Education Technology | Innovations and Insights - Edinbox

A shopping list of a middle-class student for an expensive laptop turned into a nightmare when dreaming of the luxury laptop for years turned out to be a nightmare when he lost all his savings of ₹77,787 in a failed transaction on Amazon India. The incident that has become the discussion of widespread outrage on social media sends some pointed questions about customer service and accountability in India's thriving e-commerce sector.

The student had struggled to purchase the laptop under the false assumption that Amazon's site would be followed by a guarantee of reliability. Yet once purchased, he claims that the product never materialized, with many efforts to obtain redress through Amazon seeming to be for nought. The experience has not only psychologically traumatised him but also financially drained him.

The incident was first reported on X (Twitter), where the student narrated his experience. The post became viral in a few minutes, and outrage and sympathy from netizens. The majority of people sympathized with the financial and emotional cost of the incident.

They demanded Amazon India to take action immediately.

"This is more than an issue of one laptop," wrote one reader. "It's how trust of the world by individuals on the Internet is done and what the breakdown in trust is like."

Delayed deliveries, being sent the wrong products, and long refunds are becoming the norm in India's expanding e-commerce market. Students and poor families who buy expensive products rely on these systems and can be greatly disadvantaged by their breakdowns.

Consumer rights experts encourage consumers to document all transactions, pay securely, and report anomalies in a timely manner through appropriate customer care channels. Public complaints on social media have also been effective in pressurizing companies to take prompt action.

Amazon India, in its customer policy, avows to provide topmost priority for satisfaction and requests users to resolve grievances through their toll-free helpline or online redressal mechanism. The case, however, indicates the requirement of effective consumer protection measures in the event of high-value transactions.

With online purchases continuing to grow, such instances reflect the necessity for increased transparency and accountability in the manner consumer complaints are handled by online enterprises.

Dutch investment behemoth Prosus has officially written down its entire $530 million stake in Indian edtech company Byju's, citing a sharp drop in the firm's valuation. The move comes as a big setback for what was perhaps once India's most iconic startup in the education technology sector.

Byju's, at one time worth more than $22 billion, has experienced a sharp decline in the last year on the backdrop of governance troubles, delayed disclosure of financial results, jobs cuts, and growing investor scrutiny. Prosus had already flagged previously Byju's opacity and operational issues.

Even with the enormous loss, Prosus is optimistic regarding the wider education technology sector, asserting that its edtech portfolio is diversified and continues to provide promising returns.

Strong Performance in Other Investments

While Byju's disappointed, other Prosus-backed businesses have improved the company's overall performance. Food delivery app Swiggy registered a 24% revenue growth in local currency. PayU, the fintech payments business, had a 22% higher consolidated revenue at $1.1 billion in FY24. Other platforms like Meesho and ElasticRun also reported strong performances, backing up Prosus's investment thesis across emerging markets.

Edtech Faces Global Headwinds

Byju's is not the only edtech letdown in Prosus's portfolio. The company also witnessed negative returns from Skillsoft and Stack Overflow, signaling broader volatility in the world of global edtech. Post-pandemic normalization, heightened competition, and profitability issues have served to dent investor confidence in the space.

Edtech Still a Bet Worth Making

In spite of disappointments, Prosus has a positive outlook. The company reaffirmed its confidence in the long-term promise of edtech, particularly in disadvantaged markets. "While some bets haven't paid off, we remain confident in the transformative power of technology in education," said a company statement.

With meaningful capital still invested across international edtech companies, Prosus's future actions will be under close observation as a gauge for investor confidence in the sector.

The state government of Uttar Pradesh has launched the 'ITI Chalo Abhiyan', a statewide campaign for encouraging admissions in Industrial Training Institutes (ITIs) for the 2025 academic year. This program was inaugurated on May 12 and aims to enhance the technical proficiency of rural and urban youth, skill them for employment, as per flagship national initiatives such as Make in India and Digital India.

