Higher Education Digest – November 2020 – India Edition – Media Colleges Special

INDIA EDITION

Must-Watch Media & Mass Communication Colleges in India

www.highereducationdigest.com

SHARDA

1

UNIVERSITY’S SCHOOL OF MEDIA, FILM AND ENTERTAINMENT

OFFERING

ENDLESS

POSSIBILITIES TO THE

MEDIA

ASPIRANTS

NOVEMBER 2020

Higher Education Digest November 2020

2

Higher Education Digest November 2020

3

Higher Education Digest November 2020

November 2020

Vol - 2 Issue - 17

Media & Mass Communication Colleges Special Editor in Chief

Dr. Manoj Varghese

Managing Editor Sarath Shyam

Consultant Editors

Dr. Johny Andrews Anjana K Anna Elza

Navya Venkatesh Stanly Lui Emma James

Editorial Enquiry: admin@highereducationdigest.com

Art and Design Ajay K Das Rohith

Sales & Marketing

Jyoti Kumari Reshma Ashokan

4

Arati Waghmare Hanna George

Sales Enquiry: admin@highereducationdigest.com

Subscription

www.highereducationdigest.com

International Representation

GET THE MOBILE ISSUE

Higher Education Digest November March 20192020

Untied Kingdom Connecta Global LTD 27, Old Gloucester Street, WC1N 3AX, London, United Kingdom.

United Arab Emirates Connecta Global LLC Sharjah Media City, United Arab Emirates.

India Connecta Innovation Pvt Ltd. Carlton Towers, Old Airport Road, Bangalore, India.

Higher Education Digest is a digital magazine published by Connecta Innovation Private Limited. All rights reserved. The opinions expressed in the content and pictures provided are those of the authors. They do not purport to reflect the opinions or views of the Connecta Innovation Private Limited or any of its members and we do not assume any responsibility. The publisher does not assume any responsibility for the advertisements, its content, pictures, and all representation of warranties made in such advertisements are those of the advertisers and not of the publisher.

Higher Education Digest is a Free Subscription digital magazine strictly not for sale and has to be strictly for internal private use only. Publisher does not assume any responsibility arising out of anyone printing copy of this digital magazine in any format and in any country and all matters related to that.

MANAGING EDITOR’S NOTE

Preparing Professionals to Make New Form of Safe Entertainment

T

he impact of COVID-19 was especially strong in thae world of media and entertainment. The world underwent a rapid transformation, with pandemic-influenced restrictions impacting how consumers across the globe take part in recreational activities. With increased pressure on media and arts industries to provide entertainment for people limited by social distancing measures, innovative approaches were rapidly developed to offer new choices to consumers that can be enjoyed from the safety of their homes. These innovative solutions will continue to impact consumers across the globe as we learn how to navigate new forms of safe entertainment.

Today, media educators cannot teach about the contemporary media without taking account of the role of the internet, computer games and

the convergence between ‘old’ and ‘new’ media.

As there are new objects of study in the media and entertainment education field, it requires new conceptual frameworks and methods of analysis that go beyond those that have been developed in relation to older media.

Celebrating the success of new-age institutions in this sector, we have come up with a list of ‘10 Must-Watch Media & Mass Communication institutions in India’ in this issue. On the cover, we feature, Sharda University’s School of Media, Film and Entertainment, which goes beyond regional and cultural barriers with an educational model that is sustainable, replicable and scalable, and empowers students with a future that is driven by knowledge, practice, entrepreneurial skills, socially responsible principles and moral values.

Enjoy Reading

Sarath Shyam

Higher Education Digest November 2020

ADVISORY BOARD Dr. Kuldeep Nagi, Ph.D, MBA, BSc. Program Director of Ph.D, Recipient of Fulbright Fellowship Award & Dan Evans Award for Excellence and Writer columnist.

Major General (Rtd.) Dr. Sunil Chandra, VSM (Vishishta Seva Medal), Ph.D, M. Phil, MA, M.Ed, PGBDA Ex-M D Army Welfare Education Society, ExCOO GEMS Education - India, Ex- Addl Dir Gen - Army Education, Mentor - Adventure-Pulse

Dr. Varughese K.John, PhD, MBA, MPhil, MCom, LLB. Program Director, MS in Management Program, GSATM - AU

Dr. Venus M. Alboruto, PhD, Master Teacher, Researcher, Innovator, Trainer.

Dr. Ajay Shukla, Ph.D, MBA, BE.

Mr. Sreedhar Bevara, MBA, B.Com

Co-founder and Chief Strategy Officer at Higher Education UAE

Senior General Manager: Panasonic Middle East & Africa, Thought Leader, Speaker & Author of ‘Moment of Signal’ (Amazon’s International Bestseller)

Mr. Amulya Sah, PGD PM & IR, PG Diploma in PM&IR (XISS Ranchi)

Shanthi Rajan (MSHRM, FHEA, AMCILT) Director, Institution Development, University of Stirling, RAK Campus, UAE.

Higher Education Digest November 2020

Senior Director HR. Head HR group Samsung R&D Institute India,Transformative HR Leader, Change agent, Digitization facilitator, Engagement architect, Trainer and Diversity champion.

Mamta Thakur Former CEO (ASEAN), Arc Skills

7

Higher Education Digest November 2020

CONTENTS CONTENTS 36 SHRI VAISHNAV INSTITUTE OF JOURNALISM AND MASS COMMUNICATION

Nurturing Modern Media Professionals with a Commitment to Quality Education

18 SHARDA UNIVERSITY’S SCHOOL OF MEDIA, FILM AND ENTERTAINMENT OFFERING ENDLESS

POSSIBILITIES

TO THE

MEDIA ASPIRANTS

8

K12 Higher Digest Education Digest October November 20202020

ACADEMIC VIEW

INDUSTRY PERSPECTIVE

48 A Chance Encounter with eLearning and the Way Forward: A Teacher’s Perspective Dr Vani Lakshmi, Assistant Professor, Manipal Academy of Higher Education

28

14 The Changing Role of the Educator in the New Normal

Venturing into the Academics of Event Management

Abhimanyu Saxena, Co-Founder, InterviewBit & Scaler Academy

Deepak Choudhary, Chief Mentor, WWI School of Event Management

MENTOR’S MANTRA

10 Embracing the Latest Revolution Dr Vidya Shankar Shetty, Director, REVA University

44

40

Empowering Academic Content Creators with Affordable and Scalable Technology Platform

The Role of Social Enterprises in the Indian EdTech Space

Sandeep Singh, Co-founder, Spayee

Jairaj Bhattacharya, Founder and Managing Director, ConveGenius

MENTOR’S MANTRA

Embracing the Latest Revolution

By Dr Vidya Shankar Shetty, Director, REVA University

10

W

ith the advent of technology and its integration with human life, one has but very little choice but to quickly dissolve the barrier between machine and technology. In other words, education and technology are the sine qua non of the new era learning. COVID 19 has actually accelerated the speed of this synergy. Gone are the days when teachers at the junior school taught children the value of holding the pencil with the thumb for support while the index finger balanced the pencil and the middle finger rested the pencil on itself. Today it is the thumb that dominates all the fingers. In fact, it is a marvel to see the younger gen texting dexterously with the thumbs while the other fingers are bystanders. While the first industrial revolution during the 18th century saw mechanization leading gradually replacing agriculture which was the backbone of the economy. The Second Industrial Revolution in the 19th century saw advancements in this technology and electricity, gas, and oil took precedence and consequently witnessed a lot of inventions. The 20th century saw Nuclear energy surfacing and the advent of computers in our lives which was the Third Industrial Revolution. Automation took precedence and the world was benefitted by the computers. The Fourth Industrial Revolution is what expertise says is where the internet takes precedence and there is a swift transition from the first three industrial revolutions. Virtual reality reigns supreme and virtual education is the keyword and action for Education.

