli, Co-Founder, Coding Blocks

1. What is your perspective of coding and the importance of teaching programming?

Coding is the most desired skill of the 21st century. Considered as one of the highest paying and stable careers, traditionally Coding was opted by many students at College level. There exists a general perception that coding is the forte of the ‘Gifted learners’ and cannot be taken up by average students.

Before anything else, we need to address what is Coding and how does one start learning it. Well, simply put, Coding is a way to make software and hardware act upon your instructions. There is a particular way to do this and learning that way is learning to code. It is naturally logical in nature, and hence learning to code teaches good logical ability to learners. In addition, it teaches how to solve a problem by breaking its complexity to a simpler structure and making deductions from it.

2. What are the advantages of programming?

Coding is a boon for students as it will help them enhance logical thinking and problem solving from an earlier stage. Coding and programming are game changers in the education system. We will see a new generation that will be using analytical thinking to solve problems. In India, it is the perfect time to teach the children about new age learning which will help them tremendously both in the jobs sector as well as in Entrepreneurship.

3. What is the current status of programming in India?

Programming in India is typically opted by students at the higher education level- colleges, universities and the like. Even here, the syllabus of universities or colleges are in urgent need of an overhaul as the current syllabi presents a big challenge to students who need extra hand holding to make sure they are able to clear the placement drives of good tech companies. The key to success is to be aligned with the industry needs at all times. Students need to brace themselves with latest tech stacks and keep practicing Coding problems on a regular basis. Participation in community and Open Source are also good means to stay aligned.

4. What can be done to make the situation better? How will it help the IT industry?

Students need to understand that what they learn in college might not be enough and they need to keep themselves aligned with the needs of the IT industry. Practice is the key to success and learning the latest stacks is always beneficial.

The Covid pandemic has evolved the IT industry and it is now functioning well in the Remote working scenario. Well trained, industry aligned students will help the IT industry align easily to Remote protocol and will help students in bagging better opportunities and packages.

5. Tell us more about Coding Blocks Junior- a new initiative offering free courses in coding?

Coding Blocks Junior is one of the first initiatives in India to provide free Coding courses in Visual programming, Python, Web development and Robotics to school students across India and abroad.

Coding Blocks Junior has superb mentors, well researched content and all programs on Coding Blocks Junior are Certificate programs. There is no fee for doing the course from Coding Blocks Junior.

Coding Blocks Junior is the long awaited dream of our founder, Manmohan Gupta, an IIT Delhi alumni who believes that Coding should be imparted to all students at the school level.

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In conversation with Pankaj Agarwal, CEO & Founder, Taghive

What new technology has come up since the last year in edtech?

• Distance learning or remote learning has been the tech revolution that the world has seen over the last one year. All other ed-tech innovations have been modeled to keep up with the challenges of remote learning. We have seen the need for better assessment models that also reflects student performances since it has been physically impossible to tap into that. Class Saathi pioneered this with our low cost assessment model that enabled teachers to monitor student performance remotely. This gave them the opportunity to make sure their remote learning techniques have had a measurable impact on students, giving them also the chance to intervene wherever necessary.

How can the tier 2 and 3 cities be tapped using ed-tech in India?

• Tier 2 and Tier 3 cities face infrastructural challenges that make a lot of tech integration highly difficult, to an extent where most administrators delay it. We need to tap into these cities by innovating for their environment instead of expecting these cities to come to us with a full infrastructural upgrade. They will improve their infrastructure for sure, but till then we cannot ignore their needs and we must continue to build sustainable tech models that will only grow with the cities.

 How Class Saathi is making progress?

• Class Saathi’s value is being recognised by state governments. After a successful partnership with the Madhya Pradesh government, we now have the Uttar Pradesh government partner with us to bring Class Saathi in 200 schools across Varanasi. Our work is being recognised nationally and we hope to grow our presence in more states of the country in the coming years.

 What are the challenges you are facing since Covid?

