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TCS iON, a unit of Tata Consultancy Services, has partnered with colleges in India to launch e-learning platform Academic Hub, where students can purchase courses online.
It has partnered with BITS Pilani, SDM Institute for Management Development, KiiT University, SASTRA University and business school NMIMS.
Venguswamy Ramaswamy, Global Head – iON, told BusinessLine that though there is a huge demand for online courses, but the number of people who complete the course is low.
Phygital modelThere are about 40 million people learning online and according to a study it is estimated to go up to 200 million in the next five years. However the challenge is in retaining learners as only 3-4 per cent of subscribers complete the course.
“For e-learning platform to be a successful you need to address the gaps and that was what we have done through Academic Hub,” he added. It follows ‘Phygital’ model that combines e-learning with classroom session and adopts multi-modal learning to keep the learners hooked. Multi-modal learning process integrates social tools like Facebook and technology components with the learning process.
International varsitiesCourses designed by the universities are open for individuals and colleges for purchase at a cost decided by them. The colleges and iON gets revenue for every course sold per person. Though the university pipeline will be expanded in due course, Ramaswamy said the focus in on building the course portfolio from existing five partnered colleges in India.
“But we are in talks with international universities, who are interested in bringing courses to Indian students,” he said. International universities in countries like UK, Ireland and Japan are showing interest to reach Indian students.
With the demand for vocational courses increasing, Ramaswamy said the company is in talks with industry players to take this forward.
Along with Academic Hub, the company also hosts courses for GST, technology, skill development and teachers training. The company has invested closes to ₹2,500 crore in the last four years.
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