This career guidance platform uses ML to match students with careers that fit their skills, interests

Prateek Bhargava, Founder and CEO, Mindler (A comprehensive career guidance platform for students), in an interview with Bizz Buzz, explains how it equips students, counsellors, educators and schools to have a career planning platform which is future-ready and empowers all the stakeholders with state-of-the-art technology, driven by machine learning algorithms and in-depth analytics

What is the scenario and prospects of SaaS and Machine Learning (ML) based career counselling?

A SaaS and Machine Learning (ML) based career counselling platform presents an innovative and promising solution for students, schools, and educators. By leveraging ML algorithms, such a platform can provide personalised and data-driven career guidance to students, considering their strengths, interests, emotional quotient, personality and aptitudes. This ensures that students receive tailored recommendations that align with their unique profiles, increasing the likelihood of making informed career decisions.

Further, these platforms can help students to develop the skills and profile they need to succeed in chosen careers. These platforms offer a variety of resources, such as virtual career simulations, corporate experiences, online courses, webinars, and networking opportunities too.

How does the platform benefit the students, schools and educators?

SaaS and ML based career counselling platforms can benefit students, schools, and educators in a number of ways like:

Students: Personalized advice and guidance; increased awareness of career options; improved decision-making and other skills needed for success; and explore virtual career simulations and internships

Schools: Improved tracking of student progress; identification of areas where students need additional support; and developing programs tailored to the needs of students

Educators: Improved ability to assess student interests, aptitudes, personality and skills; increased efficiency in providing career counselling; enhanced knowledge of career options and detailed roadmap planning for students

Mindler has impacted over 2.5 million students, 300+ schools and over 30,000 educators who have used our SaaS and ML based career counselling platform. The future of these platforms is bright as technology evolves, such platforms will become more sophisticated and effective than ever before.

What are the challenges in implementing and streamlining the irregular education counselling systems?

Some of the factors that continue to pose a challenge when implementing career counselling systems effectively include: Reluctance to consult an education counsellor; parental preferences; lack of accessibility of a credible career assessment tool; hesitation to share personal dreams; use of conventional methods for counselling; thinking beyond marks as a measure of success; lack of career guidance ecosystem in schools.

The best way to address these challenges is to understand the potential that technology holds in implementing the education counselling process. With edtech catching up, it has become increasingly important for all educational spaces to look for enhanced means to adopt and streamline an improved education guidance structure that is well-prepared to tackle millions of students, evaluating them cognitively, and harnessing their passion towards the right career direction.

What are the plans and way forward for Mindler after raising pre-series A round of funding? Will your operations be restricted to pan India? Or do you have plans to go international?

Mindler has raised over $3 million till date and has acquired Immrse which is a virtual career exploration platform for students. As we continue to scale one of our key focus areas is - creating experiential solutions for students to experience and live careers in the virtual world before making the final career decisions. Mindler has collaborated with brands like PUMA and HRX by Hrithik Roshan to create virtual corporate experience programs for students and experience careers like never before.

We have clients from countries like Russia, South America, Singapore, Japan apart from our strong base in India and Middle East countries. We receive a lot of interest from international markets for our virtual career exploration products and other technology led career guidance solutions which we have built for students and educators.

What skills are students lacking to become performing managers of tomorrow? How can they overcome those anomalies and what are the approximate costs?

Some of the skills that students need to ace to become managers of tomorrow include:

Critical thinking and problem-solving: In today's complex and ever-changing world, managers need to think critically and solve problems effectively. Sadly, many students are not taught these skills in school.

Cross cultural communication: Communication is essential for any manager, but it is especially important in today's globalized world. Students must be able to communicate effectively in a multicultural set of people.

Digital literacy: It’s essential for any manager in today's digital age. Students need to learn to use technology effectively to manage their teams and businesses.

Adaptability: The world of work is changing rapidly and students are expected to be agile and adapt in diverse backgrounds of work culture.

Emotional Intelligence: Future managers would need to possess emotional intelligence to understand and manage their emotions and those of their team members, leading to better teamwork and productivity.

To overcome these skill gaps, students can take various steps:

Continuous Learning: Engage in lifelong learning through workshops, courses, online resources, and mentorship programs to develop and enhance certain skills.

Internships and Experiential Learning: Gain practical experience through internships and corporate experience programs to apply theoretical knowledge in real-world scenarios.

Soft Skills Training: Participate in soft skills training sessions to improve communication, emotional intelligence, and leadership abilities.

Networking: Build professional networks and seek guidance from experienced professionals to gain insights.

Approximate costs can vary significantly depending on the specific approach and resources chosen by the student. Some options may be relatively low-cost or free, such as accessing online tutorials or attending webinars. While enrolling in professional courses, workshops, or advanced certification programs might involve a more substantial financial investment. The costs can also differ based on geographical location and the reputation of the training providers. It's essential for students to research and evaluate different options based on their budget, goals, and preferences to make an informed decision for their personal and professional development.

What are the recent changes in the education landscape (NEP, CUET, UGC Dual Degree) and its’ impact on career planning for students?

Recent years have brought about some landmark changes in the education landscape. Amongst these include the implementation of the New National Education Policy, the introduction of a centralised exam for government universities, and the provision of dual degrees by UGC. With the implementation of NEP, we are moving towards a more holistic education system focusing on affordability, accessibility, quality, equity, and accountability to ensure continual learning. The multidisciplinary approach of NEP and intricacies involved in selecting subjects, choosing careers, planning entry and exit paths, profile building and finalizing University courses; makes career guidance important than ever before.

What followed were more recent changes like the introduction of the CUET, centralising the process of entry to major Universities through a common entrance. Reducing the relevance of Class 12th board exam scores has brought about a massive impact on the career planning.

Another major provision has been the dual degree announcement by the UGC according to which students can now pursue more than one degree from different or same university, in physical or virtual mode. This gives students the freedom to pursue education in multiple areas of interest simultaneously.

The above-mentioned reforms are expected to impact the career guidance landscape in a massive way. Some of these include:

Need to create career guidance ecosystem in schools: An immediate impact one can see is the increasing need to create a comprehensive career guidance ecosystem within schools, which is powered by state of the art technology solutions to empower the students.

Increased choices and freedom to make choices: The recent reforms are designed to be student-first and thus we can expect students to have an increasing number of options to choose from. Not only do students have more career choices, but also more freedom to make pick up what they want to choose and pursue.

More interdisciplinary options to choose from: The boundaries and divide between subjects, streams, and courses have become porous with easier and more interesting collaborations and transfers. The concept of the rigid division between streams is likely to become obsolete in the school system in the near future. For instance, unlike before a student through these reforms will now be able to study English, Physics, Accountancy, Biology, and Applied arts together.

Skill-based education: We see the shift in focus from more academic orientation to an emphasis on skill development and skill-based education. Building a strong profile, and regularly upskilling by taking up research projects, internships, courses etc. is the need of the hour.

Shift in focus for students: There is a shift in what students need to focus on. The high importance given to 12thboard marks earlier for admissions to central universities which had sky-high cut-offs till the last year; does not hold relevance now. Thanks to CUET! Students are now more focused on entrance exam preparedness.

Higher need for career guidance and certified career coaches: Amidst all this the importance of career counselling and guidance has increased many-folds. A career coach imperatively helps them take a right decision and find their perfect careers. Schools and institutions will need to invest in training and certifying educators to become certified career coaches who can meet the rising demand from students.