Ed-tech with actual and virtual schools in recent years. Whiteboards and web video to learning management systems and AI tutors, there is a lot of software supporting teachers and students today. But it also left us with a fragmented learning experience-high access, low consistency. The question that most teachers and technologists are grappling with today is: will higher integration lead to better learning outcomes?

THE CASE FOR ECOSYSTEM THINKING

Contrary to the common stand-alone EdTech systems running in a silo, homogeneous learning environments struggle to integrate content delivery, mentorship, skill mastery, and project work into a single system. This is an attempt to replicate-and in many ways overcome-the structure of the true physical physical physical classroom but with the scalability and reactivity of digital systems.

The concept is simple: with less need to repeatedly toggle between multiple applications, devices, or interfaces, students will spend fewer minutes getting around tools and more on interacting with material. Unlimited access to courseware, artificial-intelligence-driven support, virtual labs, and guided mentorship fosters unity-an amenity far too often in short supply within distance learning environments. 

REDEFINING ACCESSIBILITY

The coronavirus laid bare a harsh reality: education access is not necessarily a function of the availability of the internet. For the majority of students, especially disadvantage or semi-urban students, lack of quality devices, apps, or tutorials to learn tends to make online education superficial. There are interdependencies between ecosystems. A combination of specially crafted devices, cloud apps, and mentorship support renders systems frictionless to offset intent-to-delivery frictions. While the traditional model may expose a student to a class, the blended model exposes a student to the possibility of working on an assignment, receiving feedback, and monitoring progress-all in private, in one space.

ADVANTAGES BEYOND THE CLASSROOM

In addition to its effectiveness, the blended model also promotes enhanced learning behavior. A learning environment that is capable of learning at one's pace, providing instant feedback, and also allowing for self-paced learning has the potential to promote greater responsibility and confidence.

Also, problem-based learning in these hubs reflects actual problems. Sit down to write a research paper, create a prototype, or complete an internship module, the student is learning through doing. Learning-through-doing, coupled with industry demand, might as well bridge the centuries-long chasm between scholarship and employability. Rithwik Srinivas Ennamuri, founder, Unlox is sure, "One ecosystem. Three powerful programs. Designed to shape skills, boost confidence, and deliver real-world results.".

E-learning Program - Process of learning with the help of AI provides maximum productivity. The program simplifies learning, hassle-free goal-centered process with one-to-one guidance, project learning, and interaction. Check out our amazing E-learning courses.

Global Internship Program - World-programmed experience in which students are interacted with world-level mentors and live business projects. It closes the gap between global doing and learning.

Research Paper Program - A mentorship publication program that guides students step by step through the process of writing research, editing, publishing academic scholarship. Professional mentoring ensures the work meets international standards of academic scholarship.

CHALLENGES AHEAD

Of course, there are limitations on such hybrid systems. Institutional inertia, cost, and scope can be colder than ice. And one might also have human beings without technology. Not everyone will be attracted by AI-based learning, and mentorship-thoughtful-is best paired with empathy.

Rithwik Srinivas Ennamuri, Unlox co-founder, describes, "What's special about Unlox isn't necessarily what we're doing; but how it all comes together. Learning with an AI that knows you completely. All your projects, courses, and mentorship in your own hands. Industrial-scale projects on high-performance virtual labs. without the cost of expensive hardware."

A PROMISING DIRECTION

Apart from all these issues, integrated learning ecosystems are a specter looming on the horizon. When India skill-ifies its large youth population, what India needs is not additional content-but sequenced, outcomes-based learning experiences. Start-ups, institutes, or public-private initiatives creating the ecosystems-whatever they would turn out to be, success would neither be technology-driven in isolation, but by their understanding of learners' realities. Integration could well be as significant as innovation in the next education reform wave.

In a major step towards promoting studies in green energy, eight government polytechnic colleges in the southern districts have introduced a new 'Diploma in Renewable Energy' course for 2025-26. The course is being offered under a tie-up between the Government of Tamil Nadu and Tata Power Renewable Energy.