Education thus occupies a prominent position in the economy and will remain the driver of this transformation.

With the internet reshaping our lives, as Educators the onus lies in education institutions, to embrace this revolution in education.

Higher Education Digest November 2020

With the internet reshaping our lives, as educators, the onus lies in education institutions, to embrace this revolution in education

11 Dr Vidya Shankar Shetty

Dr Vidya Shetty has a through and through career experience in Academics and Education ranging from K12 to Higher Education. Her career map has had her play diverse roles right from establishment to governance, ranging from setting up new schools in India and abroad, colleges, compliance and project handling of a greenfield University to her current role of Director at REVA University wherein she plays a crucial role in handling the Chancellor’s office and the portfolio of International Relations to place REVA University in the global education market.

Higher Education Digest November 2020

12

Where textbooks pervaded the entire teaching system, the internet age has brought in e-books to kindle to digital resources, where classrooms had desks and chairs and the board occupying all the space, this era has seen the smaller box of the laptop or the interactive classroom board occupying the smallest place while the learner could stay within the comfort of the home and learn. On the other side, where families relied on house help and relatives, the age of the internet had gadgets that could handle all household challenges and relatives who were distant and yet close on our smartphones. Robotics, 3D printing, and other technological advancements has substituted and added value to some of our challenging tasks. Advancement in technology indeed, and the contribution of whirring minds who develop apps to platforms to connect and relive and this has become the sine qua non of our lives whether we like it or not. Industrial Revolution 4 has certainly arrived.

In all of this transformation, teachers and educators seem to have moved seamlessly into the world of the youngster who is already a digital native. Disruptions indeed and that which paved the way for Education 4.0.

The ‘what’ of education has been replaced by the ‘how’ of education, in other words, the ‘what to be taught’ has now given way to the ‘how of teaching’ with the internet providing all the support to the new-age learner.

The 20th century Industrial Revolution 3 has made way for Industrial Revolution 4 and hence the concept of Education 4.0. which delves into knowledge, skills, and abilities with a different perspective. Focus on future trends and coping with new challenges is a priority.

The new curriculum offered thus in our institutions needs a complete paradigm shift and quick transformation. The quick transformation would mean making necessary up-gradation in the content, adding on content, eliminating what is outdated or in other words redesigning the curriculum to suit the changes of today. Complimenting the curriculum would be the pedagogical changes and subsequent impact on assessments and grading. This change and redesign have to be overall and start from K-12 to Higher

Higher Education Digest November 2020

Dr Vidya Shankar Shetty

Education. This means students have to be taught from very early in schools in the new technologybased environment and the changes in the approach to learning has to begin early. Leveraging technology to improve the learning experience of every student is important. With COVID-19 our learners have now seeped in remote learning, but then when in-person education begins with time, we cannot possibly force them backward. An overhaul of the entire process thus becomes compelling and the overhaul must come from curriculum to pedagogy to assessments. All of this will need a deeper infusion of technology and a complete shift from teaching to learning. Catering to individual needs, skills, knowledge, and understanding specific learner needs is the smart way of doing it.

Multidisciplinary learning takes precedence here and the traditional structure of a combination of subjects flees the campus. Creating versatile, well-rounded students who can adapt themselves to the changes globally and the needs of the industry has thus become valuable for an institution. We must evolve, we must accept challenges, and making way for the new changed world is inevitable.

13

Higher Education Digest November 2020

INDUSTRY PERSPECTIVE

The Changing Role of the Educator in the New Normal

By Abhimanyu Saxena, Co-Founder, InterviewBit & Scaler Academy

14

Could you elaborate on the impact of the pandemic on teaching and learning?

Like in any other sector, the pandemic has had a significant impact on the education sector and provided a much-needed impetus for digitization. It has transformed the education system drastically and has brought a paradigm shift in teaching and learning methodologies forcing educational institutions across the globe to re-imagine traditional classroom learning and transition to an online mode of teaching to provide uninterrupted access to education and knowledge. Most importantly, myths surrounding the feasibility and efficiency of online learning have been addressed, and the growing demand for online platforms is a testimony to this. Without any doubt, education has been the silver lining in this pandemic.

How has the role of an educator during the pandemic outbreak changed?

Though the whole world was unprepared for lockdown, most businesses managed to get business continuity plans in place very quickly. They were able to allow their stakeholders the flexibility to work remotely. However, the same was not valid for a vast majority of educational institutions. Since educational institutions were way behind in adopting technology, having focused more on classroom teaching and never having seriously considered online education as a credible model, they were slightly more unprepared than other sectors. However, due to the incredible resilience and determination, educators were quick to adapt to the new normal.

Higher Education Digest November 2020

As teaching and learning become more personalized, educators need to come up with innovative teaching methodologies on a case-to-case basis to suit the learner’s requirement

15

Abhimanyu Saxena

Abhimanyu Saxena is the co-founder at InterviewBit and Scaler Academy. An IIIT Hyderabad Alumni, Abhimanyu started his entrepreneurial journey during his B.Tech days. While working with Fab.com, Abhimanyu experienced a scarcity of skilled tech talent owing to the considerable gap that exists between the university curriculum and the skills that are required to succeed as a software engineer. This led him to join hands with his college friend -Anshuman Singh and launch InterviewBit.

Higher Education Digest November 2020

Instructors and educators have had to upskill themselves almost overnight to adjust to the new modes of teaching, ensuring that learning remains accessible to students even in the current circumstances.

With learning shifting from the public space (classrooms) to a more personal area (online), the role of the educator has also evolved. As the demand for personalized learning and online courses continues to snowball, instructors are required to learn (upskill) as much as, or even more than their students to deal with the new demand for future-proof courses. As teaching and learning become more personalized, educators need to come up with innovative teaching methodologies on a case-to-case basis to suit the learner’s requirement.

From preparing a personalized curriculum for courses to being a content creator to mentoring students on real-world projects to ensure that they are job-proof, and upskilling themselves to stay abreast of emerging technology and skills, today’s educators dabble in many things. From being facilitators of learning, educators have also turned to be innovators.

16

Abhimanyu Saxena

Higher Education Digest November 2020

Why do you think the demand for online instructors & remote tutors increased in these times?

There was an unprecedented demand for online personalized coaching and upskilling courses as people wanted to acquire new skills or strengthen their existing knowledge to be job safe in these challenging times. Many people who had either lost their jobs or had been furloughed due to the pandemic took the lockdown as an opportunity to invest their time in reskilling. At the same time, students on the verge of graduating and entering the workforce saw this an opportunity to learn skills that are in demand to help them secure good placements for a job that may yield better financial results and career progression.

