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<ul><li>LEAD pays a rich tribute to School Owners for their Herculean effort over the lockdown</li><li>The campaign is conceptualised by <keyword id="1557667" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="tbwa-india" source="Orion">TBWA India</keyword>.</li></ul>LEAD's latest digital film Out of Syllabus celebrates the unsung efforts of 'Future Line Workers' - school owners who acted as a mentor to teachers and an educator to students. On the occasion of Teacher's Day, it turns the spotlight on the challenges faced by school owners in these testing times as they continue to empower teachers, reassure parents and find innovative ways to help students adjust to their new learning environment. School owners often miss out on the reverence reserved for teachers. This film underlines the valiant work of school owners who placed the academic future of our children above everything, ensuring uninterrupted learning as far as possible. They have put the issues of others above their own - parents questioning school fees, teachers worried about their next salaries, students dealing with the glitches of online education. And managed to hold the entire ecosystem together to ensure uninterrupted online learning for millions of children, despite the changed circumstances caused due to the pandemic. They helped teachers resolve transitioning issues and managed the financial challenges of running a school. All this in the face of life's toughest exam where everything was out of syllabus, school owners have shouldered the burden of their new responsibilities with a smile and emerged as real heroes worthy of applause. LEAD's film thanks these Future Line Workers for all that they have done and in doing so disrupts the communication category just as it has disrupted ed tech. The film gives us a peek into the emotional journey of someone fighting an uphill battle during the lockdown of 18 months. The film also addresses the issue of over 15 lakh schools all over India shutting down due to the pandemic, affecting the academic future of millions of students. <div type="Youtube" id="JGiMnXcXUcQ" title="An Ode to The Future Line Workers | LEAD" thumbUrl="https://i.ytimg.com/vi/JGiMnXcXUcQ/mqdefault.jpg"></div> Commenting on bringing alive a disruptive initiative, <keyword id="1398302" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="govind-pandey" source="Orion">Govind Pandey</keyword>, CEO of TBWA\India said, “During the pandemic, we have had so many unexpected and unsung heroes who went out of their way to help others. Passionate school owners who understand that education is important and that every child deserves a good one are also such heroes. They did what they could despite all the odds because they know that education makes a huge difference to the kids futures and we couldn’t let the pandemic impact that. We call these school owners Future-Line Workers.” Talking about the initiative, Managing Partner of TBWA\India - Parixit Bhattacharya said, “School Owners are the wind behind the sails of the academic infrastructure of our country. And they needed to be celebrated. This is an effort to tip our proverbial hats to their massive efforts in ensuring the education of our children is never compromised. Out Of Syllabus plays into a never before cultural moment of our country when schools cautiously consider opening their gates to welcome back students after a hiatus of more than 18 months. Who better to bring home this message of hope other than LEAD - the organisation that is providing propulsive learning to thousands of children all over the country no matter which strata they belong to.” Chief Marketing Officer of LEAD, Anupam Gurani said, “We partner with 2,000+ schools across India and we have seen first-hand the commitment of these school owners in educating their students during the pandemic. Our new campaign, Out of Syllabus, is a salute to the indomitable spirit of all these future line warriors who have managed to create a seamless online learning environment by acting as an educator to students &amp; a mentor to teachers.”

Ahead of Teacher's Day, LEAD turns the spotlight on the challenges faced by school owners in these testing times

<ul><li>Indian startup sector witnesses a rise in job losses, with over 27,000 tech employees affected and numbers increasing.</li><li>Nearly 26,868 employees have been handed over pink slips by 98 startups.</li><li>At least 22 <keyword id="1464841" type="General" weightage="80" keywordseo="edtech" source="Orion">edtech</keyword> startups have slashed 9,781 jobs to date.</li></ul>At least 27,000 tech employees at Indian startups have lost their jobs since the funding winter crept in last year, and the list is only growing. Nearly 26,868 employees have been handed over pink slips by 98 startups, including unicorns led by the edtech majors, according to data by leading startup news portal Inc42. At least 22 edtech startups have slashed 9,781 jobs to date. In the first five months into 2023, more than 8,000 employees lost their jobs in India by nearly 50 startups. Homegrown virtual events platform Airmeet sacked about 30 per cent of its workforce, or at least 75 employees, according to the report. Corporate expense management platform Happay, owned by credit Card bill payment provider CRED, slashed nearly 35 per cent of its workforce as part of a restructuring exercise. Another homegrown edtech startup Teachmint laid off over 70 employees, its second round of job cuts after sacking about 45 workers more than five months ago. <keyword id="12864" type="General" weightage="80" keywordseo="chennai" source="Orion">Chennai</keyword>-based edtech startup Skill-Lync laid off employees as it consolidates operations across Chennai, Bengaluru, and <keyword id="6354552" type="General" weightage="50" keywordseo="hyderabad" source="Orion">Hyderabad</keyword> amid global macroeconomic conditions. The year 2023 has become the worst year for tech employees as nearly 2 lakh tech employees -- from Big Tech firms to startups -- have been sacked to date globally, as companies like <keyword id="399907" type="General" weightage="50" keywordseo="meta" source="Orion">Meta</keyword>, BT, <keyword id="15492" type="General" weightage="50" keywordseo="vodafone" source="Orion">Vodafone</keyword> and many others announced further plans to lay off more employees in coming months. As per the data by layoffs tracking site Layoffs.fyi, 695 tech companies have shown the doors to around 1.98 lakh employees so far this year. SEE ALSO: <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/tech/apps/news/is-whatsapp-secretly-listening-to-your-private-conversations-heres-how-to-check/articleshow/100155980.cms">Is WhatsApp secretly listening to your private conversations? Here’s how to check</a> <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/tech/news/google-pixel-6a-vs-pixel-7a-smartphone-comparison-with-price-and-features/articleshow/100177889.cms">Google Pixel 6a vs Pixel 7a: Is Google's latest mid-ranger worth the extra ₹12,000?</a>