Principal Secretary of Vocational Education Dr. Hariom has directed all District Magistrates to earnestly promote the campaign, highlighting its power to make Uttar Pradesh a skill development leader. The government has launched a multi-pronged drive for awareness through school authorities, Gram Sabha meetings, and block-level meetings to ensure maximum outreach. District School Inspectors and Basic Education Officers will carry out the drive in schools, while Block Development Officers will promote grassroots support through village heads.

The progress of the campaign will be reviewed in weekly review meetings convened by Chief Development Officers. In a notable industry-academia tie-up, 149 government ITIs have joined hands with Tata Technologies to provide 11 long-term courses that are industry-relevant as per current industry needs. The Department of Vocational Education also got 27,000 youth employed through recent memorandum with 22 industry partners.

This program is the state government's collective effort to eliminate the gap between employment and education, with ITI graduates being expected to give Uttar Pradesh an economic boost. The government has distributed far-reaching publicity material in all ITIs so that more people are made aware of the scheme and the advantages it has to offer.

Indian Institute of Science (IISc), Bangalore has opened online applications for BTech Mathematics and Computing. The new course, launched in 2022, is focused on exploring an emerging area and building future leaders "who will be at the forefront of research, development, and innovation in futuristic disciplines and next-generation technologies."

Aspiring students can apply for it on iisc.ac.in/admissions.

Schedules of significance

Online application process to begin on: May 1, 2025

Online application deadline: June 6, 2025 (11:59 pm)

Reporting date to the institute: Will be intimated later

Classes to begin from: August 1, 2025

A valid Joint Entrance Examination (JEE) Advanced is required for admission to this course.

"There is a great hunger and demand in the industry for such an offering. Students from this program will be sought after as graduate students anywhere globally. IISc's presence in Bengaluru, India's technology capital will be an added benefit," the institute said on the course.

The core program, spread over four semesters, comprises six courses in Mathematics and Computing each. There will also be courses in sciences, humanities, and other streams of engineering.

Students can then choose softcore credits from the courses from the Mathematics and Computing streams and other electives from across the institute.

The institute has designed study streams in Mathematics, Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning, Computational Science, Theoretical Computer Science, Quantum Computing, Signal Processing, Computational Biology and Mathematical Finance to help the students select from the variety of courses available and channelize them towards specialisation.

In the fourth year of study, they have a choice of undertaking research or industry projects. They can even do an MTech by taking an additional year of coursework and project credits.

B.Tech in Computer Science had been equivalent to a dream career in India's IT sector for more than a decade. With the outsourcing boom and the world's need for software engineers, knowledge of codes and algorithms has been the key to success for a career. But all that has totally changed, considering how fast artificial intelligence (AI) and automation have revolutionized the industry.

Today, AI code can generate and test software and debug them, and all these functions were previously performed by trained engineers. This implies traditional IT jobs are dwindling, and even tech-savvy students' luck is at stake.

As conventional software development careers dwindle, the need for creative problem solvers is substantially increasing in another field-design and digital media. The demand has never been more critical for creative problem-solvers who can help impact the convergence of technology and human experience. This program is building a new future that will equip graduates with unique competencies to meet the needs of the new world.

With automation transforming the tech sector, engineering requires a design orientation. Professor (Dr.) Sanjay Gupta, Vice Chancellor, World University of Design, emphasizes the need to integrate design and computer science for jobs that are ready for the future.

WHY COMBINE COMPUTER SCIENCE AND DESIGN

The virtual world not just aims for efficiency but is also good at experience. Any program, site, game, or virtual interface that is being utilized is constructed out of the amalgamation of design and engineering. The top digital products in the present day do not become successful simply because coding is in the right place; they simultaneously possess intuitive, beautiful, and completely absorbing qualities.

The B.Tech in computer science and Design (CSD) is based on the premise that a tomorrow's world engineer must also be a designer. The course does not simply provide students with coding abilities; but also enables them to think creatively, design intuitive experiences, and comprehend the basics of aesthetics, storytelling, and digital interaction.