Hence there is a demand for educators with

knowledge, skills, expertise and experience in a specialized area or subject. In fact, at Scaler Academy, we are looking to onboard over 500 remote, part-time instructors, mentors and teaching assistants by this year-end to cater to the demand for online coding courses on our platform. Interestingly, full-time professionals and industry veterans are also becoming part-time online instructors and taking the role of mentors. Many of them see this as an opportunity to give back to the community and build a pipeline of talent for the industry.

How important has it become for students to have a practical learning experience?

Theoretical knowledge is essential as it lays the foundation of any skill and introduces the learner to the subject. However, this theoretical knowledge has to be extensively supplemented with practical learning as it allows learners to translate theoretical knowledge to real-life application and deep dive into the subject.

There are a lot of things one can learn only through execution and experience. By working on real-world projects, learners get not only hands-on experience but also understand problem-solving ability, collaboration, the importance of teamwork, and other skills that are equally important to improve one’s career prospects.

Also, in a fast-paced and competitive world where old technology is replaced by new technology in couples of months to a few years, companies can no longer afford to invest in training fresh graduates with these new skills. Hence, employers are now willing to pay a premium for talents (especially in the areas of coding and programming) with knowledge and practical experience, so that they can start on the shop floor immediately. In fact, according to our in-house survey, only three per cent of engineering graduates in India get high-quality tech jobs with salary packages of Rs. 8-10 lakhs and above. This is because of the gap between the skills needed for high-quality technology jobs and the work-readiness of graduates.

Could you tell us more about the emerging trends in the education sector and what else should we be on the lookout for?

As mentioned earlier, the pandemic has given a much-needed impetus to the education sector to adopt

digitization and think beyond classroom teaching to provide universal access to quality education.

More importantly, the higher education space is set to transform radically in the next few years as the ambiguity around the feasibility and credibility of online courses has now been addressed. As more educational institutions go online to offer their programmes, students from Tier 2 and Tier 3 regions will be benefited immensely. With technology

The pandemic has given a much-needed impetus to the education sector to adopt digitization and think beyond classroom teaching to provide universal access to quality education

increasingly becoming a way of life, the demand for coding will continue to grow and might become a part of the curriculum for all streams going forward.

The curriculum will be more practical and skilloriented with a focus on creating a pipeline of high quality and job-ready talent for the industry. Demand for upskilling platforms will only continue to grow as people have now realized the importance of regular upskilling and acquiring new skill-sets to meet evolving workforce demands and stay relevant.

Higher Education Digest November 2020

17

C OV E R ST O RY

C O V E R S T O R Y C OV E R ST O RY 18

Higher Education Digest November 2020

SHARDA UNIVERSITY’S SCHOOL OF MEDIA, FILM AND ENTERTAINMENT

19

OFFERING ENDLESS

POSSIBILITIES

TO THE

MEDIA ASPIRANTS

Higher Education Digest November 2020

20

Higher Education Digest November 2020

L

ocated in Greater Noida, Delhi NCR, Sharda University has established itself as a highquality education provider with prime focus on holistic learning and imbibing competitive abilities in students. The university is approved by UGC and prides itself in being the only multi-discipline campus in the NCR, spread over 63 acres and equipped with world-class facilities.

Sharda University’s School of Media, Film and Entertainment (SMFE) is an effort to build a department that goes beyond regional and cultural barriers with an educational model that is sustainable, replicable and scalable. “We empower students with a future that is driven by knowledge, practice, entrepreneurial skills, socially responsible principles and moral values. SMFE was initiated with a pledge to provide an intensive and integrated education in the field of communication, that is at par with best international communication schools. The department nurtures individual aspirations to lead, innovate and collaborate to effectively apply conceptual understandings vis-a-vis practical and complex communication phenomenon and technologies,” explains Dr Sibaram Khara, Vice-Chancellor, Sharda University.

SMFE’s programmes are designed to enable students to develop skills to think about artistic and cultural interventions critically. The department develops capacities to design, assess, enact, document and facilitate creative projects that contribute to the industry and to understand the fundamental concepts and the technological and creative processes underlying different theories of creative arts and media. “As a step towards creating qualified media professionals, we regularly update our syllabus and conduct industrial visits for the students to bridge the gap between academia and industry is the. The school is also focused on organising events for

Higher Education Digest November 2020

21

faculty and staffs as well including faculty development programmes and workshops,” shares Dr Sibaram Khara. In the learning process, SMFE puts every student through a judicious blend of concepts and practices associated with high tech infrastructure facilities in a dynamic environment. The school teaches students through a transformative development experience, intellectual growth, with in-depth practical knowledge with sound judgment. “We pursue innovative pedagogy

22

Higher Education Digest November 2020

including classroom teaching, guest lecture, assignments, presentation, group discussions and many more,” adds Dr Sibaram Khara.

Fine Tuning Students for the Industry At SMFE, students can experience an environment of the work culture similar to the industry, which will increase the chances of getting an excellent placement.

Giving foremost importance to industry collaboration,

SMFE tries to organise as many events as possible with the industry and ensure the involvement of the maximum number of students. “We organise faculty development programs by the prominent personalities in the industry regularly to hone the media skills in aspiring journalists,� says Dr Ritu S. Sood, Dean-School of Media, Film and Entertainment, Sharda University. SMFE organises various faculty development programs with notable media professionals as well as renowned academicians

and encourages each and every faculty to participate in such career development programs. Apart from organising development programs themselves, the school also encourages and provides equal opportunity to each and every faculty member to attend conferences seminars nationally as well as internationally. In fact, SMFE has an inclusive collection of faculty members who are academically as well as technically sound to impart the best quality media education.

23

Higher Education Digest November 2020

Dr Sibaram Khara, Vice-Chancellor

24 On the other side, to introduce students to a promising film career, SMFE has entered into a collaboration with Sputnik News Agency. It is a modern news agency located in Moscow whose products include newsfeeds, websites, social networks, mobile apps, radio broadcasts and multimedia press centres. The school also has an active collaboration with Deutsche Welle (DW), Germany’s public international broadcasters, Media and Entertainment Skill Council (MESC), Jagaran Group and Inshorts. Besides, SMFE has an exclusive tie-up with Media and Entertainment Skill Council (MESC) – a sector skill council under the Govt. of India which apart from jointly certifying the students also pledges support in students’ placements and on-job training. These active associations have helped the school to find excellent placement opportunities for its students.

Balaji Telefilms, CNN-IBN7, News 18, NDTV, RediffFusion, India TV, Rajshree Productions, Mudra Group, Percept PR, India News, Reliance Big Synergy, InShorts, GoNews, Satan’s Paradise, Aaj Tak (India Today Group), Doordarshan, Jagran Prakashan Group, Amar Ujala, Ministry of Information and Broadcasting, The Quint and others have been some of our top recruiters of SMFE over the past few years. “We have an average

Higher Education Digest November 2020

placement between 80 to 90% every year. The key reason of this high percentage is the trust of the industry that the students have been able to gain over the years due to the hands-on experience that SMFE students get while working on live projects with Suno Sharda 90.8 FM (Community radio station of Sharda University managed

by SMFE students), Sharda TV - online video channel run by SMFE students on YouTube Platform, inhouse English and Hindi news publications – Sharda News and Sharda Samachaar,” explains Dr Amit Chawla, Head of Department - Department of Mass Communication, SMFE, Sharda University.