About 27K employees lost jobs at Indian startups to date, over 8K this year

Edtech industry leader Byju's is raising nearly $150 million from <keyword id="2538679" type="COMPANY" weightage="20" keywordseo="UBS-Group-AG">UBS Group AG</keyword>, that will take its market valuation to $16.5 billion, reliable sources said on Thursday. UBS Group AG, part of <keyword id="349466" type="COMPANY" weightage="20" keywordseo="UBS-Asset-Management">UBS Asset Management</keyword>, will invest a total of around $300 million in Byju's, people familiar with the deal told IANS. The leading ed-tech company recently raised nearly $1 billion as part of its 'Series F' funding that included Baron Funds and Facebook cofounder Eduardo Saverin's <keyword id="3472137" type="COMPANY" weightage="20" keywordseo="B-Capital-Group">B Capital Group</keyword>. The latest fund-raising came after Byju's announced to acquire Aakash Educational <keyword id="266374" type="DOMAIN" weightage="20" keywordseo="Services-Ltd">Services Ltd</keyword> (AESL) through a strategic merger. The deal size is also pegged at close to $1 billion. In September last year, Byju's raised $500 million (approximately ₹3,689 crore) in a funding round led by global technology investment firm Silver Lake. Existing investors <keyword id="526777" type="PERSON" weightage="20" keywordseo="Tiger-Global">Tiger Global</keyword>, <keyword id="6375561" type="COMPANY" weightage="20" keywordseo="General-Atlantic">General Atlantic</keyword> and <keyword id="7849665" type="COMPANY" weightage="20" keywordseo="owl-ventures">Owl Ventures</keyword> also participated in the round that put the edtech startup's valuation at $10.8 billion. The new investment came barely a month after Byju's acquired WhiteHat Jr, a Mumbai-based coding platform, for $300 million. Byju's said it has seen over 20 million new students starting learning from its platform for free since the lockdown. The <keyword id="235499" type="COMPANY" weightage="20" keywordseo="APP">app</keyword> currently has over 64 million registered students and 4.2 million annual paid subscriptions. SEE ALSO: <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/science/health/news/covid-19-vaccine-india-needs-a-separate-queue-for-second-dose/articleshow/82304003.cms">India may end up wasting millions of COVID-19 vaccine doses if there is no separate queue for second shots</a> <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/science/health/news/if-you-have-just-recovered-from-covid-19-experts-say-you-dont-need-to-join-in-on-the-rush-for-vaccination-immediately/articleshow/82302460.cms">If you have just recovered from COVID-19, experts say you don't need to join in on the rush for vaccination immediately</a> <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/careers/news/atlassian-says-its-employees-only-need-to-come-into-the-office-4-times-a-year-under-its-new-team-anywhere-policy/articleshow/82304516.cms">Atlassian says its employees only need to come into the office 4 times a year under its new 'Team Anywhere' policy</a>

BYJU'S is reportedly in talks to raise $150 million to become India's most valued startup