The programme meets the 'Earn While You Learn' concept, allowing students to earn between Rs 4,000 to Rs 10,000 monthly over the duration of their course period.

As part of the course, the students will undergo three months of classroom training in their own polytechnic colleges-including Madurai, Thoothukudi, Tirunelveli, Nagercoil, Usilampatti, Andipatti, and Chekkanurani-with Rs 4,000 as monthly stipend. The remaining nine months will be at TP Solar Limited, Tirunelveli, where they will get industrial exposure and a monthly stipend of Rs 8,000.

In a conversation with TNIE, G Vijayakumari, Principal of Government Women's Polytechnic College, Madurai, said, "Each polytechnic college has a strength of 30 seats. In Madurai, 38 students have already been admitted, and a preference is being given to female candidates. The students will be provided experiential learning similar to other streams of engineering, including training in solar panel making, maintenance, and energy efficiency. This gives the students immediate job opportunities at TP Solar after graduation with no service bond."

Andipatti Government Polytechnic College principal (i/c) M Poonguzhali also stated that classes commenced on July 7, and a few of the colleges have vacancies. "Class XII pass students can be considered. Free hostel and boarding facilities are provided during industrial training. Stipend will increase gradually- Rs 8,000 in the first year, Rs 9,000 in the second year, and Rs 10,000 in the third year," she clarified.

In addition, meritous students are eligible to receive Rs 1,000 monthly scholarship under the Pudhumaipen or Tamil Pudhalvan. The course fee has also been fixed at a minimum of Rs 2,500 annually.

It started not with conflict, but with a subtle ripple.

On another unremarkable July evening, Telegram's notoriously reclusive founder Pavel Durov posted on X and gave some advice to students that was at once old-fashioned and forward-thinking:

"If you're a student deciding what to study, study MATH. It will teach you to relentlessly depend on your own mind. That's the essential skill you'll have to create businesses and run projects."

Several hours later, Elon Musk weighed in — not to argue, but to clarify: "Physics (with math)."

It was no duel, but a clever duet — a dialogue between two of the globe's most efficient minds, quietly reminding a generation drowning in AI-generated output that human intelligence still has requirements. Namely: numbers, patterns, and logic.

And yet, while this Twitter symposium was ongoing, Indian students had already decided. They weren't choosing math. Nor physics. Their latest craze? Prompt Engineering.

GenAI nation: India's AI learning boom

India currently tops the world in GenAI course enrollments, according to the Coursera Global Skills Report 2025, having reached over 1.3 million learners in 2024 alone. That's higher than the total number of learners in Europe. But here's the catch: India's global ranking in skill proficiency is a sobering 89. In AI-specific skills, we are at 46. Our showing in data (88) and tech (86) isn't a winning medal either.

We’re sprinting into the AI era — with shoelaces untied.

Math replaced by ‘hacks’

The paradox couldn’t be starker. While Durov extols math for its discipline, and Musk praises physics for its depth, the Indian learner appears focussed on something else entirely: Speed. Speed to certification. Speed to skill-badges. Speed to job-readiness.

And thus, Prompt Engineering for ChatGPT is India's number one most trending course (the Corsera Report shows) — a skill that's all about eliciting the correct responses from a language model without necessarily understanding the math or logic that drives it.

It's not a negation of STEM. It's a straining to shortcut the staircase and go by the elevator — in a building where the foundation is yet to be completed.

The shortcut economy

There's no denying that everything is being transformed by AI. The Coursera Job Skills Report 2025 uncovers the most rapidly growing workplace skills:

  • Prompt Engineering
  • AI Ethics
  • Cybersecurity Risk Management
  • Python for Data Analysis
  • Cloud Infrastructure

It's an exhilarating list — and a frightening one, if you read between the lines.

All of these abilities rest on a foundation of literacy in logic, computation, and critical thinking. And yet, the Coursera report also indicates India lagging in all three.

Indian learners are adopting tools, but not the underlying thinking. This isn't a gap in skills — it's a mismatch in learning sequence.

