“Technology is just a tool. In terms of getting the kids working together and motivating them,” said Bill Gates, “the teacher is most important.” New age classrooms are likely to be the norm in Prime Minister Modi’s Digital India. Edtech was an early pioneer and made some progress, but has been held back due to lack of adoption. The business of Edtech is thus, possibly the toughest business, calling as it does for a change in habit — not just for young students, but teachers and parents as well. Edtech will thrive when habits change.
Senior associate editor Suman K. Jha, supported by special correspondent Monica Behura and associate editor Ayushman Baruah, looks at the complete edtech ecosystem, from educators, educational institutions to investors and edtech startups, to examine whether this new wave technology oriented disruptive learning process is creating a new niche in the businesses of education.
In the US market, leaders have emerged in the tutoring space, like offline tutoring leader Wyzant and online tutoring leader Tutor + InstaEdu(Chegg). Will we get there? Do our edtech players have what it takes to be the Wyzant.com and Tutor + InstaEdu(Chegg) of India?
The success of Byju’s, Unacademy, Eduwizards and other edtech players are creating more opportunities for all stakeholders, including teachers and students. The founder of Byju is first a teacher and then a businessman. As I write this, am reminded of Keith Kruger and David Thornburg’s words: “It is important to remember that educational software, like textbooks, is only one tool in the learning process. Neither can be a substitute for well-trained teachers, leadership, and parental involvement.”
In other sections, deputy editor Raghu Mohan discusses the impact technology has had on banks with Oracle Financial Services Software’s managing director Chet Kamat. Executive editor of BW Hotelier Bikramjit Ray takes looks at how the emerging lifestyle trend of organic foods was spawning a business. Senior editor Ashish Sinha looks into the sorry state of affairs of regional airline operators, as well as why the Indian market has become so important for Japanese AC maker Diakin. Arshad Khan assesses the monsoon’s impact on tractor sales.
BW Businessworld has of late introduced some new columns and columnists, like Noorings by marketing and advertising editor Noor Fathima Warsia and a column on startups titled Point Blank. This new, fortified issue includes 16 new pages, showcasing new columnists and focusing on new sectors and new formats.
Pi Talkies is a new column on leadership by author and corporate leader Prakash Iyer. BW Women by Harbeen Arora is a column on women, by women and for everyone. BW Box Office, a column on the entertainment business, has Munnish Puri writing a topical piece. In C-Suite, we have global thought leaders analysing career and workplace success issues.
We have created new sections such as New Economy Business, which seeks to capture emerging trends; Inside PSU, which tracks PSUs, sees BW talk to Ashwini Lohani of Air India and NBCC CMD Anoop Kumar Mittal this issue; and Inside Policy, which keeps a tab on policies and policymakers. In another new section, Agri Economy, we look at the impact the unrest in Jammu and Kashmir has had on the apple business.
Sir Peter Blake said, “New technology is common, new thinking is rare.” We have aspired to flaunt new thinking with the changes in our editorial package. Enjoy the read!
BW Reporters
The author is the Chairman & Editor-in-Chief of the BW Businessworld Group and the Founder & Editor-in-Chief of the exchange4media Group
