Of late, and especially during the pandemic, Imarticus Learning saw skyrocketing demand for professional certification courses from smaller towns. “The demand from non-urban centres for courses from top technical universities such as the IITs has outstripped urban counterparts,” says Nikhil Barshikar, Founder & CEO, Imarticus Learning. In an interview with FE’s Vikram Chaudhary, he adds that this trend is being seen for online MBA as well. Excerpts:
There are thousands of edtech players in India. How does one differentiate itself?
We’ve maintained an ‘industry-first’ approach; our mission is to bring premium learning experiences powered by cutting-edge technology. Every aspect of Imarticus Learning revolves around this goal. We also offer career services and mentoring. This wide array of solutions is what differentiates us.
How many people have you cumulatively trained?
Within a decade, we’ve transformed over 35,000 careers through our curriculum, experienced faculty and partnerships with leading institutions across the world.
You recently acquired Eckovation. Is more acquisition on the cards?
The acquisition of Eckovation has significantly boosted our reach, and we are now offering professional certification courses and postgraduate programmes in association with institutions such as IIT Roorkee. We currently have 11 offline centres in smaller cities, and plan on increasing this to 15 by the end of this year, post which we will adopt the hub-and-spoke model to expand our footprint.
We do plan on more acquisitions to augment our enterprise learning business. We have earmarked Rs 25-40 crore for acquisitions in the next year. We are also in talks with IIMs and NIIT for possible collaborations and plan on expanding our footprint overseas.
Has the lockdown changed the way you train students, or has it changed your courseware?
With the pandemic, the need to evolve and adapt to the situation has been exacerbated. We’ve focused on making high-quality education accessible to all and are partnering with the best universities to ensure that learning remains undisrupted.
What is the current male to female learners’ ratio on the platform?
We have 40% women and 60% men on our platform.
How many higher education universities have you partnered with since the onset of the pandemic?
We have partnered with five higher education universities, and have lined up another 10 partnerships until the end of this financial year. We are confident these will enable us to bolster our course offerings and allow learners to gain a holistic, industry-centric experience.
How many learners do you currently cater to?
We currently have over 10,000 active users on our platform. We expect this number to reach 20,000 per month over the next two years.
Are you witnessing any trend with retired people wanting to upskill themselves?
Yes, there is an increasing demand from senior individuals for executive programmes that we offer in partnerships with management universities. A key reason is that the phrase ‘age is just a number’ has been applied to education as well. With the world evolving rapidly, people across age groups are keen on upskilling themselves to avoid becoming redundant.