Technology powers disruption

A discussion on ‘An Investor’s Perspective on Disruption in the Traditional Models of Education’ saw Prajakt Raut, Imran Jafar, and Nirav Khambhati participating. Asking the panel to share their thesis on where the investment world has seen the education world change, Prajakt Raut began by shedding light on the role of investors in the education ecosystem, pointing out, “Investors have a ringside view of the changing scenario in the field of education; they have a view on where and how the market is likely to go.”

Imran Jafar shared his thesis as focusing on K-12 education as well as ancillary products and services. “There are two broad areas where we see an opportunity for innovation; first, in driving core learning outcomes. The learning crisis needs the Google maps of education, wherein we have the data analytics for a better understanding of the student. We should be able to know where the student is today and clearly map out the destination and the most effective path to get there. We believe that technology is necessary but not sufficient for growth in education. I’d recommend Mindspark, a personalised technology-enabled learning engine for students,” he averred.
Taking the discussion forward, Nirav Khambhati shared, “I believe interesting opportunities are arising at the intersection of two conflicting trends. Most of the stakeholders in education recognise that there is a need for change and the society’s context around education is changing. It’s no longer about degrees because degrees no longer ensure employment. It’s about having the right skills. There is an urgency to bring about a change and, at the same time, education as a subject has changed very slowly over the last 5000 years. So, as we say there are only four fundamental disruptions in the world of education – first was the invention of writing, second was the moveable type, third was the printing press and now there’s internet, and every time there was a disruption, it took a lot of time for society to accept that. On one hand, there’s a pressing need to bring about a change but at the same time education, as a subject, changes very slowly. At the intersection of these two conflicting trends, there are rising opportunities. Technology isn’t just about recording the offline process and making it available online. Technology is about allowing the teacher to accurately track the progress that a classroom has made.”

Thus, the panel concluded that there is a need to experiment with tools that give us an accurate assessment of both the student and the teacher.

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