Education Technology | Innovations and Insights - Edinbox

The long-established faith that a computer science degree from a leading American institution will lead to a lucrative job is running into increasing obstacles. Even with booming enrollments and rising expectations, recent graduates are finding it hard to secure employment in an ever-changing world of technology. The New York Times report states that a mix of changing industry needs and the advent of artificial intelligence is making new computer science graduates unemployed and frustrated.

The Golden Ticket of Promise: Big Tech Wages and Coding Skills

Students such as Manasi Mishra have been motivated by corporate heroes who promised computer science as the ultimate ticket to success for more than a decade. Having grown up close to Silicon Valley, Manasi learned the message resonating loud and clear: "If you simply learned how to code, work hard and earn a computer science degree, you can earn six figures for your entry-level salary," she remembers. This assurance compelled her to begin coding websites in elementary school, learn higher-level computing classes in high school, and eventually study computer science at Purdue University.

Technology behemoths amplified these hopes. In 2012, Brad Smith, a senior Microsoft executive at the time, pointed out that computer science majors tended to have initial salaries exceeding $100,000, along with generous bonuses and stock awards. This promise created an education boom. The Computing Research Association estimated that the number of US undergraduate computer science majors more than doubled between 2014 and over 170,000 last year.

AI, Layoffs, and Job Market Contraction

Though, the job landscape has changed dramatically. The advent of AI coding tools that can write and debug code has decreased the requirement for junior software developers. At the same time, the large technology firms like Amazon, Intel, Meta, and Microsoft have performed major layoffs.

The Federal Reserve Bank of New York confirms that recent college graduates with degrees in computer science and computer engineering have unemployment rates of 6.1 percent and 7.5 percent respectively. This is much higher than recent graduates in biological or art history, which has an average unemployment rate of 3 percent.

Thousands of Applications, Few Interviews, No Offers

Most graduates encounter a rigorous job hunt. Graduates from various institutions, such as Maryland, Texas, Cornell, and Stanford, indicated that they applied to hundreds or thousands of positions. However, months of work usually concluded without any offers or interviews.

The job search process has become emotionally taxing, with some graduates describing it as “bleak,” “disheartening,” or “soul-crushing.” Several candidates said they felt “gaslit” by the industry’s earlier promises of easy success.

AI’s Role in Automating Entry-Level Jobs

One of the major reasons for the dismal job outlook is the growing involvement of AI in software development. First-line coding positions, which were once a stepping stone for freshly graduated engineers, are now most exposed to automation. An example of such a tool is CodeRabbit, which claims to debug code quicker than human engineers, leading companies to reconsider their recruitment strategies.

The graduates are also confronted with an AI "doom loop" in applications. They use AI applications to personalize résumés and autofill applications in a hurry, as employers utilize AI systems to automatically reject and sift out applicants, bypassing human discretion during the hiring process.

Reevaluating What Tech Firms Value Nowadays

In this new environment, analysts advise students to re-strategize. Google's Android head Sameer Samat points out that merely a computer science degree is not enough to achieve success. "If you just want to learn Java or Python, you don't need a degree," he explained. Passion, intense specialization, and problem-solving capabilities are what differentiate applicants.

Samat encourages would-be engineers to become a leading expert in one area they are passionate about, be it system design, AI, or user experience. Specialized expertise more and more fuels hiring managers at large tech companies.

The Cost of Education

Compounding this doubt is the heavy financial cost endured by most students. Sridhar Vembu, founder of Zoho, recently warned against borrowing large amounts to study abroad, particularly with job prospects dwindling. He believes employer-sponsored training programs and greater acceptance of non-traditional qualifications are the way forward, citing this as the potential to keep students out of debt.e

The age of having a computer science degree from a well-known US university as an automatic guarantee of success is drawing to a close. As AI revolutionizes the sector and job markets shrink, graduates need to adjust by learning specialized skills, accepting lifelong learning, and being willing to take non-traditional career routes. For students and teachers, attention needs to shift away from syntax programming and focus on deep problem-solving and learning about the interlinking of technology and the physical space.

With an aim to encourage punctuality, minimize absenteeism, and introduce transparency and discipline into the education system, the Pune Zilla Parishad (ZP) is planning to launch a new online attendance system for teachers in its area, pipping the previous plan to introduce a biometric attendance system.

Teachers will be able to punch their attendance through a mobile application (app) only if they are present within the geographical limits of their respective schools, as identified by geo-fencing technology.

