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quantitative investment firm with Future plans. With geeksforgeeks on- wide.
sophisticated software development line courses becoming increasingly Newspeg. To support government
and research capabilities. popular, the demand for its gradu- think-tank NITI Aayog’s Atal Tinker-
“As I started my first job, I also ates is also rising. “We are getting ing Labs (ATLs) initiative to develop
began blogging about my experi- a lot of traffic from IT companies a national culture of STEM innova-
ence as a student and in particular interested in hiring our students. tion, Eduphoria has established
about my intense preparation and This is likely to become another big over 25 ATLs in schools in six states
strategies for the campus interview. revenue source. These developments during the past six months. “NITI
Gradually several other students and have encouraged us to research the Aayog awards eligible schools a grant
IT professionals began blogging on K-12 space and start a YouTube of Rs.12 lakh of which Rs.7 lakh is
my website geeksforgeeks.org, shar- channel providing IT content and earmarked for lab installation and
ing their own institutional admis- coding lessons,” says Jain. Rs.5 lakh for school infrastructure.
sion and job interview experiences,” Unstoppable! That’s where we come in,” explains
recalls Jain. Autar Nehru (Delhi) Gangan.
After two years in DE Shaw, Jain History. An engineering and busi-
forayed into academia and served Tinkering labs ness management alumnus of the
as an assistant professor at JIIT Bhilai Institute of Technology, Durg,
(Jaypee Institute of Information provider and Institute of Management, Devel-
Technology), Noida. Meanwhile, opment and Research, Pune, Gangan
geeksforgeeks.org traffic was grow- acquired 14 years of industry experi-
ing exponentially and generating ence after which in 2017, he
substantial ad revenue. In 2015, decided to invest his personal
when the revenue from his website savings (Rs.5 lakh) to promote
exceeded his salary, he quit the acad- Eduphoria and showcase his
emy to promote the Noida-based entrepreneurial skills.
Sanchhaya Education Pvt. Ltd, the Direct talk. ”I was raised
parent company of geeksforgeeks. in the Central Indian state
org. of Madhya Pradesh and
Direct talk. “There is a huge gap be- schooled in Narsinghpur, a
tween what is taught in engineering small town with unimaginably
colleges and industry requirements, poor quality teaching in
and the prospect of job interview the government school.
gives nightmares to students. More- Eduphoria was born out of the
over with a rising number of working Gagan (centre): STEM missionary need to substantially improve
professionals anxious to upgrade and the quality of education
grasp new IT and software knowl- ARANG GANGAN is founder- in tier-II-III cities and towns by
edge, we provide courses to upskill CEO of the Gurugram-based leveraging new-age technologies and
them,” says Jain. Currently Sanch- SEduphoria Solutions LLP introducing comprehensive STEM
haya Education has a headcount of (estb.2017, headcount: 10), an edtech learning programmes. NITI Aayog’s
150. start-up that offers primary-second- ATL initiative fits in beautifully
Until 2019, the company’s pri- ary schools a bouquet of solutions to with our mission to foster curiosity,
mary revenue source was advertis- promote hands-on STEM learning creativity and imagination in young
ing, but last year after the company and enhance quality and disseminate minds,” says Gangan.
introduced its online study pro- science and tech education country- Future plans. Encouraged by steady
grammes, a new revenue stream has wide. business revenue growth even in the
started. “Our first online course had Currently, the company provides turbulent pandemic year, Gangan
a capacity of 50 persons. But we were end-to-end solutions for installing has ambitious future plans. “Bihar
surprised that within two minutes of customised innovation and tinker- and Jharkhand are going to be our
opening for admission, 122 work- ing labs including multi-phased next thrust areas. Recently we’ve
ing professionals had registered on teacher training, industrial visits and finalised the design of a DIY science
our payment gateway. Since then, technical support and maintenance, kit. This year, we intend to reach 250
the number of executive education in primary-secondary schools. Thus schools and impact at least half a
courses has increased to 40 and with far, Eduphoria has impacted over million students,” he enthuses.
the pandemic situation, we expect 150,000 students in 150 private and Fair winds!
demand to grow further,” says Jain. public schools in ten states country- Paromita Sengupta (Bengaluru)

JULY 2021 EDUCATIONWORLD 57