Creating Jobs-Providers Nurturing the young minds to become job-givers instead of job-seekers is one of the missions of Sharda University. The university has taken numerous steps in this direction. “Firstly, all programs have a compulsory

Dr Ritu S. Sood, Dean-School of Media, Film and Entertainment, Sharda University

course relating to ‘Entrepreneurship Skills’ that each student has to clear to earn his/her degree. Apart from this, each school of Sharda University has dedicated infrastructure and resources to promote innovation and incubation at the institution and University level,” explains Dr Sibaram Khara.

Addressing the increase in the potential of startups, Sharda University’s Business Incubation Centre (BIC) was established in 2013 under the sponsorship by the Ministry of Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSME), Govt. of India, New Delhi. Dr Ritu S. Sood says, “The objective of the incubation centre is simple - to inspire and work with aspiring entrepreneurs to shape up business ideas into commercial startup companies.” Under the guidance of diligent and experienced faculty, candidates learn the dynamic process of business development and how to survive in their early stage.

Besides, the institutions also provide infrastructural support, i.e. office space, meeting room to the candidates. “At every step, the individuals are mentored and nurtured for their acquiescent business ideas,” pinpoints Dr Ritu S. Sood.

Sharda University also has Sharda Launchpad Federation, which is a centre for entrepreneurship development with a commitment to contribute to the enhancement of the entrepreneurial skills among our students and alumni and to “Help people help themselves” through innovation and entrepreneurship. It provides a platform for new, small and medium – scale enterprise through skills acquisition activities necessary for the development and management of the enterprise and by being a mediator between our students and industry experts. “To understand the enterprise better Sharda LaunchPad emphasises on research that will contribute to entrepreneurial development in India through our short-term programmes, interviews, speaker sessions, competitions, industry interface, mentoring and so on,” shares Dr Amit Chawla.

Staying Updated At SMEE, the state-of-the-art multimedia lab, AV production studio, Community Radio Station and Editing lab ensures the technical competency of each and every student of the department. Apart from imparting technical skills, the school also invites veteran journalists and media professionals every week to interact with students. “The interactions help and guide the students to prepare themselves

Higher Education Digest November 2020

25

as a professional package for the rapidly changing media industry. We also focus more on imparting practical knowledge to students beyond traditional classroom teaching, time-to-time the department organises skill-based training workshops for students where experts from industry help in enhancing the skills of students,� explains Dr Ritu S. Sood.

SMEE works together with successful creative professionals and experts to develop the student skills and equip them, so they contribute to the thriving cultural and creative industries.

The curriculum of the institute includes multiple research projects that are highly conceptual and allow the students with the opportunity to participate in creative, research-based learning according to the real-world design parameters. “We keep ourselves up-to-date with the latest technology and innovations and offers programmes with immense space to nurture the creativity of the students so that they can earn a place of their choice in this competitive world,� says Dr Amit Chawla.

26

Higher Education Digest November 2020

Dr Amit Chawla, Head of Department - Department of Mass Communication, SMFE, Sharda University

Unlike many other higher education institutions across the country, SMFE treated COVID-19 as an opportunity for reimagining education. With the help of digital technology, the school has moulded the conventional teaching-learning process into a digital e-learning platform. Dr Amit Chawla explains, “We provided sufficient training to use digital technology to faculty members.” However, a lack of personal interaction is a significant drawback of online teaching. SMFE tackled it through continuous mentoring of each student. “The positive side of the entire COVID-19 crisis is that students, as well as faculty, have become more technology-friendly. This time has provided an opportunity to the faculty members to experiment

At SMFE, the students not only get a chance to study at a world-class institution but also the exposure to prove their capabilities through their work.

with new tools to make learning more effective,” pinpoints Dr Ritu S. Sood.

Even before the pandemic hit the world, the infrastructure to deliver e-education with the effective use of e-learning platforms like I Cloud, LMS and many more was ready at Sharda University. Dr Ritu S. Sood adds, “The learning before covid-19 lockdown and learning after the lockdown is definitely very different.

The better understanding of digital platforms and the habit of both students and faculty members to indulge in flipped classrooms will surely provide a better quality of education in the future.”

The Plans Ahead Today, SMFE is committed to fulfil and feed the growing demand of the industry for trained and highly skilled media professionals. For the purpose, the school has introduced a variety of new programs this year. These include MA (Journalism and Mass Communication) Integrated 4-year UG+PG program, MA (Digital Media and Multimedia Communication), BA (Acting and Modelling), PGD (Still Photography) and PGD (Event Management).

To fuel this further, SMFE is in the stage of finalising a student exchange program with countries like Russia and Uzbekistan so that the students get international exposure to the art of media productions. Aside, to cater to the future demand of the film and entertainment industry, the top management of Sharda University has approved a very considerable budget for construction of a new international ‘Media and Film Centre’ which will be the first of its kind media, entertainment and film centre in the entire country. “This centre which shall be at the heart of the university and spread over 1,00,000 Lac Square Feet area is expected to be ready by 2021. It shall be equipped with top equipment and studios that shall not only be used for academic purpose but will be a place where students and outsiders can produce films for Silver Screen, Television and OTT platforms. The recent announcement by UP Government about the construction of new Film City in Greater Noida region has only served as a catalyst in speeding up the work of constructing the centre mentioned above,” concludes Dr Sibaram Khara.

Higher Education Digest November 2020

27

ACADEMIC VIEW

Venturing into the Academics of Event Management

By Deepak Choudhary, Chief Mentor, WWI School of Event Management

28

How has the Pandemic Outbreak affected the Event Management Industry?

With a complete ban on social and community gatherings both for business and on personal level, the entire entertainment, tourism, travel, live events, and experiential industry came to a complete standstill in March 2020. More than 10 million event professionals from across the country are currently waiting for the government to give a greenlight to a detailed proposal that is being submitted to all state governments and the ministry of Tourism and Culture, Govt of India. The restriction on public gathering to prevent the spread of the disease has impacted all social environment businesses. With many from the industry, especially those who have heavily invested in equipment are now trying out and relying on different alternative businesses to sustain themselves. So, people have started delivering food, supplying produce, doing logistics, etc. to make a living.

With zero form of entertainment, artists, musicians, performers have also been affected and are currently out of work or relegated to doing only online shows. But globally it is a lot more positive, with governments and event bodies working closely to open markets and entertainment hubs by following strict COVID-19 protection SOPs and also creating safe spaces for executing events and exhibitions.

A lot of companies have also gone digital, starting an entire virtual event space offering a plethora of webinars, virtual conferences, virtual exhibitions and weddings and online theme parties as part of the new normal experiential services.

Having recently added the School of Event Management to Whistling Woods International, could you please elaborate on your role as the Chief Mentor of the school.