According to the data provided by the ZP administration, the new system will implement a mobile app that builds a virtual fence, or geo-fence, around every school utilizing GPS technology. Teachers will be able to mark their attendance only after they physically enter into this pre-defined area. The system will automatically capture their entry and exit from the zone, correctly validating their presence, based on location. The system is being rolled out in all district schools in this month. Previously, the administration had made up their mind to implement a biometric attendance system but the same was found to be expensive. The geo-fencing technique, wherein GPS is used to create a virtual fence around the school campus, is a more cost-effective and time-saving solution.

Gajanan Patil, Pune ZP chief executive officer, stated, "All schools within the district will implement geo-fencing for the attendance of teachers. The biometric facility was turning out to be costly, so this option was adopted. Once done, it will enable the administration to monitor attendance from one place."

With this system, the teachers need to be present at the school location to mark attendance. The administration hopes the system will encourage punctuality, discourage absence, and introduce transparency and discipline into the education system. A centralised dashboard at the Zilla Parishad level will give daily attendance records, facilitating the administrative work and avoiding any manual changes. As attendance will be location-based, it will also ensure accuracy," Patil said.

While teachers' unions had been against the online attendance system in the first place, the association last week conducted talks in order to understand the unions' concerns. In addition to teachers, primary health centre staff will also be made to work on online attendance. The decision comes in the wake of surprise checks by education officers in the past two months during which some schools were found functioning with students but without teachers. In some cases, students were left waiting outside for teachers who arrived late.

The Class 8 Maths textbook, Ganita Prakash, seeks to transform learning into a participative, engaging, and real-life-relevant process. The set of new textbooks issued by National Council of Educational Research and Training (NCERT) for Classes 5 and 8 this year according to the National Education Policy (NEP) 2020 and National Curriculum Framework for School Education (NCF-SE) 2023.

As per the authorities, it encourages learners to connect mathematical problems to real life-"What math is involved in making a cup of coffee?"-and draws on the work of ancient mathematicians such as Aryabhatta, Aryabhatta-II, and Brahmagupta to make concepts clear.

A summary of the New Class 8 Mathematics Textbook's Key Features follows:

1. Contextual Examples

Real life examples have been provided in the textbook for students to consider connections- particularly how Mathematics is connected to the real world. For instance- how a problem faced by a carpenter is being addressed through Mathematics- "If you have two pieces of the same length and a thread, can you make a rectangular frame using the thread".

2. Hypothetical Questions

For example, Brain-teaser problems, like "How many times would you fold a sheet of paper in order to get to the moon?" introduce students to huge amounts and numbers. 

3. Identifying Patterns

The book has students find patterns in solving one problem. One of the chapters in the book is talking about the well-known "Hardy-Ramanujan" number, 1729, the smallest number which can be written as the sum of two cubes in two ways.

4. Hindu Number System

The students learn about the importance of "Hindu Numbers" and "0"- how the Hindu Number System is strong in making use of only 10 numbers to represent any amount of things and more. 

5. "?Mark

??" sign appears all over the book to get students thinking and finding things out. A solid "?" with a thick stroke and having the appearance of a bubble is the mark of a main question, and a plain one is the mark of a sub-question, getting students thinking and finding things out.

6. Teacher's Guide

Contains teacher's tips on how to get the most out of the book.

7. Puzzles and Games

Puzzles, Games and activities are embedded in the textbook so that learning is done with fun and playfulness and questions are embedded in every part of the section rather than the end of the chapters.

8. Illustrations and Comics

Comics and colorful images make learning easier and interesting.

Ganita Prakash, in totality, weaves a creative approach with visual cues, historical contributions, and real-world contexts to generate curiosity and analytical thinking among learners.

The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) government of Rajasthan will soon unveil three key policies related to artificial intelligence, gaming, and data centres with the objective of opening up more opportunities for the creation of jobs for young people in the state. These government policies also seek to make the state a national center for creative and digital technologies.

What Is Rajasthan AI Policy 2025?

As per the government, the proposed Rajasthan AI Policy 2025 envisions ethical and inclusive adoption of artificial intelligence, with setting up a Centre of Excellence to facilitate AI startups, and research with the academia and industry partnership.

A statement, issued by the government, stated, "The policy is in line with the Centre's India AI mission. The AVGC-XR Policy will promote animation, visual effects, gaming and extended reality sectors. The government has proposed to establish four Atal Innovation Studios with an estimated budget of Rs 1,000 crore to enhance entrepreneurship and incorporation of technology in sectors such as agriculture."

