<div>In India, the e-learning space is still at a nascent stage. Premier education company Talentedge's CEO and MD Aditya Malik talks about the learning company's plan to provide the cutting-edge technology in education system. Talentedge works with both students and professionals offering quality education through innovative approaches. Speaking to <em>BW | Businessworld's</em> <strong>Haider Ali Khan</strong>, Malik says online education players have a critical role to play as far as realisation of the Digital India dream is concerned. Excerpts from the interview:</div><div> </div><div><div><strong>On Indian Education System</strong></div><div>India is an important educational hub for the global education industry. Currently, it boasts of more than 1.4 million schools and more than 35,000 higher education institutes making it one of the largest higher education centre in the world. It is estimated to be worth Rs 5.9 trillion in 2014-15, with nearly half the population of India below the age of 25.<br><br>The education sector encompasses three domains — primary, higher education and vocational education and operated under a highly regulated policy regime. Each of these are growing and receiving a lot of governmental impetus to sustain the momentum of growth. The scope of growth is huge and the government emphasis should remain on building infrastructure, upping scalability, enhancing the teacher student ratio in the bigger scheme of things.</div><div> </div><div>Digital education is going to play a key role in changing the status quo of education in India, allowing people to learn from anywhere at any time. Addressing some of the key loopholes in the education system of India such as flexibility, affordability, scalability, student teacher ratio, I can see education moving towards digital and being more accepting of it as a format. Digital education cannot replace brick and motor format of learning. Both can complement each other.</div><div> </div><div><strong>Talentedge's Position</strong></div><div>Talentedge was incubated by Lumis Partners in 2012 with the objective of changing the way of learning. We realised the potential of the learning market in India, which lacked technology interventions. Flexibility to learn while you earn was also a hindrance as new age professionals are constantly seeking ways to enhance their skills.<br><br>Thus we brourht the idea of Talentedge, which is an innovative learning solutions provider that creates tangible impact in an individual’s life. Our products and services are targeted at individuals and corporates to enable learning with a purpose and instill a sense of self-belief, while showcasing a direct link to career progression and job effectiveness. For the individual learners, we offer learning solutions via – premium executive programmes and degree programme and for the corporate world we have solutions like industry programmes, product modules and end user learning.</div><div> </div><div><strong>On Capital </strong></div><div>We are running at an annualised run rate of $8 million. My aim is to grow it by 20 per cent this year and we are also avidly looking at enhancing our footprint further.</div><div> </div><div><strong>On Technology </strong></div><div>Technology is restricted in a certain section of society. However, I see it also the only medium that can help us overcome the bigger barriers that the society and education face today. Hence, as a nation, our focus should be on:</div><div> </div><div><strong>a)</strong> Building a digital ecosystem that is scalable, low-cost and reusable.</div><div><strong>b)</strong> Generating multiple avenues for learners to adapt to the technology and its usage. A clear mission that popularises this medium in tier 2 and 3 cities.</div><div><strong>c)</strong> Proactively creating awareness regarding the digital learning culture across the nation and government impetus from time to time.</div><div><strong>d) </strong>Empowering an e-learning system that goes beyond the traditional e-learning mechanism of recorded lectures, is highly interactive, engaging and measures learning effectiveness.</div><div> </div><div><strong>On Learning Pattern</strong></div><div>Technology is the harbinger of transformation in every industry. It has changed us into a digitized nation. The resilient focus of the Modi government on technology via – Digital India, Skill India, and Make in India is a testimony to that. Technology has positively progressed the education landscape of India.<br> </div><div>While e-learning has begun to stand out, there are challenges that continue to obstruct its full potential. Indians are inclined towards the brick and mortar format of leaning, and the e-learning industry is still gaining acceptance. Technology has providing scalable solution to the education industry meet the challenge of accessibility, flexibility and affordability. It empowered the audience to learn at their own pace anytime and anywhere. As we see it at Talentedge – our technology direct to device is all about changing the way India learns. We are enabling an interactive and social collaborative learning experience in the digital space.</div></div>