New Delhi, Jun 17 () Telecom major Bharti Airtel on Wednesday said it has acquired 10 per cent stake in Mumbai-based edtech startup, Lattu Media as part of its Airtel Startup Accelerator Program. Lattu Media (Lattu Kids) specialises in digital learning tools for children, and the app focuses on improving English vocabulary, English reading and Maths skills for children under the age of 10 years through animated videos and games. "The investment will enable Airtel to add Edtech to its premium digital content portfolio and give distribution scale to quality learning material from Lattu Kids," a statement said. Airtel already has over 160 million monthly active users across its digital platforms – Airtel Thanks app, Airtel Xstream app and Wynk Music, it added. While the financial details of the deal were not disclosed, Bharti Airtel - in a regulatory filing - said the acquisition of the equity shares of investee company is done at mutually agreed pre-money enterprise valuation. "The said valuation is not material and not disclosed herein due to reasons of confidentiality," the filing added. Lattu Kids is the fourth company to join the Airtel Startup Accelerator Program after Voicezen, Spectacom Global and Vahan. At over 500 million, India has the second largest number of internet users globally, driven by affordable smartphones and the lowest 4G data tariffs globally. The company said this deep penetration of internet has led to wide adoption of online learning tools, and the trend has further accelerated after the COVID-19 pandemic forced closure of schools and adoption of virtual classrooms and digitally enabled learning. It is estimated that in India edtech industry will cross USD 2 billion in size by 2021. "At Airtel, we aspire to support the growth of the startup ecosystem through our digital platforms. And now more than ever, online education is a critical need for millions of young children who do not have access to regular classrooms. "We believe that Lattu Kids can make a positive impact in the space of online education and are excited to have them in our accelerator and partner in their growth," Bharti Airtel Chief Product Officer Adarsh Nair said. Vivek Bhutyani, co-founder and CEO of Lattu Kids, said his company's Vision is to impact learning outcomes for young children in Nursery to Grade 2, and lead this category in India by using digital content, gamification and technology. "With Airtel, we have found an equally passionate partner and our synergies in this space will allow us to scale Lattu to millions of kids in India across classes and make it a much-loved home grown edtech brand," he added. SR DRR DRR

Airtel picks up 10 pc stake in edtech startup Lattu Media

<ul><li>With the suspension of classes and employees working from home, the demand for <keyword id="23248" type="PERSON" weightage="20" keywordseo="Online-learning">online learning</keyword> has ramped up. </li><li>To facilitate that, edtech platforms like <keyword id="2008319" type="PERSON" weightage="20" keywordseo="Upgrad">upGrad</keyword>, <keyword id="6630114" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="20" keywordseo="unacademy">Unacademy</keyword> and Byju’s are hiring across roles despite the pandemic. </li><li>Here a few of those opportunities in edtech companies.</li></ul>The <keyword id="1754604" type="PERSON" weightage="20" keywordseo="coronavirus">Coronavirus</keyword> pandemic has resulted in nationwide lockdown. With the suspension of classes and employees working from home, the demand for online learning grew exponentially. To facilitate that, edtech platforms like upGrad, Unacademy and Byju’s are hiring across roles, unlike many other sectors which are looking to cut costs. Every week, Business Insider collates interesting vacancies across marquee organisations. This week we bring job openings across elearning platforms. Here a few of those opportunities: Byju’s <div type="image" title="byju" msid="75243521" hostid="261"></div> Position: Backend Engineer Location: Bangalore Experience: Not specified Eligibility: Bachelor's degree Byju’s is inviting applications for a backend engineer who will be responsible for writing high quality codes and unit tests as per the SDLC (Software Development Lifecycle). He will be responsible for building solutions for Byju’s core learning apps, co-branded platforms, new launches, product development and personalized learning experiences. The candidate must have problem solving skills along with the ability to write efficient codes. Interested candidates can apply <a href="https://www.linkedin.com/jobs/view/1166455257/">here</a>. upGrad <div type="image" title="ronnie" msid="75243539" hostid="261"></div> Position: Product Design Lead Location: Mumbai Experience: Minimum 7 years Eligibility: Experience in leading product design teams Ronnie Screwvala backed upGrad is hiring a product lead for its design team. The candidate will be responsible for defining the product design strategy for upGrad. As the strategic design leader, the candidate will crack complex problems and develop strategies. He will mentor the design team to identify efficiency, and promote high-output designs so as to improve the customer experience. He will also be responsible to look after the design standards, documentation and other processes. The candidate must have experience in recruiting, hiring, and retaining multi-disciplinary design teams along with good communication skills. Interested candidates can apply<a href="https://www.linkedin.com/jobs/view/1756743368/"> here</a>. Unacademy <div type="image" title="unacademy" msid="75243607" hostid="261"></div> Position: Product Designer Location: Bangalore Experience: Minimum 1 year Eligibility: Not Specified Unacademy is hiring a product designer. The hired candidate will develop designs using prototyping tools like marvel, figma and framer. To apply for the job, the candidate must have worked on consumer-facing products. Interested candidates can apply <a href="https://www.linkedin.com/jobs/view/1829601426/">here</a>. Udacity <div type="image" title="udacity" msid="75243620" hostid="261"></div> Position: Student Support Representative Location: Delhi Experience: Minimum 1 year Eligibility: Not specified Udacity is looking for a student support representative who will be responsible for resolving all student queries in a timely and efficient manner. The candidate will also make recommendations based on the learner’s interests and later execute improvements as per feedback. The candidate should have experience in communicating with customers on phone, email, and chat and flexible with zendesk, google docs, online chat programs and emails. Interested candidates can apply <a href="https://www.linkedin.com/jobs/view/1828427933/">here</a>. Byju’s <div type="image" title="byjus" msid="75243626" hostid="261"></div> Position: Business Development Associate Location: Bangalore Experience: Not Specified Eligibility: Bachelor’s degree - any specialisation Byju’s is hiring a business development associate in Bengaluru. The selected candidate will be responsible for improving sales for the company. The candidate will have weekly targets to achieve. To apply for the role, he must have interest in education and communication skills to drive sales. Interested candidates can apply <a href="https://www.linkedin.com/jobs/view/1830865577/">here</a>. Udemy <div type="image" title="computer-506756_1920" msid="75243596" hostid="261"></div> Position: Commercial Account Executive Location: Delhi Experience: Minimum 2 years Eligibility: B2B sales experience required Online learning platform Udemy is looking to hire a commercial account executive. The candidate will be responsible for developing and closing new ‘Udemy for Business’ sales across a range of companies and verticals. The selected hire would be required to execute account plans to achieve revenue goals, deliver sales forecasts and conduct product demonstrations. He will work towards customer satisfaction, work closely with marketing, product, customer success teams. To apply for the job, the candidate must have negotiating skills and experience with selling licenses, products and subscriptions to companies. Interested candidates can apply <a href="https://www.linkedin.com/jobs/view/1647826001/">here</a>.