"In line with the Viksit Rajasthan 2047 Vision values such as sustainability, inclusion, transparency & accountability, etc, we are committed to the application of ethical principles in the AI endeavors such as procurement, development, deployment, supply, and/or use of AI technologies," it stated.

The government also planned a Data Centre Policy 2025, to build a secure, world-class ecosystem for private data centres. It also promises infrastructure support to attract significant investments to make Rajasthan a data services destination.

Indian Institute of Management (IIM) Indore launched the Certificate Programme in Digital Transformation and AI for Leaders in partnership with Emeritus, to address the increasing need for leaders who can leverage emerging technologies into strategic advantage.

The certification course is ideal for individuals wishing to refresh information on digital technologies and enhance data-driven decision-making skills, a press release added.

Besides, function heads or senior managers desiring to integrate digital strategies into new or new-age business models or current managers leading or soon leading digital transformation initiatives in their organisations may pursue the course.

The program is for consultants to take clients through far-reaching transformation, as well as entrepreneurs wishing to transform as a result of shifting customer needs and new business ecosystems.

"The course is designed specifically to give professionals the frameworks, tools, and abilities required to lead with authority in an increasingly fast-changing world via digitalization," IIM Indore Director Prof. Himanshu Rai said.

Avnish Singhal, India & APAC, Emeritus Executive Vice President, believed that as organizations seek leaders who can close the digital ambition-execute gap, the programme has been designed to address that market requirement, and it is a strategic learning journey.

The programme has been designed by IIM Indore faculty and is a strong balance of academic intensity and practitioner orientation.

The course includes pre-recorded video classes by IIM faculty for convenience, industry expert masterclasses.

Apart from this, peer-to-peer discussion boards for interaction and case studies of real businesses providing learning through doing, assignments, quizzes, AI and Gen AI for innovative approaches and business models, capstone project, and networking and peer-to-peer learning as well.

Advantages of the program:

• Students will be able to define the most important terms and concepts of AI and digital transformation.
• They will build and implement AI-driven strategies to enhance decision-making and business processes.
• With AI technologies, they can build and design business models and strategies.
• Enhance customer interactions and experiences through personalization and AI-driven insights.
• Subvert and combat the risks and challenges of adopting AI and digital transformation.
• Oversee and guide digital transformation projects in diverse corporate settings.

Course details:

The course will begin on September 25, 2025, and will be taught for 22 weeks. The course fee is ₹1,25,000

Eligibility:

The applicants must be graduate/diploma holder (10+2+3) as the minimum qualification.

Certification

On completing the programme successfully with a minimum of 70% percentage score, the participants will be awarded a certificate of completion by IIM Indore.

Students must also watch at least 50% of the video material and participate in at least 50% of the live classes, masterclasses, or modules on campus in order to successfully complete the program.

A departure from the traditional Western way of private-sector-driven innovation, India is adopting a government-leading strategy in artificial intelligence, says Yotta CRO Sunando Bhattacharya. Discussing the country's fast-paced advancement of its AI and semiconductor goals, Bhattacharya noted the pivotal role the Indian government is taking in defining India's future in AI.

"Unlike in the US, where OpenAI-like companies pioneered the AI revolution, India is witnessing the government taking the reins to drive AI leadership," he said. The government, in an unprecedented investment of ₹1.05 lakh crore under the India AI Mission, not only has been constructing large-scale AI compute infrastructure but is also putting money into skilling programs and supporting startups. This all-embracing approach is designed to ensure that India not only joins but competes at the top level in the international AI race.

Bhattacharya announced that among these, one Indian Large Language Model (LLM) developed by Sarvam AI has already gone live on Yotta's GPU platform. Three more indigenous LLMs have also been picked and financed under the same mission, he further stated. These models—"made by Indians, for India"—are a deliberate attempt to design sovereign AI solutions, customized for Indian languages, requirements, and data environments.

Indigenous LLM development is a critical milestone toward making India less reliant on external AI platforms and more strategically self-sufficient in an area that is expected to drive the world's digital economy. "These sovereign models are not about innovation—about independence and long-term leadership," Bhattacharya stressed.

India's AI story, supported by state patronage and public-private partnerships, marks a confident departure from its past strategy for frontier technologies. With infrastructure, manpower, and innovation ecosystems coming into alignment, the nation is not only setting itself up as a player but as a possible AI leader in the international arena.