Tell our readers about Next Education and your professional journey.
Next Education was founded in 2007 with the vision to make education accessible to all through the right mix of technology, pedagogy and content. Today we are a leading end-to-end K—12 edtech solutions provider catering to more than 12,000,000 students and 240,000 teachers in 18,000+ schools across the globe.
I am on a mission to revolutionize education worldwide through innovation. I have always been passionate about technology, which is only matched by my undying love for cricket, since my college days at IIT Bombay and London Business School. At Next Education, I have been fortunate enough to lead a talented team that has worked hard to rank the company among the top three ed-tech solution providers in India, just in a decade!
Help us with your thought about current trends in the education sector.
With the schools reopening again, it has been an exciting time for us at Next Education. While we spent the last two years making up for the learning loss caused by the pandemic, this is the time to look forward to a new era of education, one where technology is not an add-on but a significant part of the classroom.
How has edtech changed the formal education system in India?
It is not an exaggeration to say that edtech saved education during the pandemic. Edtech allowed the world to learn remotely while providing a real-classroom-like experience online. Live Lecture, our remote teaching tool that was launched at the dawn of the pandemic, has been used for conducting more than 2 million lectures to date.
We believe that we are eliminating the geographical barriers to education and making it more affordable, accessible and flexible. Our AI-based assessment tools are designed to put the student at the centre of learning and hence they are highly personalised and provide instant and actionable insights into his/her academic performance and progress.
Throw some light on the importance of AR and VR for students.
AR and VR have played an important role in the gamification of learning. Educational content presented through these technologies is highly engaging. Students are more likely to retain and recall concepts learnt through these technologies.
Help us with your view about why India is projected as the education hub of the world.
India has the largest population of youth in the world and according to UNICEF, this “youth bulge” is projected to continue till 2025. Couple this with our rising economy, our growing list of top-ranked educational institutions, affordable tuition fees and our rich culture and heritage, India is bound to be the education hub of the world in the near future.
This interview was authored by Vishwasjeet Singh, Editor-in-Chief, Estrade Business News. To share more stories kindly email: vishwasjeet@estrade.in
