Edtech company upGrad pushes big ticket courses in expansion of offline centres to 40 this fiscal
Skill development and higher education platform upGrad is stepping up its offline learning push, with plans to increase the number of 11 pilot centers it has to 40 by the end of the financial year, according to a senior executive at the company.
In doing so, we try to focus on higher priced products. ₹80,000 to ₹1.2 lakh, mostly focused on artificial intelligence and machine learning. These are short format courses specifically aimed at offline centres.
“These are high-engagement products where users seek face-to-face consultation rather than online or over a video call to resolve their questions and concerns,” said Manish Kalra, who heads upGrad’s offline business. Mint.
This move by Temasek-backed upGrad is in line with other companies in the education technology sector increasing their offline presence. Start-ups like Unacademy and PhysicsWallah have ventured offline with organizations they call Unacademy Centers and Vidyapeeth respectively.
In fact, PhysicsWallah’s remarkable red herring pamphlet ₹3,480 crore from the public market showed that almost half of its revenue came from Vidyapeeth centres.
Even for UpGrad, the company started with a completely online game that allows students to take classes outside of their current jobs and work on classes whenever possible.
“The offline growth of edtech companies reflects a shift towards securing outcomes through structured learning environments and personalized feedback, while leveraging the efficiency of a technology-first hybrid approach,” said Amit Nawka, technology deals partner at PwC India. “Physical touchpoints help these companies increase retention, improve unit economics, and build trust with both parents and students.”
upGrad is offline
The company started its offline efforts earlier this year with a pilot of what it calls Learning Support Centers, or LSCs, and now has 11 operating across India. “We went into this with the assumption that this would help us achieve higher conversions and better efficiency for the organization,” Kalra said.
LSCs are offline hubs where the company brings together local talent as well as industry professionals and subject matter experts to train early career professionals and recent graduates in high-demand fields. All of this is combined with what the company calls “guided internships” with companies, activities in which students engage in project-based learning.
The average age of people taking upGrad’s LSCs is between 21 and 26 years old. “The target group is people who are seniors and are unsure if they can find a job,” Kalra said. “This includes people who graduated two years ago, don’t have a job of their choice and want to improve their skills.”
Currently, upGrad’s most popular offline courses are on artificial intelligence and data science, accounting for at least 60% of enrollments. The next demand is for full-stack development and digital marketing courses. “We will be bringing new courses in January and then in April that will be ready with more features,” Kalra said. “We are also looking at what jobs are coming to India and what are the trending skills to enable them.”
Students at LSCs are also given mock interviews, taught how to structure their thoughts and process them to answer questions appropriately.
upGrad’s skill development programs are especially popular with students who have English fluency problems. In fact, language learning among edtech companies has seen a rise, with various funds raised aimed at customers who view English as a means of upward mobility.
South, west focus
The company’s 11 LSCs are spread across the country in places like Bhilwara in Rajasthan as well as Bhopal and Indore in Madhya Pradesh. “Indore is actually one of our top five centres. Third after Bengaluru,” Kalra said.
The company is planning a gradual expansion, focusing first on south India, then the west, and then adding more centers in the north and then the east.
“For 40 centers, we are focusing primarily on the south and a little bit on the west,” Kalra said. “We don’t mind going to places like Belgaum or Hubli because if I can meet the demand there, then these students don’t have to migrate to other cities and incur higher costs.”
money control reported Last week, upGrad was in talks to acquire Unacademy at a valuation of $300-400 million.