I have always been an educationist first and then an entrepreneur. I founded one of the first-ever event management schools in 2002 and then moved on to do many other ventures like India’s first event industry magazine and then co-founding an IP company, but my love and belief in event education never left me. And, when I was approached to mentor and formulate the School of Event Management, I knew that from an industry perspective,

Higher Education Digest November 2020

The concept of personalisation, customisation, CRM, brand engagement, customer loyalty came into focus in the early 1990s, and this has stayed with us as consumers and marketers, ever since

29

Deepak Choudhary,

Deepak Choudhary is the Chief Mentor of WWI School of Event Management. As an alumnus of IES Management College, Mumbai, he has successfully diversified business opportunities for flourishing start-ups and created bankable Live Event IPs across different genres. He co-founded various ventures such as India’s first Event Management School and the first-ever Radio Management School. Being a co-founder of EVENTFAQS, he has ventured into various IPs and publications in the event space. He also established Event Capital, which has partnered with projects such as BMP, WindMill Festival, Bike Festival of India with M. S. Dhoni among many others. He has also co-authored ‘Staged’ - the first-ever book based on Indian live event industry.

Higher Education Digest November 2020

Recognising events and event industry as a viable career option and investing time to get oneself educated to learn how to do events is the first step towards the manifestation and proliferation of events

partnering with Whistling Woods International (WWI) was the best thing that could happen for the industry, as WWI could offer a great advantage to event students with all the technology, infrastructure, and state-of-the-art learning on campus. Also, WWI has some of the best minds in media and entertainment running the education programme and most importantly the event management industry is so connected to the media and entertainment industry. So, collaborating and bringing the rest of the event industry to co-curate this and be a part of teaching, training, providing practical experiences and eventually hiring the students was the best formula. My mentorship is focussed on brining the students and industry closer, inculcating the best practices in teaching industry-relevant content, and ensuring every subject taught is futuristic perspective, helping the students to be industry-ready and create/manage successful events. Besides helping talent curation from the school, to enable the industry to have leaders of tomorrow is my ultimate vision as the Chief Mentor at WWI School of Event Management.

30

What does the PGP Course in “Event Management and Experiential Marketing� entail? How are students benefitted and stand out among their peers in the media and events industry?

This would be one of the most comprehensive event education programmes, which has been created by the event industry and for the event industry. The subjects range from understanding Business Analytics and Strategic Planning for Events and Experiential, Learning How to Deploy Market Intelligence and Research for Event Concept Testing, Using Software and Best Practise Methods to Test Measurability of Events, Study of Sunrise and Emerging Verticals in Events like Sports, Rural, Retail, Community Events and IPR, Digital and Virtual Events. Besides, we will also cover a systematic learning of all types of event scenarios to enable

Higher Education Digest November 2020

the students to learn storyboarding, content packaging, production planning, technical deployment, execution strategy, finance and budgeting, client management and business development for every type of event vertical that exists in the market. Our aim is to make students ‘industryready’ for any kind of event management set up that exists in the country or overseas.

Could you tell us more about the importance of Event Management and Marketing in today’s times?

The concept of personalisation, customisation, CRM, brand engagement, customer loyalty came into focus in the early 1990s, and this has stayed with us as consumers and marketers, ever since. With the world broadening its horizons, access to global markets, information being freely available on internet, overdose of content and media sources, etc., the attention span of the average consumer is very limited. Today consumption of content is decided on absolute personalisation, there are communities built on likes and preferences and not on religion or race. Hence, in-person and LIVE experiences will always thrive and prosper. Brands will always want to look at new innovative ways to talk on one-on-one basis (while planning to reach millions) and offer customers an experience that makes them take centre stage in the consumer’s mind. Brands want to create content that relates to the aspirations and beliefs of its consumers and this can only be achieved through unique LIVE experiences.

In today’s times, with the pandemic upon us, while live events have been paused, brands are constantly looking at innovative means of in-person engagement. One of them is using the AR/VR/ MR to connect with the audiences at home and built content and create event experiences, even when they are remotely located. This has become a huge opportunity for many marketers. However the feel of personal connect and LIVE engagement is still a huge draw, and so while consumers are waiting to go out there and relive experiences, brands too are pushing to find new ways of working around restrictions and event companies are finding ways of keeping safety norms in place and yet trying to bring in the Live Experiences to the viewers and visitors.

How have the responses for the School of Management and the courses offered been so far?

While demand for trained professionals has always been the utmost need of the industry, an increasing number of graduates from engineering, medicine, law, management, find the creative industry far more invigorating and

lucrative. Firstly, this is not a monotonous job, it is extremely high on adrenalin and requires a lot of passion.

It is exceedingly exciting to work on varied types of events and clients, work in different role plays each day, work with so many different art forms, interact with so many artists, performers, talents, etc. The dynamic nature of the industry makes no two days similar and that makes events one of the most engaging careers, for someone who thrives on working with people, dabbling with technology, creating new imagery, working without creative barriers. The event business truly has so much to offer. Hence from the time we have announced the school at WWI, we have received a very enthusiastic response to our PGP programme and we hope we can also launch our BBA programme for the next academic year.

According to you, how accepting has the society been to the concept of Event Management from before? What can one do to help develop this concept?

Event Management as a concept is about three decades old in India. However, it gained popularity only around the time when Michael Jackson came into India for a live gig, it reached the masses and rural India when the Hindi film industry portrayed a take on wedding planners with the release of ‘Band Baaja Baaraat’ – a Ranveer Singh and Anushka Sharma’ film.

While life itself is a series of events from birth to death, how we deal with the planning of our lives and manoeuvre around our circumstances is a classic example of management. Events are more aspirational manifestations of the human mind - society needs to connect, needs to engage, needs to communicate. Events are one of the most effective ways to do that and when these are managed with great content, smooth planning, interesting presentations, filled with engaging moments, they become everlasting memories. The event manager converts dreams into everlasting memories and that is something that the society needs.

Recognising events and event industry as a viable career option and investing time to get oneself educated to learn how to do events is the first step towards the manifestation and proliferation of events. Events Management agencies are great SME / MSME model for young start-ups in rural India, where there is a huge market for entertainment, given that they are only second-hand users of the urban hand-me-downs over television and other media. Creating local content, using indigenous culture to create larger communities and bigger influences will go a long way in building better societies and that in a true sense will mean growth for the event industry in India.

Higher Education Digest November 2020

31

32

Higher Education Digest November 2020

T

he contribution of Journalism & Mass Communication towards nation-building and social transformation has been immense.

Moreover, at a time when issues such as language, caste, community, etc. are being used by vested interests to disintegrate the society, Intercultural Communication, which is an integral part of Journalism & Mass Communication, can play a pivotal role in strengthening national unity and integrity. With over one hundred thousand publications, 900 plus television channels, close to seven hundred radio stations, a countless number of news sites, and over 900 colleges, university departments, and institutes offering mass-communication and journalism teaching programmes, India has one of the largest media ecospheres of the world. India is now experiencing a media boom, but the state of media education is not very promising.

The older day media educators are not able to comprehend the present-day media technologies. The developments in the media have gone beyond their grasp. As the digital era cascades forward, the world is witnessing changes on an unprecedented scale. Industrial Revolution 4.0 is the upcoming revolution that may change how people work, socialize, and educate. Media organizations and Media training institutions face the brunt of adopting the newest and the best strategies in managing all the stakeholders. Given the vibrancy of Indian media as a powerful voice in the democratic world, the Higher Education Digest has come up with “10 Must-Watch Media and Mass Communication Colleges in India� to showcase the efforts put be educational institutes that are giving attention to the fourth pillar of democracy and doing their bit to bring about a change in the country.