Byju's, Unacademy, upGrad and other edtech companies hiring now

<ul><li>With consumer interest at the core of the consortium, the <keyword id="1464841" type="General" weightage="100" keywordseo="edtech" source="Orion">EdTech</keyword> companies have committed to observe and adhere to a common ‘Code of Conduct.’</li><li>It would establish a Two-tier Grievance Redressal Mechanism to ensure that the positive impact of the industry reaches every deserving consumer while protecting their interests and promoting their rights.</li></ul> Leading EdTech companies under the aegis of <keyword id="128625" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="Internet-and-Mobile-Association-of-India" source="Orion">Internet and Mobile Association of India</keyword> (<keyword id="149966" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="IAMAI" source="Orion">IAMAI</keyword>) today announced the formation of the India <keyword id="12934640" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="EdTech-Consortium" source="Orion">EdTech Consortium</keyword> (IEC). Aligned with the Government’s recent advisory, the IEC will ensure that every learner shall have access to quality and affordable education, which not only improves their academic performance but also makes them future-ready. With consumer interest at the core of the consortium, the EdTech companies have committed to observe and adhere to a common ‘Code of Conduct’ and establish a Two-tier Grievance Redressal Mechanism to ensure that the positive impact of the industry reaches every deserving consumer while protecting their interests and promoting their rights. Several EdTech entities have joined the IEC such as such as Byju’s, Careers 360,Classplus, Doubtnut, Great Learning, Harappa, Times Edutech &amp; Events Ltd, Scaler, Simplilearn, Toppr, Unacademy, upGrad, UNext Learning, Vedantu &amp; WhiteHat Jr. The move to set up IEC comes at a time when Indian EdTech players are creating immense value for the global audience. The disruptions led by the pandemic and subsequent lockdowns compelled both parents and educational institutions to implement tech-enabled learning solutions, thereby accelerating the growth of the EdTech sector. Indian EdTech operators have been solving for accessibility and affordability through quality courses from best teachers, instructors and faculty members, to ensure that students across all age groups are benefiting from the innovation in the education sector. This has elevated India’s position on the global map as an education hub. The overall Indian EdTech ecosystem impacts over 500M+ school students, college students and working professionals across India. At this scale, it is critical that the ecosystem follows a framework that will protect the rights of our learners and all EdTech companies are committed to this. Subho Ray, President, Internet and Mobile Association of India, said: “IAMAI and members of the India EdTech Consortium (IEC) are deeply committed to ensuring ethical standards to protect learners on online educational platforms. IEC seeks to empower the learners by not just helping them make informed decisions but by also having their grievances redressed timely. The formation of this self-regulatory body is an important step towards protecting learners as more and more students, teachers and stakeholders are becoming a part of the online education ecosystem.” Commenting on the formation of the IEC, Divya Gokulnath, Co- founder of Byju’s said, “We are completely aligned with the Government's principles on safeguarding consumer interests and welcome the creation of guidelines that help students reach their learning goals in a manner that makes them future ready and conceptually strong. We have always believed that the student should be at the center of the education system and as educators we must do everything possible to create the right set of processes and methods to empower and enhance their learning." Vamsi Krishna, Co-Founder &amp; CEO, Vedantu, said, “The Indian EdTech sector has grown considerably over the last two years with funding and consolidations strengthening the ecosystem. However, while business growth is critical, so is consumer protection since this will allow students and parents to make more informed decisions about the future. Therefore, as part of the newly institutionalized IEC, we will build a sounder and more ethical ecosystem for students so that we can ensure their safety and mitigate any risks they may encounter in their journey to be future-ready.” Mayank Kumar, Co-Founder &amp; MD upGrad and Co-Chairperson, IAMAI EdTech Committee, said, “We are honored to be a part of the IEC at a time when the EdTech sector is accelerating its growth momentum. The last two years have witnessed the rise of online education as a connecting bridge to access flexible and quality education for students as well as working professionals. With the sole purpose of improving the delivery of education services, it is now crucial for us to foster and sustain stakeholder trust by safeguarding their interest as a practice. This initiative will go a long way in strengthening the EdTech sector and establishing India as the Teaching capital of the world.” In the recent past, the education sector has undergone significant transformation and EdTech has supplemented in driving new-age academic excellence. Having created a significant impact by offering quality and affordable education services, EdTech entities have also improved learnability &amp; employability for users to address the evolving needs of the job market. The adaptive learning solutions have ensured that learners are not merely ‘knowledge receivers’ but ‘knowledge creators’ as well. The sector has also created large number of employment opportunities. However, as the sector and end users grow at a fast pace, it is critical to establish a standard code of conduct for all Indian EdTech entities to adhere to and ensure that ‘learners’ remain at the core of all the business practices.

