AI, data science & cybersecurity courses gaining popularity among learners: Skill-Up

Edtech space around the world and in India have sphered into a new direction, owing to pandemic induced lockdowns and the increasing dependency on virtual space. Ratan Deep Singh, CEO of Delaware-based global edtech company, Skill-Up Online, spoke with Bizz Buzz to share his thoughts on the rise in popularity of online skill training, IT based courses as varied Indian industries ushers into a digital space rapidly

I feel proud, India has done phenomenally well in the edtech space. Indian companies have done well with a really good head start. It is also evident from the kind of investment and funding that is happening from some of the biggest global investors into the Indian headquartered edtech companies

The video-based online learning is not engaging. The course completion rate, with these online courses, is mere 3-6 per cent. So, if 100 people are joining online course, only 6 are completing the course. This has been a big problem. We need to bring the best of physical classroom experience, keep learners actively engaged

How has been the response on online skill training, globally as well as in India in the past 19 months, since the beginning of the Covid pandemic?

The response, for online skill training, has been phenomenal. When we started with the operation in 2018, it was like an MVP (minimum viable product), pilot project and we were doing a lot of internal work to get the platform off the ground. In 2019, pre-Covid times, there was traction and demand for online training. B2B, i.e., corporates, some 500-1000 organisation showed much interest. However, academia, before Covid, was a bit slow to being receptive because they have this traditional classroom mindset. So, they were almost at the bottom of our priority list.

But when Covid happened, it turned the world upside down. Everything had to be virtual and remote, and for all edtech companies, it was endless work and endless opportunities. In India, first three months of Covid-19 lockdown, B2B market was in a lull but the segment B2C really picked up. Now, at this point, edtech companies have figured out that it is going to be online and hybrid first.

As of now you have four knowledge partners. Are there other knowledge partners who will be coming on-board in 2022?

Yes. As of now we have IBM, Microsoft, NASSCOM and Pacific Lutheran University, and this is just the starting list. I would say, as of 2021, we are switching gears as an organisation. We are in talks with some of the big brands in the industry, which includes Google, Amazon AWS. We are also in touch with SAP, and these will all get on our catalogue, on our partnerships starting next year. We do have some discussions with Indian firms as well.

How many learners and tutors have joined your edtech platform in 2021?

In 19 months, we have onboarded 1,00,000 learners, and yes, I think Covid played a role there. Also, a lot of these learners are from the India market. We have about 50 plus trainers, and 70 per cent of these trainers are from India. India is a phenomenal market for edtech and training space. A lot of SME trainers that we onboard in the US are also of Indian-origin.

What is the presence of your company in the tier-1 and tier-2 cities of India?

As for our learners, tier-2 cities are also participating. Some of our student base are coming from the remotest of colleges. I think, it is segmented, we have more people from tier-1 cities enrolling, since the digital access is easier from these places. But we do have learners from tier-2 cities such as Saharanpur, Agra. But slowly we are inching to creating a market in tier-2 and tier-3 cities.

Your thought on Edtech segment taking a huge leap in India with foreign brands and indigenous companies creating a sense of competition?

I feel proud, India has done phenomenally well in the edtech space. Indian companies have done well with a really good head start. It is also evident from the kind of investment and funding that is happening from some of the biggest global investors into the Indian headquartered edtech companies.

Byjus is one example where international investors have invested a huge amount of money. upGrad, Simplilearn, a lot of Indian organisations, I see them doing really well not just for the India market but for the international market. So, I admire the edtech ecosystem that has been created.

Where there any specific courses which gained a traction in these 19 months period?

We saw a huge surge in two-three areas. One was the Artificial Intelligence (AI), but it's not just because of Covid. AI has taken off in a big way. It has become one of the top skilling areas, top areas of application and the whole world is talking about it. Also, data science took off, along with AI. While there are separate certifications and sub-categorisation of machine learning, data scientists, AI engineer, speech recognition, AI and data science, I would say brought one bucket under which these segments come in.

The other area that has taken off is cybersecurity. The demand is huge from the industry. I think the whole threat of cyber attacks is becoming more and more real. We are talking about digital first economy wherein everything is going to get into digital space. You need to amp up your security guards. So, there is a huge demand for cyber security from the corporate.

The third would be is cloud technology. More and more organisations are moving from physical infrastructure to cloud infrastructure. Traditional organisations, be it finance or healthcare, are now becoming open to a hybrid cloud space, if not 100 per cent virtual space. Even blockchain technology is gaining much popularity.

Any new course that you might be including on your platform?

I am very keen on Metaverse, augmented reality and virtual reality is very fascinating. It is at a very basic stage in India, as the subject is dependent on the hardware. I do see this growing quickly in the US market, but India is also at par with technology and I would like us to be early adopters in this space.

What are some of the challenges that you have witnessed with online training in the Indian market?

The video-based online learning is not engaging. The course completion rate, with these online courses, is mere 3-6 per cent. So, if 100 people are joining online course, only 6 are completing the course. This has been a big problem. We need to bring the best of physical classroom experience, keep learners actively engaged.

What is the value of Skill Up as of 2021?

We have not done formal company valuation at this point. And one reason being the whole initiative is self-funded by Skill Up group. So, we haven't gone to the market to work with these financial consultants to come up with a certain figure. Having said that, we are doing this next year. We have big plans in terms of bringing in lot of technology and lead with it, which would invite deeper investments. As of now, we are fully self-funded organisation.

What are your plans to launch first series of capital funding?

I would say, by second half of next year we will be launching our first series of funding. We will be entering into these discussions in the quarter one and quarter two of FY23. But we have not set aside a target on how much capital we will be raising. Those discussions will be taking place next year.