BalrajLarsen & Toubro (L&T), an industrial behemoth, has penetrated India’s booming ed-tech sector with the launch of L&T EduTech. It’s a portal that will provide courses in the engineering and technology domains.
The new venture will be a technology-driven, industry-led, application-based, practical learning platform with a robust technological backbone that will cover the whole spectrum of engineering and technology disciplines to assist produce industry-ready talent.
Sabyasachi Das has been appointed as CEO of the company’s new venture. Das was a senior vice president and member of Cognizant’s executive leadership team (ELT) before joining L&T.
Das commented on his appointment, “It is exciting to join such a big and reputed brand like L&T and to be given the reins to lead a new venture that aims to skill India’s youth to enhance their employability.”
L&T EduTech plans to provide three verticals which include College Connect, Professional and Vocational Skilling, as well as Assessment and Certification processes. While College Connect will focus on providing students with hands-on, application-based learning, Professional Skilling will encourage aspiring professionals to accelerate their careers in their respective fields, the company noted during the platform’s launch. Vocational Skilling comprises skill certification programs proposed by industry experts to maximize employability.
L&T plans to upskill engineers and support its multinational corporation using the ed-tech platform. The faculty would be picked from industry, academia, and L&T, according to the company, to impart their experience and knowledge over hybrid learning and skill training platforms.
Larsen & Toubro, which has a market capitalization of approximately Rs 2.51 lakh crores, is a multinational engineering, procurement, and construction (EPC) company with operations in over 50 countries. As the ed-tech sector in India keeps growing, big corporations have placed investments in the sector in order to keep up with the evolving business landscape.
Reliance Industries (RIL), the oil-to-telecom conglomerate, announced in 2018 that it would purchase a controlling interest in Bengaluru-based ed-tech startup Embibe. Hero Group also entered the ed-tech space in April of this year with Hero Vired.
The country’s ed-tech sector has flourished substantially within the last 18 months, and India now boasts five unicorns. This year alone, three ed-tech startups, upGrad, Vedantu, and Eruditus, have joined the unicorn club. According to reports, Indian ed-tech startups attracted around $3.2 billion in funding in the first three quarters of 2021.
Given the uncertainties surrounding the reopening of schools, universities, and other educational institutions, ed-tech companies are likely to experience a surge in user base and venture capital funding.