Big brands, shallow depth

India's highest learner skills in 2025, according to Coursera, are:

  • DevOps Tools
  • Web Development
  • Application Lifecycle Management
  • Containerisation

All are beneficial. None demand a hard grasp of math or physics. While AI engineering and sophisticated data science — the true drivers of today's most revolutionary technologies — continue to elude most students without a solid STEM foundation.

It's like learning to fly by memorizing the in-flight safety demonstration.

The true test

This moment — a billion Indians pursuing GenAI and two tech giants nudging us back to first principles so gently — is a test.

Not of cleverness, but of patience. Not of talent, but of hunger — for deep learning, not merely quick learning.

For in 2025, mathematics remains difficult. Physics remains intricate. And genuine AI remains constructed by those who grasp both.

Indian students might be getting certificates at breakneck speeds. But the question that really matters is: Are we creating makers, or merely credentialed consumers?

Until then, Durov's subtle math lesson — and Musk's beautifully phrased nudge — could end up being unread footnotes in India's haste to download the future.

With the corporations adapting at the rate of growth intensifying at an unthinkable rate, businesses need to evolve the culture of continuous learning so that they always outdo the competition. Providing learning material to the employees readily, i.e., Internet learning modules, seminars, and professional courses, is all about structuring an organizational culture where learning is work by default.

Learning culture is the heart of leadership. Leaders will be motivated to learn themselves and make others learn through their team members, by doing. Growth mindset and feedback culture are the central point for propelling long-term growth.

India Today had an interview with Priyanka Anand, VP & Head HR, Southeast Asia Oceania and India, Ericsson as part of an effort to better understand how organizations can develop employees and become competitive.

ALIGNING LEARNING WITH ORGANISATIONAL GOALS

Learning activity organisational goal-based is guaranteed to bring returns on the organisation and employees. Organisations have structured development and enhancement programmes based on industry requirements, reflecting their continued pursuit of learning and growth.

EVALUATING SUCCESS OF LEARNING AND DEVELOPMENT INITIATIVES

"In an effort to construct an end-to-end representation of Learning and Development (L&D) intervention influence, organisations must develop a multi-dimension measurement framework. They are Business Impact Analysis, Performance Metrics, and Behavioural and Cultural Observations, all of which are geared towards L&D effectiveness measurement," Priyanka Anand said.

IMPACT OF DIVERSITY AND INCLUSION ON EMPLOYEE DEVELOPMENT

Diversity and inclusion (D&I) programs are held accountable for creating feelings of belongingness among the employees in a manner that each and every employee feels valued and hence empowered. Through these programs, they have an equal opportunity for learning and development and wish to continue learning throughout their entire lifetime, which leads to more motivation, satisfaction, and turnover.

INNOVATION FOR SKILL DEVELOPMENT

"Innovation and technology are great facilitators that drive employee growth and learning through efficient, agile, and customized learning. Artificial intelligence, machine learning, and virtual reality technologies augment experiential training experience and personalized learning journeys, while enhancing learning," she added.

To project Learning and Development interventions from organisational values and goals, companies must conduct rigorous needs analysis, engage leadership with programmes, integrate corporate values into training, and audit learning initiatives periodically and make modifications as well. This makes L&D interventions real, significant, and responsive to emerging business needs.

Google is providing eligible Indian college students with a free one-year Google AI Pro plan worth Rs 19,500. This Google AI Pro plan provides access to Google's powerful AI tools that students can utilize to assist with homework, writing, and video creation.

As a part of this offer, Indian students 18 and older can enjoy complimentary access to Google AI Pro plan for 12 months. The plan offers a full range of premium features such as Gemini 2.5 Pro and Veo 3, its video creation AI model. The plan also offers 2TB cloud storage and AI features in Gmail, Docs, and other Google tools.

Google emphasizes that the AI Pro plan is designed to assist students in a broad range of use cases like research and study, interview preparation, as well as idea generation. Among its AI-driven tools and services are:

Homework Assistance & Exam Preparation: Study up to 1,500-page textbooks with the help of AI.