33

Higher Education Digest November 2020

University Name

City

State

Hyderabad

Telangana

Asian College of Journalism

Chennai

Tamil Nadu

DCSMAT School of Media and Business

Trivandrum

Kerala

Bangalore

Karnataka

Manipal

Karnataka

Greater Noida

Uttar Pradesh

Indore

Madhya Pradesh

Mumbai

Maharashtra

Pune

Maharashtra

Mumbai

Maharashtra

Annapurna College of Film and Media

Jain University’s Center for Management Studies

Manipal School of Communication

Sharda University’s School of Media, Film and Entertainment Shri Vaishnav Institute of Journalism and Mass Communication

Sir J J School of Art

Symbiosis Institute of Media and Communication

Whistling Woods International

Higher Education Digest November 2020

Higher Education Digest November 2020

SHRI VAISHNAV INSTITUTE OF JOURNALISM AND MASS COMMUNICATION

36

NURTURING MODERN MEDIA PROFESSIONALS WITH A COMMITMENT TO QUALITY EDUCATION

S

hri Vaishnav Institute of Journalism and Mass Communication (SVIJMC) of Shri Vaishnav Vidyapeeth Vishwavidyalaya was established in 2016 to promote excellence in journalism and mass communication education and to prepare the students to meet the challenges of the globalized world. The institute makes sure that the students are not just given bookish knowledge but are well prepared to prove themselves in the field as well. “The course is prepared in such a way that both theoretical and practical knowledge is disseminated to the students,” says Dr Santosh Dhar, Dean - Faculty of Doctoral Studies and Research at Shri Vaishnav Vidyapeeth Vishwavidyalaya.

Higher Education Digest November 2020

37

Since networking is essential in the media industry, field visits are a regular feature of SVIJMC’s curriculum. “It gives students exposure to how work is done on the field and also an opportunity to interact with the professionals and develop contacts,” shares Dr Dhar. The institute organizes guest lectures in which RJs, news anchors and other media professionals are invited to share knowledge and experiences with the students.

Supporting the institutes and students in this pursuit is its young and dynamic faculty members. Dr Dhar pinpoints, “Our faculty members have both academic and field experience, which help

Higher Education Digest November March 2020

them in teaching-learning process by adopting a practical approach.

SVIJMC ensures that faculty members remain updated with the latest technology and knowledge.

Therefore, from time to time, the institute sponsors them for faculty development programmes, workshops, conferences both at national and international level. “We also organize in-house webinars for the development of the faculty,” adds Dr Dhar.

38

Preparing Students for the Industry At SVIJMC, internships in the final year are mandatory for the students. “Internship allows students to explore more in their field of interest and learn new things.

They present their work done during their Internship in the form of a report in front of the panel constituted of an external expert and faculty of the institute,” explains Dr Dhar.

On the other side, SVIJMC releases a three-monthly newspaper, which is edited, written and designed by the students under the mentorship of faculty. “There is a YouTube channel also, which is again entirely run by the students. Both these activities help the students to learn the fieldwork at a very ground level and understand the nuances of journalism and mass communication,” says Dr Dhar.

To augment the job opportunities for the student, Placement Cell of SVIJM is continuously collaborating with the industry. Currently, SVIJM students are working

Higher Education Digest November 2020

About Dr Santosh Dhar Dr Santosh Dhar is Dean - Faculty of Doctoral Studies and Research at Shri Vaishnav Vidyapeeth

39

Vishwavidyalaya, Indore. She has been engaged in teaching, research, corporate training and consultancy for the last 40 years. Dr Dhar has widely published her work and has more than 332 publications to her credit. Many research scholars have been awarded PhD degree under her supervision. She has also designed and conducted management development programs for the executives of several business houses, such as Grasim Industries, JK Tyre, Bridgestone, Hindustan Motors, ONGC and GAIL to name a few.

She has been on the Panel of Reviewers of Oxford University Press and Tata McGraw-Hill. Dr Dhar has presented papers in several national and international conferences/seminars and had the opportunity to visit Kathmandu (Nepal), Male (Maldives), Bangkok (Thailand), Beijing, Shangai, Guanzhou, Shenzen, Hong Kong (China), Seoul (South Korea) Dubai (UAE), Tumu (Myanmar), Poland and the United States in connection with various professional and academic assignments.

ease where speaker and student can connect and learn more.

Dr Dhar adds, “We have extensively used digital platform where presentations and video materials are shared for the learning process. Webinars are organized where experts from different fields are invited to address the students.”

Going forward, SVIJM has planned to conduct more online workshops to offer industrial experience and more practical learning. The institute also encourages independent thinking amongst the students and contribute to society.

“Marching towards excellence with rigour and enthusiasm constantly, we look at the new horizon and envisages the fulfilment of our dream to become a benchmark in media education nationally and internationally,” concludes Dr Dhar.

Higher Education Digest November 2020

INDUSTRY PERSPECTIVE

The Role of Social Enterprises in the Indian EdTech Space

By Jairaj Bhattacharya, Founder and Managing Director, ConveGenius

40

T

he EdTech firms witnessed a massive level of online learning engagement on their platforms post the virus outbreak.

According to a report by BARC India and Nielsen, there has been a 30 per cent increase in the time spent on education apps since the lockdown commenced. The pandemic came as a moment to shine for these EdTech players. Several EdTech organisations sought up to unlock new opportunities and offer novel solutions to bridge the gap in terms of virtual teaching and learning.

They have come up with efficient and user-friendly tools and platforms like online classes, live doubt-clearing sessions, language apps, live teachers training sessions, learning management systems, mobile applications, e-books, tablets and many other learning tools and platforms. Not just virtual classes, the EdTech players are also offering solutions that meet all the academic and administrative needs – online assignments, and evaluation and report generation.

Responding to the Lockdown ConveGenius, now one of India’s leading EdTech social enterprise working to reduce the existing learning and skill gap through affordable means of tech-enabled teaching and learning, has launched a pan-India campaign #EdtechforNayaBharat to empower education for a rising digital India.

With over 560 million internet users, India has the secondhighest number of internet users in the world. As an EdTech enterprise, ConveGenius strives to empower the national skilling framework and help the education system of the country adopt NEP 2020 (National Education Policy) by strengthening the country’s

Higher Education Digest November 2020

Several Ed-tech organisations, including us, have partnered with several state governments, NGOs, and schools to ensure continuity of education in the middle of this pandemic

41

Jairaj Bhattacharya

Jairaj Bhattacharya is the founder/MD of the leading education technology start-up ConveGenius, the company behind India’s leading personalised and adaptive learning solution CG Slate. ConveGenius is an assessment based personalised and adaptive learning platform that uses nudge theory for gamification, analytics and driving learning outcomes in the masses.

A graduate from IIIT Hyderabad in Electronics and Computer Science, and Exec management graduate from Chicago Booth School of Business, Jairaj is also a Young India Fellow in Liberal Arts from the first batch of Ashoka University. He has worked with Nanyang Technological University in Singapore and NASA, in the USA before founding ConveGenius.

