Victoria leads the way for edtech collaboration with India at DIDAC 2023

Bengaluru: With over 70 delegates at DIDAC 2023, Victoria (Australia) and India are advancing their education engagement at all education levels. The Victorian delegation was the largest international delegation at DIDAC. Victoria’s DIDAC exhibition featured products and services from 19 organisations and participation from 12 leading female school principals in India as part of the Victorian government’s Women in Schools Leadership (WISL) exchange programme.

“Victoria is a global education hub, with Melbourne ranked 4th among the world’s best student cities. There are very few jurisdictions in the world that can boast Victoria’s experience, excellence, commitment, and comprehensive education quality at all levels,” said Michelle Wade, Commissioner for South Asia for the State Government of Victoria.

The state of Victoria is about the size of Pune, with a population of slightly over 6.5 million. Victoria is home to eight of the world’s top 400 universities. Earlier this year, Deakin University, from Victoria, achieved a historic milestone as the first university globally to unveil plans for a global campus in India.

She added, “The relationship between India, Australia, and Victoria has never been stronger. We look forward to more edtech collaborations between Indian and Victorian organisations to support the upskilling of India’s 400 million millennials.” Among the participating edtech organisations are HEX, Australian Council for Education Research, SoaringEd, iCanStudy, Maxme, and Early Childhood Professional Services Australia.

Baradhazhvar Balaji, CEO of SoaringEd, said, “Our founders have a strong Indian heritage and take immense pride in our work in India, with over 100 professionals currently employed in India. Our attendance at DIDAC 2022 resulted in an exciting partnership with Yagen Robotics.”

Renata Sguario, Founder and CEO, Maxme, a global provider of tech-enabled human skill learning and development experiences, said, “Expanding into a dynamic global market such as India, an emerging global economy that promises to skill the rest of the world, is critical to the successful delivery of Maxme’s vision.”

According to the latest research, 73 per cent of companies in India are investing in education/up-skilling compared to the global average of 55 per cent, and 88 per cent of Indians believe that up-skilling is necessary to future-proof their career. “With India having the largest population of youth globally, where 50 per cent are less than 25 years of age, we are focusing on education as well as early-to-career individuals across the business sectors,” Sguario added.

Sandra Yelen, Director, Early Childhood Professional Services Australia, states, “We have cultivated longstanding partnerships with numerous Indian childcare providers and institutions over the years, dedicated to fostering learning opportunities and facilitating training programmes. The collaboration with Indian counterparts has been a source of immense satisfaction, as it has enabled us to deliver a wide range of Australian childcare programmes to early childhood providers and schools in India. Presenting at DIDAC in 2023 allowed us to share our expertise and explore partnership opportunities.” Michael Tsai, iCanStudy Co-founder and CEO, said, “We offer the world’s first cognitive retraining program with AI feedback and reporting to enhance self-regulated higher-order thinking skills. Starting with India, we would like to empower high school, university, and professional learners to become fundamentally ‘smarter’. Our goals fully align with both the NEP and the G20 goals, so we are here to build long-lasting partnerships with organisations here.”