Study Assistance: Study long textbooks (up to 1,500 pages), assist in exam preparation, as well as comprehend tough subjects.

Writing Tools: Create drafts, proofread essays, and structure ideas

Video Creation: Convert text and images into brief videos using Google's Veo 3 system.

NotebookLM: Enhanced research with greater audio and document summaries.

Gemini Integration: In-line AI assistance in Gmail, Docs, Sheets, and more apps.

Cloud Storage: 2TB of Drive, Gmail, and Photos storage for saving assignments, projects, and media files.

How students can obtain free Google AI Pro

Google states that the free plan is available to students only if they are eligible and can validate their student status.

To avail of this, students need to validate their status. Here is how one can do it:

Go to the Google One student offer page.

Input the details as required, school name, name, and date of birth.

Provide documents if asked to confirm attendance at an accredited university.

Upon confirmation, sign up for the AI Pro plan in the Google Play Store.

Please note that the redemption period for this offer is 15 September 2025, and it is open to users who do not possess an active or higher Google One subscription.

In parallel, Google has also stipulated the eligibility and terms to qualify for the offer. These are:

The student should be 18 years and older.

Reside in India.

Use their personal Google Account (supervised accounts prohibited).

Offer a valid school email address or proof of school enrollment when asked.

Not subscribed through third-party sites.

Have an active form of payment linked with their Google Payments account (for billing on the trial).

Google indicates that the subscription is totally free for an entire year, but students need to cancel before the trial period's end in an effort to prevent automatic billing at regular prices. The subscription will renew automatically once the free time has elapsed unless canceled manually.

Following the growing demand for veteran professionals in the new technology area of artificial intelligence, the Indian Institute of Technology Delhi (IIT Delhi) has launched the second edition of its Certificate Programme in Generative AI. As a part of its Continuing Education Programme (CEP), this six-month online certificate program is open to working professionals with a view to acquiring freshest competencies in Large Language Models (LLMs), Natural Language Processing (NLP), and responsible AI development.

 

This sector-agnostic course is intended for professionals from any industry such as software development, data science, machine learning, digital product management, and applied research. It also includes educators and tech-enabling professionals willing to make a career shift to innovative AI applications.

 

Pragmatic AI technologies like Python, NumPy, TensorFlow, PyTorch, spaCy, and Hugging Face are learned by students. The courses include hands-on tutorials as well as industry-led capstone projects that are orchestrated to simulate actual deployments of AI in different verticals including healthcare, education, finance, and autonomous systems.

 

Evolving research entails evolving subject matter in the form of transformer models, neural architecture, parameter-efficient fine-tuning (PEFT) for low-resource settings, and multilingual NLP. Students study evolving model architectures such as GPT, BERT, and T5, and are exposed to evolving techniques such as instruction tuning, retrieval-augmented generation (RAG), reinforcement learning with human feedback (RLHF), and evolving prompting techniques in order to maximize model performance and usefulness.

 

Emphasizing the larger societal relevance of the program, IIT Delhi Electrical Engineering Department Professor Tanmoy Chakraborty added, "This program is a result of our conviction that Generative AI will drive innovation and decision-making in the future. We aim to develop professionals who do not just know AI technologies but also drive their use in industries responsibly with depth."

 

As the world undergoes a change with AI, industry reports have already established an on-demand demand for AI experts. According to studies by PwC, AI will add as much as USD 15.7 trillion to the world economy by 2030. The BCG report does, nonetheless, lay out that even though investments in AI are on the rise, there is a success rate of only 26% for organisations to apply these technologies in driving material value. While that, The AIDEA of India report by EY estimates the figure at USD 1.5 trillion by the close of the decade, i.e., from Generative AI alone to India's GDP.

 

The training is being imparted in a mix of self-study and live web classrooms, amounting to 60 hours of formal instruction and facilitated learning, and a 10-hour capstone project. The trainees can choose one-day campus immersion at IIT Delhi, experiencing the quality of research and academics of the institute.

 

For admission, the candidate should have a bachelor's or master's degree in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics. On successful completion, the students are awarded an e-certificate by IIT Delhi CEP.

