The Ecosystem Can't Ignore Edtech for Long, Here's Why!

India has witnessed an enormous surge in data consumption and with that the acceptance of innovative methods of online education has also leapfrogged.

Vikalp Jain, President and Co-Founder, AcadGild, was always disappointed with the way technology was being learnt by professionals. Having close to 20-years of experience in the world of tech, Vikalp co-founded Acadgild, with serial entrepreneur Vinod Dham. Acadgild is a professional training online bootcamp, which aims to bring accessible, affordable, engaging, and highly effective quality education to the world.

"We have been disappointed with the way technology is being taught. It has moved from classroom-based coaching, where industries used to have tie-ups with coaching centres, to online videos such as Lynda. .... In the case of online courses, the process has become very impersonal wherein the person who is actually meant to learn becomes a passive spectator," Vikalp said.

What's different?

AcadGild aims to address the severe shortage of skilled and employable professionals. The founders believe that higher education is a basic human right, and thus it is essential to create an ecosystem for skill development, where people can learn from mentors and from each other. The company, a leading provider of a suite of online technical and business courses, seeks to empower its students to advance their education and careers.

Acadgild puts a major emphasis on "learning-by-doing", then, by reading, listening or watching videos. The company's mission is to teach hands-on, job-ready software programming and business skills, in small batches of 8 to 10 to both students and working professionals located around the world.

All AcardGild courses are delivered live, online, by expert mentors who are carefully handpicked from leading companies like Accenture, Oracle, Cognizant, Infosys, BookMyShow etc. Mentors have over five years of relevant industry experience and form the backbone of the company.

Why can't we ignore edtech?

"My opinion has been that education and healthcare are sectors you can't ignore for long. Of course there was this euphoria about the ecommerce and taxi sectors in the middle, if you see the last one year there investors have come back and supported the edtech space. These are core sectors,"

"... On the education side especially, we have scratched a surface so far in terms of moving to the online mode. Nobody has yet perfected the model of completely moving things online and giving the same offline experience. The model is still evolving and we still have a long way to go," Vikalp said.

Acadgild is also helping companies with assessment after an employee completes a particular certification course. The startup helps them evaluate the amount of learning done by the employee based on key skill metrics.

Acadgild is promoted by K Ganesh and Meena Ganesh's entrepreneurial platform Growth Story. The edtech start-up has raised more than $2 million funding so far from marquee investors.