There is an entire palette of skills - from UI/UX design to game development, virtual immersive worlds, and AI-generated digital art - the crossroads of technology and design are enabling new paths of innovation.

Consider giant corporations today such as Apple and Google, which long ago realized that design plays a significant part in technology.

Apple has been the leader in user-centered design, while Google Material Design has reached classic levels in intuitive user interface designs. The graduates of the CSD will understand the same language as these firms, where design and technology converge.

It would be better to opt for a B. Tech in Computer Science and Design instead of a Bachelor of Design (B.Des) since the B.Des degrees are all about beauty and conceptualization and to make students acquire strong computational and analytical abilities with creative skills.

EXPLOSIVE JOB GROWTH IN DESIGN AND TECHNOLOGY

More importantly, as per industry reports, the design industry in India is flourishing at 23-25% year-on-year due to rising consumer expectations, digitisation reaching every sector, and a vibrant startup environment. But this is far behind the need because the demand for designers is more than 62,000 individuals annually, while trained designers of roughly 7,000 make an appearance in India every year.

For those looking at career opportunities, this gap is a goldmine. B.Tech Computer Science and Design graduates are well-placed to join fast-growing sectors like: Gaming & Animation - a sector which is going to be worth over $300 billion by 2026, and India's own gaming industry is growing fast; UI/UX Design.

As digital platforms have become the core of every business, investment in user experience design has become a 'must'; Virtual & Augmented Reality (VR/AR) - these immersive technologies are transforming industries ranging from entertainment to education to healthcare; Human-AI Interaction - for designing intuitive and ethical AI interactions to everyday life; and, Digital Media & Interactive Arts - for Digital advertising, film-making, and multimedia storytelling.

As the situation evolves over time, the need for an engineer, who performs like a designer, will be more prevalent. And this isn't the future of education-it's the future of work.

Despite a decade of progress in education, women are still severely underrepresented in Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) as a field, the UNESCO Global Education Monitoring (GEM) finds. Data from 2018-2023 shows that women comprised just 35% of global STEM graduates, with no to little progress toward reducing the gender gap over the past decade.

It attributes this stagnation to entrenched gender stereotypes and a conspicuous lack of confidence among girls in fields like mathematics — even when their grades are equal or superior to those of the boys. These early setbacks, officials say, have far-reaching consequences and influence career decisions.

The gap between the sexes is even wider in the virtual workplace.

According to GEM statistics, only 26% of data science and artificial intelligence experts are women, with representation dropping even lower in specialist fields such as cloud computing (12%) and engineering (15%). One in four women with a degree in IT in the European Union goes on to work in the digital industry, whereas more than half of their male counterparts follow suit.

"Men are taking over the digital revolution and that's a loss for society at large," GEM team member said, emphasizing the need to diversify the pool of tech talent driving the pursuit of innovation.

While 68% of countries have national policies supporting STEM education, only half of those include specific measures to encourage girls and women. In response, UNESCO has launched an advocacy brief calling for targeted reforms to make STEM education more inclusive and gender-responsive.

KEY RECOMMENDATIONS INCLUDE

Gender-sensitive career counselling in schools to help girls envision themselves in STEM and Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET).

Training school administrators and teachers to identify and counteract gender bias in the curriculum and classroom.

Developing female-led STEM clubs and mentorship programs to provide role models and experience in the real world.

Partnering with local industries and professionals to expose girls to successful women working in STEM fields.

Developing digital literacy models that ensure equal access for both female and male students to develop essential 21st-century skills.

The memo also highlights the importance of early action. From gender-neutral language in writing to introducing girls to classrooms who are female STEM professionals, the focus is to integrate science and technology in a way that is relevant and comprehensible to girls from the outset.

"Teachers are the catalysts for changing attitudes and boosting confidence. By helping girls overcome math phobia and linking STEM to their realities, we can construct a more equitable and creative future," the advocacy note concludes.

UNESCO's report is a call to wake-up for teachers, policymakers, and communities to remove systemic barriers stopping half the world's potential inventors.