Higher Education Digest November 2020

About

Jairaj Bhattacharya 42

A technology enthusiast and a believer in driving innovations for good, Jairaj has spent over eight years in the Education technology space working with multiple Government bodies, Schools, NGOs, CSR/Foundations, and consumer tablet manufacturers to drive large-scale data-driven interventions. His efforts have allowed ConveGenius to reach out to more than 1.3 Million paid learners in a mere period of six years and by his projections, they should be able to reach 40 million paid learners at the end of 2022. Under his leadership, ConveGenius has raised a Pre-Series A funding of 1.5mn$ from investors including Michael & Susan Dell Foundation (MSDF) & Benori Ventures. The company is growing consistently at a 100% YoY and its reach now spread across 4 countries.

Higher Education Digest November 2020

100 million students’ understanding of core subjects such as Mathematics, Science, English, etc. The company also plans to focus on emerging technology fields such as AI, Big Data, ML, etc. to support a globally committed workforce of the future.

As a part of this campaign, ConveGenius has recently acquired Gray Matters India to augment its personalised and adaptive learning platform. The step has been taken to further strengthen their EdTech for Naya Bharat campaign that aims to empower 100 million students at the bottom of the education funnel. The acquisition will help ConveGenius integrate GMI’s measurement science with its automated learning capabilities and help under-served students diagnose their remediation requirement for missing skills and knowledge through a tailored set of instructions.

Narrowing the Digital Divide Used devices - Tablets and mobile phones - are being purchased by the government so that online education can be accessed in rural parts of the country. We see an upward trend in access to digital content as we progress through the pandemic.

Several Ed-tech organisations, including us, have partnered with several state governments, NGOs, and schools to ensure continuity of education in the middle of this pandemic. Also, last month, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman announced a line of new initiatives to boost the growth of online education in the country amid the COVID-19 crisis.

The announcement of 12 new TV channels (one for each grade in K12) – a step towards increasing the reach of educational content for Indian households, especially the ones which lack access of high-speed internet connection for unhindered consumption of learning content. All of this is being done to ensure students and teachers are safe in their homes.

E-Learning Trends to Follow A lot of EdTech disruptions are following the launch of NEP 2020 and post the pandemic adoption of online learning. Some of the key trends of e-learning are as follows:

1. Adaptive Assessments and focus on Core skills With NEP assessments and examinations will be transformed from summative and high-stake to more formative and low state, the examinations will support student development and will be catering towards testing of core concepts and skills along with higher-order capacities. By 2025, assessments will be transformed into adaptive and computerised testing. The National Testing Agency will be administering aptitude tests longitudinally in multiple occasions in the year.

ConveGenius has focused primarily on this segment of educational transformation by building cutting edge product stack and will play a pivotal role in this disruption of NEP policy.

2. Curriculum and Pedagogy A change of the curriculum to more developmentally appropriate pedagogical structure for school education based on the principles of brain development and learning will be developed based on the 5 + 3 + 3 + 4 design in school education. This will create an opportunity for learning-focused companies to help transform Affordable and Budget private schools to adopt the new structure that will have equal emphasis on all subjects and provide a high level of focus on foundational literacy and numeracy by 2025.

With ConveGenius curriculum framework built on the Science of Student Learning and how the cognitive layer works, our Premium EdTech suite will get closely integrated into the Naya Bharat Private unaided and Government school infrastructure.

4. Vocational Education Integration Vocational education will be an integral part of all education - this Policy aims to provide access to vocational education to

at least 50 per cent of all learners by 2025.

The close integration of Vocational learning with learning outcomes and performance is outcome growth will lead to strategic career path planning once the students reach the secondary education phase of learning.

The Assessment infrastructure will be closely tied to predicting and creating custom vocational learning paths for the education masses. ConveGenius is strategically working to integrate work to education linkage, and vocational education integration is a key focus in our products.

5. Education Financing based on Data Analytics With examinations going digital and data being collected longitudinally across grades and schools, the skill fingerprint of every child will not only open up opportunities to remediation and vocational education integration but also to education financings like scholarships and loans based on longitudinal performance and track record across the digital land space of school education.

The data can also be tagged to Aadhar as a part of skill registry to provide work to education opportunities and fund excellence in the K-12 segment for Bharat.

Advice to the Educational Institutions Administrators of educational institutions who are looking for a technology partner can start small with basic automation of few practices like classroom management, automation of assessments and practice, live class scheduling based on cohosting of classrooms to move the burden of teachers from all classroom activities to focus on learning requirements. This is possible by partnering with holistic learning partners who provide complete teacher-facilitated learning environments. (As told the Editor)

Higher Education Digest November 2020

43

INDUSTRY PERSPECTIVE

Empowering Academic Content Creators with Affordable and Scalable Technology Platform

By Sandeep Singh, Co-founder, Spayee

44

The Indian EdTech sector is currently booming due to the pandemic. As a B2B player in this sector, how is Spayee helping content creators, trainers, institutes and educators?

Spayee is a platform for anyone who can teach and anything that can be taught.

Keeping in line with our vision of helping content creators with the highest quality, affordable and scalable technologies, Spayee offers an allin-one white-label course platform for content creators to create, market & sell their courses.

Our product is being used by more than 1000 customers in India, and we have helped them generate more than INR 200 crores with online courses in the last 2 years.

What are the unique products and services Spayee offers to educators and trainers? How does the company intend to stand out from the crowd?

Spayee’s white-label platform helps content creators create & launch custom-built websites and supporting mobile apps for hosting, marketing & selling their courses.

The platform allows creators to create course content in the form of audio and video tutorials, pdf documents, quizzes, assignments, and live classes along with automated payment gateways, sales & marketing funnels.

The platform allows creators to create a flexible pricing structure for courses, with the option to offer discounted rates, distribute coupon codes and choose between multiple validity pricing options as well as hassle-free payment integrations with country-specific pricing and multicurrency support.

Spayees’s user-engagement and management tools, including live chats, discussion forums, and push notifications to help customers engage their audience and upsell their courses.

Higher Education Digest November 2020

Spayee’s white-label platform helps content creators create & launch custom-built websites and supporting mobile apps for hosting, marketing & selling their courses

45

Jairaj Bhattacharya

Sandeep Singh is the Co-Founder and Head of Business Development at Spayee, an endto-end, white-labelled course delivery platform which empowers educators and trainers with the highest quality, affordable and scalable technologies. An influencer, entrepreneur, and tireless hustler, Sandeep’s customer-centric approach has helped Spayee grow into the brand it is today. His current focus is turning Spayee into a global brand, with a vision of empowering content creators from around the world with the most affordable and scalable technology platform. In an interaction with Higher Education Digest, Sandeep talks about unique products and services that Spayee offers to the educators, the secret behind becoming a trusted brand in India, his plans for expansion and many more.

Higher Education Digest November 2020

We are focused on the B2B segment. Here we have customers from different segments of Learning like Test prep, Skill development, Financial institutes, Yoga & Wellness Centers, Films & Music Training companies, Individual Coaches, Corporate trainers, Youtubers and other niche categories. Having an all in one online course delivery platform allows us to also go beyond ed-tech.

