Bridging the gap between education and workplace

Meet Delhi-based Swati Ganguly, an educator for 25 years — founded 'Edufiq' an edtech startup that imparts Artificial Intelligence (AI) education through game-based and experiential learning.

She is a, Google certified educator, Microsoft Innovative Educator and a certified auditor from National Accreditation Board for Education and Training (NABET). Swati awarded as the Women Entrepreneur of the year 2019 by All India Council for Robotics and Automation (AICRA), Swati's leadership skills and her management styles make her a distinguished entrepreneur.

"It's courseware was targeted at public and private K-12 schools, and was designed for children from Classes V-X. Edufiq's pedagogy was aimed at making learning more engaging, collaborative, and outcome-driven in order to make students job-ready," said Swati

21st century learner has to be groomed and made job-ready to compete with global standards. So, we wanted to take up something that could bridge the gap between education and the workplace. India's finest AI courseware was specifically designed keeping V to X standard students in mind.

"Our focus is on the method of teaching. We give students the environment to find their element. In the gamified programme, we introduce them to the concepts and fundamentals of AI. The courseware is designed to show the problems that exist in our world today, and how AI can solve them. They learn while playing a game in a 3D immersive environment like Minecraft," she adds

Swati Ganguly believes that technology would bring about a revolutionary transformation in education and hence chose technology as the medium for change. An enthusiastic leader, she stands tall in her field with a purpose to influence policy changes in the Indian education sector.

The startup has partnered with 12 schools, and is planning to double that by the end of the year. Edufiq's first phase of expansion will cover 25,000 students in CBSE schools across Bengaluru, Hyderabad, Mumbai, Pune, Delhi-NCR and Punjab.

Excerpts from an interview with Swati Ganguly

Tell us about Edufiq

Edufiq is a game-based and experiential learning platform, engaging children in the age group of eight to18 years, and has instructors from high-performing academic backgrounds to teach and train children on courses of Computer Science, Artificial Intelligence, and upcoming technologies.

It imparts AI education to Classes V, VI, and VII via a game-based learning approach, wherein the concepts of AI are taught through a gaming platform called Minecraft. While the students of Class VIII, IX, and X are taught advanced concepts of AI through experiential learning programmes aided by the trade-mark Microprocessor Kit developed by Edufiq.

What is the idea behind Edufiq?

The idea behind the creation of Edufiq was to provide children with innovative AI courseware that makes their learning experience engaging and exciting through a game-based learning and experiential approach.

To bring this idea to life, tech expert, Osborne Dsouza (Co-Founder and Director) and, Veteran educationist, and I came together to create Edufiq.

Tell us about the shift from offline to online

We do see that the shift from offline to online education was not systematic rather it was forced upon us by Covid-19 situation. We faced a lot of roadblocks in the process, but by restructuring our approach towards teaching, and learning we are overcoming those obstacles.

Currently, we are looking at a situation where learning won't rely just on offline or online, but it will be a mix of both. We will have to use the technology mindfully to provide the students experiential learning. It will take some time to make the whole process glitch-free, but we need to understand that this is the future of education. Online education opens a new world of learning for students and creates a new web of sharing knowledge through the internet.

Where does the education sector stands in this situation?

The education sector currently seeing a surge in the edtech brands they are here to bring in a crossbreed way of teaching and learning. The new hybrid model is going to be an amalgamation of offline, online, and AI all coming together. The students will get the best of everything when it comes to gaining knowledge and developing logical mental abilities through that.

Looking at the current scenario where virtual learning is the only option; do you think it's the right time to reshape the education system?

Of course! Our education system does require an upgrade. When schools and colleges are closed due to the Pandemic, virtual learning is the only option for children to continue with their education. The teacher can impart knowledge and students can also clarify their doubts through online learning platforms.

In this changed scenario, where children are spending more time in front of the screen it is imperative that this new-age learning becomes a constructive, productive, and yet fun activity. Children should be taught how to adapt to the changing times and prepare for the future with the assistance of trusted specialists.