IAMAI establishes India EdTech Consortium to uphold Code of Conduct by  EdTech Platforms

<ul><li>With students moving to remote learning setup, edtech companies like Gradeup, Vedantu, Simplilearn, <keyword id="2008319" type="COMPANY" weightage="20" keywordseo="Upgrad">upGrad</keyword>, Unacademy, Masai School and others are hiring across roles including educators and product managers. </li><li>According to a <keyword id="769079" type="COMPANY" weightage="20" keywordseo="ManpowerGroup">ManpowerGroup</keyword> estimate, there are approximately 12,000 job vacancies for permanent roles across edtech companies in India, as of June. </li><li>Another 90,000 job openings are for contractual roles in the edtech sector. </li><li>Krishna Kumar, CEO and Founder of Simplilearn believes that the lockdown has been a ‘game-changer’ for the edtech sector as there has been a sudden surge in enrollments from students as well as working professionals.</li></ul>As schools and universities move to online modules for learning continuity, edtech has emerged as one of the top sectors that have been hiring aggressively despite the lockdown. With students moving to remote learning setup, these edtech companies like Gradeup, Vedantu, Simplilearn, upGrad, Unacademy, Masai School and others are hiring across roles including educators and product managers. Krishna Kumar, CEO and Founder of Simplilearn believes that the lockdown has been a ‘game-changer’ for the edtech sector as there has been a sudden surge in enrollments from students as well as working professionals. Over 1 lakh job opening in edtech companies for permanent and gig roles <a href="https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/jobs/situations-vacant-12000-jobs-on-offer-in-edtech/articleshow/76175565.cms">According to</a> a ManpowerGroup estimate, there are approximately 12,000 job vacancies across edtech companies in India, as of June. And that constitutes only the permanent job roles. Another 90,000 job openings are for contractual roles in the edtech sector. Simplilearn now has over 100 job openings for permanent roles and 500 vacancies for specialised or gig roles. “At Simplilearn, we witnessed a 30% jump in enrollments between March and April, 2020. While hiring was always part of the plan, the current phase has also triggered the need for more manpower to cater to this rising demand,” Kumar told Business Insider. However, as far as appraisals are concerned, Kumar said that the company is in a ‘wait and watch’ mode. “But all bonuses and variables are paid as per plan,” he added. Masai School is also planning to add nearly 20 people by the end of June. This includes Lead instructors, curriculum leads, technical mentors, marketing manager, admissions counselor and subject matter experts. “In addition to this, we have also rolled out appraisals to the existing team, for the year,” said Prateek Shukla, CEO &amp; Co-founder of Masai School. The demand for educators increase as the learner base grows Whitehat Jr, on the other hand, is doubling the number of employees and teachers to meet the 100% month-on-month increase in student enrollments. The company plans to hire 1,500 teachers and 400 other staff almost every month, CEO Karan Bajaj <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/careers/news/jobs-at-whitehat-jr-edtech-startup-profile-experience-salary-and-other-details/articleshow/75687582.cms">said </a>in an earlier interview. Unacademy too, plans to onboard over 500 educators over the next one year while it is also focussing on recruiting across teams such as sales, operations, confirmed Tina Balachandran, VP, HR at Unacademy. The edtech companies attribute the rise in jobs to the increased demand for online learning. “Due to the increased demand for online learning, we are definitely ramping up our backend and technology and have plans to hire 1500 employees across all levels and with domain expertise in the field of technology, product, finance, strategy &amp; HR,” said Vamsi Krishna, CEO &amp; Co-founder of Vedantu. The platform says that its revenue grew by over 80% with the students spending an average of 18-20 minutes per live class daily. Gradeup also witnessed nearly 25% surge in daily enrollments, especially live classes for JEE &amp; NEET aspirants. “With Covid 19 and the lockdown due to increase in demand, our requirements in academic positions have specifically gone up. At the same time we are also scaling up on the sales team to cater to the demand of online classes which were provided by offline institutes in the past. For the next quarter, we will hire technology, product and sales professionals. We have been hiring 30-40 people for these categories since May,” Shobhit Bhatnagar, CEO and Founder of Gradeup told Business Insider. Meanwhile, <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/education/news/media-mogul-turned-education-entrepreneur-ronnie-screwvala-says-coronavirus-might-have-usher-a-new-era-of-online-learning/articleshow/74550344.cms">upGrad</a> onboarded senior staff including CEO Arjun Mohan and VP Puneet Tanwar, amid the lockdown. “We have closed a couple more senior management positions too, on the product and business side and they will be joining us in the next 4-6 weeks. All our hiring procedures have been shifted to online with immediate effect, which includes video calling at the time of shortlisting the candidate, followed by another round of interview call with the HR and the respective team manager,” Mayank Kumar, Co-founder &amp; MD, upGrad said. The hiring and onboarding has also witnessed a shift. Companies are virtually onboarding employees via video conferencing tools — leveraging technology and digitisation. See also: <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/careers/news/digital-skills-that-experts-believe-you-need-to-survive-the-current-job-crisis/articleshow/76167406.cms">Digital skills that experts believe you need to survive the current job crisis</a> <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/education/news/indian-government-may-allow-schools-to-open-after-august-15/articleshow/76252838.cms">Indian government may allow schools to open after August 15</a> <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/education/news/iit-bombay-kharagpur-roorkee-and-kanpur-students-will-not-have-to-sit-for-final-year-exams/articleshow/76167610.cms">IIT Bombay, Kharagpur, Roorkee and Kanpur students will not have to sit for final year exams</a>

