For millions of technology professionals worldwide, it is a constant challenge to keep abreast of changing technologies that emerge faster than pimples on a teenager’s face. You might have joined as a Java professional, but now you have to learn Hadoop and handle an Android project tomorrow. The pressing need to address this challenge has led global educational players like Coursera, edX and Udacity to create niche learning tools for working professionals to stay updated.
Now, a Bangalore-based startup Edureka is aiming to up-skill professionals with 88 odd courses in areas like Cloud Computing, Big Data, System Engineering, Programming and Mobile Development. They must have struck as chord as Edureka’s phenomenal growth saw it head Deloitte’s Fastest 50 Indian startup rankings in 2014.
Unlike many providers, Edureka offers live and interactive classes where the instructor is not a teacher, but a fairly senior member of the technology fraternity. Says co-founder, 37 year-old Lovleen Bhatia, “Edureka exists to help professionals stay updated about cutting-edge technologies that they use every day in their workplace. But there is another challenge — industry relevance.”
He explains, “Quite often, students who pass out of colleges and join their first workplaces are shocked to find that most of the theory that was taught in classrooms is of little use. What is expected of them, is being able to use their learnings in real-life scenarios to solve business problems. Every new employee is an investment and returns are expected. Industry relevant learning ensures that professionals are able to apply theories in solving practical problems.”
The concept of live online learning is especially popular with women who take family-related career breaks. One year of maternity leave may leave you completely out of date with programming languages. Courses cost between Rs 10,000 and Rs 25,000 each and can be taken over weekends or through early morning, late evening classes. Each course usually takes between 2 to 6 weeks to finish, including the live project work and certification at the end of every course.
Since its inception in 2011, Edureka found that an increasing number of learners on its platform come from Indians settled abroad. In additions to professionals from France, Singapore, Malaysia, etc, enrollments come from smaller places like Nigeria, Mexico, Morocco, Jamaica and Nepal.
Kapil Tyagi, co-founder and like Lovleen, an IIT alumnus and ex-Infosys guy says, “It is great to find learners from across the globe, even non-English speaking countries, engaging with an Indian startup to help them upgrade their careers.”