• Like most organisations, the pandemic took a toll on our operations since our primary model was built for physical classrooms. However, it challenged us to innovate and bring dynamic, low cost technology for students to learn at home with our learning app. We built on this idea by also creating a platform for teachers to monitor their students and assign them homework remotely. So to say, our challenge was not the pandemic but the need to innovate which we did fairly successfully. Over 2 Million questions were solved on the Class Saathi app in 2020 alone.

What are your future plans?

• Since we have already achieved the product-market fit with our in-classroom clicker solution and at-home self learning solution, our focus going forward is SCALE-UP. We are on our path to seal partnerships with foundations, governments and even private school franchises to showcase the magic of Class Saathi to a much wider audience not only in India but also globally.

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Over the last four years, Leverage Edu has embarked on the journey of helping students discover the right program, destination and think through college education with an employability lens. Understanding that millions of students struggle with complex applications, VISA, grade conversions, and most importantly making a right choice for themselves, presented a huge opportunity, hence LeverageEdu was founded in early 2017 with Akshay as its first counsellor. The platform helps students match to the right higher education option, with one-touch access to 2500+ personalised mentors and leading global universities.

Outbound student mobility has increased manifolds in the past decade, with certain geographies emerging as clear winners amidst the pandemic, with their government thinking in favor of the global student and launching massive reforms. This has helped the Leverage Edu growth story, the company having served over 3000 students this season.

Leverage Edu has two main parts of its business. First, the company counsels students to select the right program, country based on their mentoring workshops, helping them apply to universities and colleges across the world via its student platform OneView, and then subsequently providing them value-added services like education loan, VISA, forex, accommodation options – making it a one-stop shop for the student.

The second part of Leverage Edu’s business is on the university side, a SaaS-enabled platform called Univalley.com, which helps Universities find best-matched talent for their diverse programs. Plus, it also enables over 500 small-&-medium Study Abroad companies across 35 cities in India, to make the applying-to-college journey easier by giving them access to Leverage Edu’s proprietary tech and access to its 250+ partner universities from world over.

Talking about the investment Rohini Prakash, CEO, Tomorrow Capital, said, “India is one of the largest global suppliers of international students and yet the biggest brands helping students in their admissions come from destination countries like the USA, Canada and Australia, who don’t understand the unique perspectives and problems that the Indian student faces. We believe it is inevitable that the next stellar brand in the global cross-border education space will be a home-grown one. We have a great belief in Akshay as a founder – he has a fantastic roadmap for scaling the business and the passion to build a truly global Indian Edtech brand – and are excited about working with the Leverage Edu team on this journey.”

With focus on solving for students of different parts of the country, from Delhi & Mumbai to Kainth, Ernakulum, Surat, Gurdaspur & Vijaywada, Leverage Edu Founder & CEO, Akshay Chaturvedi says, “In the fast emerging democratised-opportunities world, one’s destiny is not married to where they were born or where they started, but how big can they dream, and where in the world is their talent going to find most respect. It could be culinary arts in Western Europe, or sports management in Sydney, fashion and luxury in Paris, nutrition in Canada – or anything, wherever there is a perfect fit for what a student growing up is best at!”

Akshay added that, “The latest round of funding will be used to accelerate the company’s strategic expansion into newer markets, bring in more product innovation, and deepen our student-first approach with more focus on pedagogy and student-first tools”.

Alongside institutional financing, the company also saw investments come in from an angel consortium led by Karan Khemka which includes Partners of the education consulting firm LEK. Leverage Edu also counts prominent angels like Vishal Gondal of Goqii, Ash Lilani of Saama Capital, Amrish Rau of Pine Labs, Chaitanya Rathi of Sula Wines, among others on its cap table.

“Our immediate goal from here is very clear. We want to focus on a few things and do them really really well. There is also this myth around foreign education being expensive that we’ve now been busting for last four years. 18 months from now, we want to be among the top study abroad companies in India, both by number of students and a roof-hitting NPS – because a happy student is why we are all really motivated everyday to do this!”, said Chaturvedi.

In a country and market where the higher education industry has seen massive fragmentation, Leverage Edu boldly challenges narratives and notions of the old and brings to light its vision of breaking down access to opportunities, and to pursuing dreams to become what you are good at, wherever that be on the map!

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