Edtech hirings at an all-time high — over 4,100 job openings in Unacademy, Vedantu, Simplilearn and more

<ul><li>Edtech platform <keyword id="6559242" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="20" keywordseo="great-learning">Great Learning</keyword> has been in existence since 2013 and it launched its first high decibel campaign featuring <keyword id="6354486" type="PERSON" weightage="20" keywordseo="virat-kohli">Virat Kohli</keyword> during this year's Indian Premier League.</li><li>Till now, most of its growth has been organic but now, with the launch of its campaign, the platform wants to build awareness and take its offering to more and more people across the country.</li><li>We talk to the platform's newly appointed Chief Marketing Officer, <keyword id="4858670" type="PERSON" weightage="20" keywordseo="aparna-mahesh">Aparna Mahesh</keyword> who talks to us about the brand's journey so far and what role marketing and advertising will play in growing the platform further.</li></ul>The last few years has brought about a boom in India’s Edtech sector. While the sector had been witnessing growth even before the Covid-19 lockdown hit us, those few months when the country was under a complete shutdown turned out to be a game-changer for the sector. With schools and colleges being closed for months, and people being stuck at home, not only did the K-12 segment see a massive jump, the higher education and lifelong learning segment witnessed a massive spike too. According to a recent report by Redseer titled Edtech in India, the Post-K12 EdTech industry is divided into 4 segments: higher education, technical skilling, test preparation for government jobs and test preparation for other jobs. This industry is expected to grow threefold by 2022, swelling to $1.7 billion in sales. The report states that a lot of this growth will come from EdTech offerings focusing on higher education, as it does today. One platform that has been in existence for the past 7 years and has found a loyal user base, primarily through word-of-mouth is Great Learning. The platform also came up with its first high-decibel campaign recently, during <keyword id="6354312" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="20" keywordseo="IPL">IPL</keyword>. It made people take notice when it roped in Virat Kohli as the face of its first campaign. The brand also recently announced the appointment of Aparna Mahesh as its Chief Marketing Officer. We thought this would be a good time to catch up with her and ask her about the plans she has for the brand, from a marketing perspective. Excerpt: Q) Great Learning has been around since 2013 but it's only now that you have started to advertise, at least on traditional mediums. Why did you think this was a good time to start your advertising journey? Since our inception, we have catered to over 500,000 professionals and students across 140 countries. While we’ve been witnessing significant growth over the last few years, 2020 seems to be the inflection point where we are witnessing a major shift towards digitisation leading to massive uptick in demand for programs in areas like AI, Management, Digital Marketing, Machine Learning, Cloud Computing and Analytics. As the frontrunners in the space, we believe this is the right time for us to communicate and consolidate our leadership position through impactful brand communication. Q) Till now, did you get most of your users through word-of-mouth? Most of our growth over the last few years has been organic as we built a solid reputation for the quality of our programs and the successful career transitions of our learners. Majority of our learners have witnessed their friends and colleagues undergo a transformation achieve success in their respective fields, which in turn made them try our programs. We have also been using social media and digital marketing campaigns considering most of our audience is internet savvy. Our digital brand communications have always focused on authentically engaging with the audience and adding a human element to draw their attention. For instance, a few months back, amidst the lockdown, we launched the #AgainstAllOdds campaign that narrated the exceptional career journeys of learners who have defied all odds to upskill and achieve a successful career transition. It resonated with thousands of learners and created a measurable impact for the brand. Q) Edtech is a buzzing segment right now. Especially during this year's IPL, we have seen so many platforms go all out with their communications. How do you hope to differentiate yourself in the clutter? While a host of ed-tech players are advertising, the target audience for everyone is not the same. Our audience is working professionals and college students and our brand message is ‘Jo seekhta hai wohi aage badhta hai.’ These are powerful words, especially when delivered by our brand ambassador Virat Kohli – who represents the aspirations of young India and has a deep connect with the youth. If we look at his career trajectory, he has constantly worked on his craft and improved tremendously to always stay at the top of his game. We believe he will encourage millions of learners to chase career excellence with the same passion and tenacity that he brings to the game and inspire them to achieve their goals through high-quality education provided by us. Q) Why did you choose IPL to launch your advertising campaigns? What kind of returns are you looking for from this investment? IPL is the biggest sporting event of the year and by associating with Disney+ Hotstar as sponsors, our goal is to build awareness for Great Learning amongst our core target audience – who are digital-first in their behaviour. The pandemic has fuelled the digital and TV viewership and IPL is the first live cricketing event after a very long time. The viewership rates on TV or Hotstar in the early days of the tournament have indeed been very high and we believe that riding this wave will elevate the Great Learning brand to a higher level in terms of awareness as well as a preference when people think of high-quality professional education. Post IPL, we will continue engaging with our audience through social and digital marketing. Apart from this, you will continue to see us on television in months to come. Q) Again, owing to the fact that there are so many players in the segment now, how is your offering different from the other players? We deeply believe in imparting quality education and look to make an impactful contribution to our learners' careers. We believe everyone deserves more than one chance and no one’s career should be determined on the basis of a 3-hour entrance examination. Over the past 7 years, we’ve pioneered a model of assisted learning that enables us to deliver learning outcomes that are as robust as classroom learning. Using technology, we are also able to offer highly personalized learning to our learners, anticipate in advance the areas which they find challenging, and work with them closely to help them improve. Because of this, our program completion rate stands upwards of 91%, among the best in the world, along with exceptional learner satisfaction scores. 2 out of every 3 learners are seeing a career transition within 6 months of program completion with salary hikes as high as 100%. Q) Can you give me a sense of your user demographics? Have you seen any interesting trends in terms of geographies, gender or age? We have been attracting a wide spectrum of learners. We have seen massive interest from college students and fresh graduates who are preparing for their placements. At the same time, many early and mid-level professionals between 0-5 years of experience from sectors like IT/ITeS, BFSI, consulting and automobile have been using Great Learning Academy and <keyword id="9420215" type="COMPANY" weightage="20" keywordseo="great-learning-corporate-academy">Great Learning Corporate Academy</keyword> to upskill themselves. Our programs in Data Science, Artificial Intelligence, Machine Learning, <keyword id="6361948" type="COMPANY" weightage="20" keywordseo="cybersecurity">Cybersecurity</keyword>, and Cloud Computing are most sought after on the platform. On an average, learners are spending approx 2 hrs/day learning these skills on the platform. With the launch of Great Learning Academy, we’ve seen a major surge from metro cities with Bangalore being the leading city followed by Mumbai, Chennai, Hyderabad and Delhi. We are also seeing increased inquiries from cities such as Noida, Kolkata and Pune. Q) The pandemic and lockdown saw people left with more time. Did you see a surge in people coming onto your platform? What kind of growth have you witnessed since you started in 2013 and where have you reached now? The outbreak of COVID-19 has been a watershed moment for the Edtech sector. We concluded the financial year FY20 with a booked revenue of Rs 325 crore, 150% over FY19. Over the last six months, we have seen 5x growth in the learner base on our platform with the launch of the Great Learning Academy and Great Learning Corporate Academy. This growth has been achieved on the back of increasing demand for programs in digital competencies like Data Science, Analytics, AI, Machine Learning, Cloud Computing, Cybersecurity and Digital Business. Over 5 lakh learners have been benefited through our programs including employees from 700 leading global MNCs and PSUs as well as students from over 1,000 universities and colleges including IITs, IIMs, and NITs. We expect the surge to be even bigger over the next few years. Q) As a marketer, what will your key focus areas be at Great Learning, and going ahead, what will be your broad marketing strategy? Our broad focus is to continue to drive home the broader brand message of ‘Jo Seekhta Hai Woh Aage Badta Hai’. We will be working towards exploring different story angles, associations with different mediums, highlighting our success stories and breaking down the message for different audiences to make it relatable to each individual.

