IAMAI Creates Edtech Group to Facilitate Job Creation for New Economy
Internet and Mobile Association of India (IAMAI) has announced the launch of an Edtech Group as part of its efforts to energise the education technology sector so that it can fulfill its potential of facilitating job creation for the new economy in the country. Given the dual dynamism of technology and nature of jobs, there is a dire need to transition to a skill based continuous education system and the need to bridge the divide between academia and industry. Therefore, the mandate of the Group is to identify opportunities and challenges and work with government, industry and job seekers to resolve them.
The committee will be chaired by Ishan Gupta, MD of Udacity India and co-chaired by Mayank Kumar, cofounder and CEO of Upgrad. Some other members of the committee are Abhay Chauhan, Amity University Online; Pawan Prabhat, EduPristine; Pavan Chauhan, Meritnation; Kapil Saurabh, NIIT; Krishna Kumar, Simplilearn; Vamsi Krishna, Vedantu; Harman Singh, WizIQ; Nishant Patni, CultureAlley; Aditi Avasthi, Embibe; Surabhi Dewra, CareerGuide amongst others.
The aim of this group will be to a) build more credibility for acceptance of online courses and democratize education across the country; b) engage with businesses and industry to evangelise acceptance of students trained through edtech and c) work with educational institutions to include online courses in their mainstream curriculum.
The Group will also propose actualizing common assessments for all courses approved by UGC and AICTE and certifying edtech companies to impart education on graduation and post graduation courses. It will work closely with various government bodies and programmes to explore possibilities for increased investment and promotion of skill based education in the country.
Ishan Gupta, chairperson of Edtech Group - IAMAI and MD of Udacity India said, “In the current scenario, traditional education is unable to cope up with the industry requirements as the existing curriculum in institutes does not complement the workforce demand. To bridge this gap, industry focused online courses are more in demand today to enhance the academic landscape and enable students to grasp the concepts better. Mayank Kumar co-chairperson of the Edtech Group - IAMAI and cofounder and CEO of Upgrad, added, “Along with eminent leaders of education industry we aim to revolutionize the education industry and ensure that our country has a skilled talent pool for dynamic job roles of tomorrow.”
The Internet and Mobile Association of India (IAMAI was established in 2004 by the leading online publishers, and in the last 13 years has come to effectively address the challenges facing the digital and online industry including mobile content and services, online publishing, mobile advertising, online advertising, ecommerce and mobile and digital payments among others.
Thirteen years after its establishment, the association is still the only professional industry body representing the online industry in India. The association is registered under the Societies Act and is a recognized charity in Maharashtra. With a membership of nearly 300 Indian and overseas companies, and with offices in Delhi, Mumbai, Bengaluru and Kolkata, the association is well placed to work towards charting a growth path for the digital industry in India.