 

With a focus on cultivating applied skills as well as ethical innovation, the program is meant to build the future generation of AI leaders to make lasting impact in industry.

India's online tech ed and upskilling industry is booming at a rate of 25.7% CAGR, driven by flexible learning, technology platforms, and policy support in the pipeline

 

The Indian online higher education and upskilling sector is witnessing an unprecedented boom with the market expected to reach INR 13,200 crore in FY 2023 (2022-2023 financial) to Rs.41,500 crore in FY 2028, revealed Technopak Advisors and ResearchAndMarkets.com reports. A huge 25.7 percent CAGR growth rate, as such, reflects the nationwide transition to industry and adaptive, easy education. Upskilling is the sole answer for the evolving job market of today. Data science and AI, digital marketing, etc. are the options at present, and during FY 2021, almost 7 out of every 10 online school admissions were booked by working professionals with a maximum of three years of work experience. Upskilling to stay relevant is the new cool thing to stay relevant to the job market.

 

Transforming India's EdTech ecosystem

India is being reshaped by education through corporate giants such as Jaro Education, UpGrad, Great Learning, Simplilearn, TalentEdge, and TimesPro. These are the companies who partner with top-ranked universities and recruit industry professionals, merging their strengths with new models of engagement and technologies to drive rapid growth and expanding student pools.

 

Jaro Education can be defined in terms of teamwork culture and vision strategy, in the competitive landscape. With its chain of 100 of the nation's top nationally ranked accredited institutions like IIM Ahmedabad, IIT Madras, and IIT Delhi, Jaro has established a brand name that can be trusted as a credible cross-roads between school success and student aspirations. Jaro is an unparalleled range and diversity with 239 programs being offered in 34 partner institutions all over the world. Jaro Education is the market leader having very good financial numbers with respect to high EBITDA and PAT with respect to high margins. It has been performing well and consistently good with respect to margins, and also it is the market leader insofar as margins are concerned with respect to other players like Imarticus, TimesPro and Intellipaat.

 

Why is upskilling important?

Industry experts concur with the need for upskilling. LinkedIn Chairman ASM Group of Institutes Dr. Sandeep Pachpande believes, "Upskilling is no longer a choice. With the changing workplace today, lifelong learning is the only way to be relevant." Edtech expert Rohan Joshi (@rohanjoshi) commented on X, "India's online upskilling market isn't just increasing—it's emerging to be the foundation for our next-gen talent. Those providing industry connect with academic seriousness will call the shots."

 

Government programmes like National Education Policy 2020, Digital India, and Skill India, and increased budgetary support are also bringing digital education within reach and making it inclusive. All these programmes are also empowering women and students of second-tier towns to enjoy quality education and upskilling. Other such government programs like the National Education Policy (NEP) 2020, Digital India, and Skill India are being launched to make online education accessible and more inclusive in India and the world and changing the landscape. Online education integration at every level, specifically, has been one of the areas of emphasis for the NEP 2020 that demands that one must offer digital infrastructure, high-speed internet, and an access to digital devices to rural and urban students. Through technology-enabled education promotion, NEP 2020 has vision for why it needs to provide the digital divide so that students located in remote areas/small towns can utilize the quality study material and engaging contents devoid of geographic context.

 

The policy will also help create digital pedagogy, and there are professional teacher trainings to empower the teachers to utilize the digital tools to the best possible extent and get the students to think and solve problems. The direct impact of this policy emphasis is experience on such activities as PM eVidya and creation of digital repositories, virtual labs, and online course platforms. Flexible, competency-based, and customized learning pathway provided by NEP can be especially beneficial to women and marginalized group learners, otherwise limited access to mainstream schooling. Orientation to the future

 

Backed by growing government budgetary spending on education, the policies are not just democratizing education but also expanding it out to women and small-town students to access improved quality education and up-skilling opportunities that were not accessible earlier due to geography. This convergent approach is revolutionizing India's education culture and is getting society inclusive and resilient.



More Articles ...