We believe that we have positioned ourselves quite well in the market as a premium product, and that is why we have been able to stand out among the competition.

46

What inspired you to start Spayee in 2018? How have your objectives and goals changed since the company has grown?

Spayee began as an attempt to build India’s first intelligent e-book platform. But with the advent of Jio, the consumption of video content boomed in India. We realised the need for an end-to-end online course platform— a platform which wouldn’t just support e-books but play host to the entire gamut of multimedia content.

As the team we worked on revamping Spayee, we came to the realisation that the market for online course platforms in India was almost completely dominated by global brands. This meant that there was a gap for a company dedicated to recognising and resolving the unique challenges faced by content creators in the Indian ecosystem.

Spayee launched its comprehensive Online Course Platform in 2018, it had achieved its true potential: helping course creators with the highest quality, affordable and scalable technologies, while directly addressing and overcoming the longstanding pain points of Indian course creators.

How did you manage to become a trusted brand in India?

Our customer-centric approach has helped us generate the trust of our customers. We value every customer. We train and guide our customers at every step and make sure that they are successful. Our customers too, have supported us a lot and helped us in our growth. 95% of customers always recommend Spayee to another course creator.

What are the marketing strategies Spayee using now and would recommend to other B2B EdTech startups?

We believe that our Customers are our Best Marketers.

Word of mouth and recommendation from our existing

Higher Education Digest November 2020

customers has helped us a lot in our growth. Other than that, we have also used traditional marketing channels of email marketing & PPC campaigns to reach out to potential customers.

Recently, you raised a $150K seed round from one of your top customers. What are your plans for expansion?

We raised this fund last year in 2019, we have used this fund to build the team and marketing of the product. As of September 2020, Spayee has helped its customers generate over INR 200 crores in revenue through the sale of an enormous array of courses.

Over the next year, we want to help our customers generate over 1000 Crores in course sales revenue and get 5000 paid customers onboard by the end of 2021.

What are some of the most innovative technologies in Ed-Tech right now? What are the key trends of e-learning to follow in 2021?

Currently, the two major technologies which are impacting ed-tech are: 1. Learning Analytics and Prediction: With the help of Machine learning, Individual learners can have their own unique personalised learning paths. Also, every learner needs a different engagement level, and the teachers can be easily notified when a particular learner needs more attention to understand a topic.

2. Interactive Live Teaching: With the on-going pandemic, Interactive live teaching techniques have proven useful for both learners and teachers.

For 2021, we see a combination of AR and VR will be taking the ed-tech to the next level. We believe that learners using classroom enabled AR/VR tech will have a better understanding of content and long-term memory retention.

What are the exciting things can we expect from Spayee in the next 12 months?

We are launching one of India’s biggest affiliate programs in the 3rd week of October 2020. On the product front, we are launching membership sites and apps. Which will allow our customers to build a subscription-based platform for delivering courses and OTT content. We are working towards creating an exclusive B2B marketplace for Spayee customers, where content creators can collaborate among themselves and generate more sales.

47

Higher Education Digest November 2020

ACADEMIC VIEW

A Chance Encounter with eLearning and the Way Forward: A Teacher’s Perspective

By Dr Vani Lakshmi, Assistant Professor, Manipal Academy of Higher Education

48

S

tudents and professionals were particularly attracted to online learning due to reasons including (not limited to) fulfilment of criteria specified by their institution/organization, increased interest in learning and availability of a wide variety of courses at no cost during the lockdown period. Moreover, e-certifications add considerable value to the career profiles which might pave way for better job opportunities. Covid-19 can also be seen as an opportunity for the teachers to step into the shoes of e-learning.

Learning is a never-ending process. Online education and social media serve as relatively new mediums to quench the thirst for learning and academia is no exception. While one might ponder on why teachers need to explore e-learning possibilities, there are several reasons to pursue this direction.

Firstly, MOOCs serve as an exciting platform to gain fresh perspectives on concepts mastered years ago. It enables teachers to revisit/relearn familiar ideas thus, paving way for different approaches to communicating the same to students who are geographically far apart. This will serve as an excellent supplement for better student engagement, easier comprehension and thus enable the student community to overcome the Covid-19 induced learning challenges. Moreover, teachers can utilize MOOCs to engage students in self-directed as well as project-centric learning.

As teachers plunge into e-learning, it enhances their ability to offer students with real-problems and case studies (problem-based learning) as e-education is increasingly encouraging participation from the industry. With corporates like Microsoft, IBM, SAS

Higher Education Digest November 2020

The Covid-19 pandemic has revitalized the online learning paradigm and the students as well as the academia have been enthusiastically overcoming challenges induced by the socioeconomic differences across the country

49

Dr Vani Lakshmi

Dr Vani Lakshmi R holds a doctoral degree in Statistics from Pondicherry University (A Central University, India). She is passionate about data in its multi-faceted manifestations and has been actively involved as a free-lancer in projects in the domains of arts and humanities, management sciences, life sciences and public health before joining Manipal Academy of Higher Education as an Assistant Professor in Data Science. Her research articles have been published in peer-reviewed journals of high repute. When away from work; she is seen engrossed in e-learning (completed 200+ courses on various platforms), reading, creative writing, photography and art in its multiple manifestations.

Higher Education Digest November 2020

With vocational and entrepreneurial skills, students can also evolve into job providers in the years to come

50 and Google venturing into this sphere, teachers are offered abundant possibilities to prepare students to the job market through e-learning. Thus, teachers get to identify redundant concepts which can be restructured and refined to ensure that the students are transformed into employable citizens.

Secondly, the universe of knowledge is expanding at a faster pace, thanks to the ever-growing technology and computing capabilities. Education never meets a dead end and self-paced e-learning enables teachers to stay updated in their domain of expertise and pass on the same baton to the student community.

Thirdly, multi-disciplinary learning is the need of the hour and MOOCs serve as an excellent treasure trove of knowledge to explore new terrains in the domains yet to be explored. This would enable the teacher to widen the horizons of learning and add more breadth to the teaching process.

Fourthly, most of the MOOC providers enable the teachers to audit the course and this serves as a mechanism to imbibe high-quality MOOCs into the existing academic curriculum in line with the changing possibilities offered by educational policies set forth

Higher Education Digest November 2020

from time to time. With the realization that blended learning and flipped classrooms are here to stay, this will pave way for globalization of education where students get access to utilize the services offered by renowned names in a required field of expertise through MOOCs. Upon an understanding that the courses are satisfactory, teachers can get certified as well which will fuel their career growth and professional development.

The grass is green on both sides and the incorporation of e-learning tools along with the existing educational system will transform the student community to job-ready professionals who can progress with an exciting career in research institutions as well as corporates of repute. With vocational and entrepreneurial skills, students can also evolve into job providers in the years to come. The recently released National Educational Policy envisions a generation of skilled and knowledgeable citizens. The keys to this realistic goal lie in motivated, energized and capable teachers. As a teacher, it could be a Covid-19 induced chance encounter with e-learning. Nevertheless, it is a welcome encounter for the world as we prepare for more insightful academic endeavours.

51

Higher Education Digest November 2020

52

Higher Education Digest November 2020