Over the last 6 months, we’ve seen 5X growth in the learner base on our platform: Aparna Mahesh, CMO, Great Learning

New Delhi, Apr 1 () Ed-tech platform upGrad on Wednesday said it has appointed Arjun Mohan as its chief executive officer for India operations. The position of the CEO - India at upGrad was unoccupied since its inception. "Mohan brings with him a rich understanding of the online education space, the evolving consumer landscape and keen business acumen," upGrad co-founder and MD Mayank Kumar said. Mohan is Byju's former Chief Business Officer (CBO). He brings over a decade of experience in the edtech sector and was one of the early employees of Think and Learn (which runs Byju's), the statement said. Prior to Byju's, he has worked with Titan Industries, Tata Motors, Tata Realty and Infrastructure Ltd (TRIL) and Sir Dorabji Tata and Allied Trusts. "The current environment (because of COVID-19) is a net positive for online education. We have witnessed a rise in our leads with a spike of 50 per cent, more than the usual. As we march forward and create new business benchmarks, we are excited to introduce the dynamic changes into our system to revitalise our success story," Kumar said. Founded in early 2015, upGrad offers online programs in the areas of Data Science, Technology, Management and MBA to working professionals. It has over 21,500 paid learners. Its programs are designed and delivered in collaboration with universities like IIT Madras, IIIT-B, BITS Pilani, MICA, NMIMS Global Access, Duke CE, Deakin University, Liverpool John Moores University and others. SR SHW ANSANS

upGrad appoints former Byju's exec Arjun Mohan as India CEO

<ul><li>Online learning platform <keyword id="1017386" type="COMPANY" weightage="20" keywordseo="Coursera">Coursera</keyword> will now allow its students to get a bachelor’s degree from <keyword id="370436" type="ORGANIZATION" weightage="20" keywordseo="University-of-North-Texas">University of North Texas</keyword>. </li><li>The university has partnered with the edtech platform for its bachelor’s course in applied arts and sciences (BAAS). </li><li>The applications will open in February 2020. </li><li>Students can consult an advisor and create a ‘customised degree plan’ before enrolling. </li></ul>Online learning platform Coursera will now allow its learners to get a bachelor’s degree. And that too from the University of North Texas, a public research university in the <keyword id="6356955" type="LOCATION" weightage="20" keywordseo="united-states">United States</keyword>. The university, which is also among the top 100 American universities for social mobility has partnered with the edtech platform for its bachelor’s course in applied arts and sciences (BAAS). The course will be accessible from September 2020. “Applications for the B.A.A.S. will open in February 2020 and the first cohort is expected to begin this fall,” Cousera said. The programme aims to help students from diverse backgrounds — including college students, veterans and international learners — earn a graduate degree. “The programme will offer students the same engaging support, personal interaction, and career services as our on-campus B.A.A.S. programme to ensure they are set up for success post-graduation,” said Jennifer Cowley, VP for <keyword id="318336" type="PERSON" weightage="20" keywordseo="Academic-Affairs">Academic Affairs</keyword> at UNT. The degree course is offered in seven domains — administration, organizational supervision, social services, hospitality, media innovation, consumer behaviour, and information technology — to prepare students in leading businesses. The university will allow students to consult an advisor and create a ‘customised degree plan’ before enrolling. International students with a three-year bachelor’s degree can advance to a four-year programme — which also opens up avenues for master’s programmes in the US. “A four-year degree is one of the most transformative credentials in today’s job market, but so many students aren’t able to complete their degree due to work, family, or other commitments. The online course recognizes students who’ve earned some college credit, but may not have had the time or flexibility to complete their bachelor's degree,” added Dil Sidhu, chief content officer at Coursera. As per the initiative, students having a <a href="https://www.coursera.org/professional-certificates/google-it-support">Google IT Support Professional </a> certification from Coursera can also go for IT in the online programme. The certification programme is a six month course in IT for entry-level jobs. See also: <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/careers/news/checkout-top-10-most-popular-online-courses-in-india-in-2019-according-to-coursera/articleshow/72506599.cms">Two million took online AI courses in 2019 — and that includes CEOs as well</a> <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/education/news/coursera-launches-campus-product-to-integrate-online-learning-with-university-lessons/articleshow/71433652.cms">Coursera launches campus product to integrate online learning with university lessons</a>

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Ahead of Teacher's Day, LEAD turns the spotlight on the challenges faced by school owners in these testing times

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Over the last 6 months, we’ve seen 5X growth in the learner base on our platform: Aparna Mahesh, CMO, Great Learning

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upGrad appoints former Byju's exec Arjun Mohan as India CEO

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Now you can get a degree from an American university — learning at home in India

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