Soumita Goswami
Monalisa Mishra
Md Rameez Mullick
Mehul Bhardwaj
Khaja Nabeeluddin
Goa Institute of Management
Divya Singhal
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“There can be infinite uses of the computer and of new age technology, but if teachers themselves are not able to bring it into the classroom and make it work, then it fails.” – Nancy Kassebaum.
The world is hyped today about Electric Vehicles and various other technological advancements. People everywhere are talking about whether the world has the required infrastructure to embrace future advancements in the field of technology. However, have we taken a step back to think about who will be driving these innovations in the long run? Is the world ready to develop skills and talents that can revolutionize and materialize bookish concepts into something tangible? Movements in that direction are fundamentally more important than innovations because we need “drivers” of those innovations. “Skill Shark” is an EdTech startup based in Telangana and established in early 2020, with the aim to mold the minds of the youth towards the force that will be driving our future.
Mr. Akbar Baig – CEO and Founder of Skill Shark proudly states “Skill Shark is an Ed Tech start-up focusing on imparting 21st century skills to youth. What differentiates us from the rest is our approach and motive to impart skills dedicated to making experts out of learners.”
Skill Shark focuses on skill-oriented training modules to empower 21st century youth who can be the workforce that the world needs. Their business model can be broken down into three parts:
• Focus on School Students – Skill Shark believes that fostering skills right from schools can create a four-fold impact in preparing the future workforce for sophisticated technologies.
1. Child Prodigy – Skill Shark firmly believes in the notion that every child has the ability to change the world if provided with the right kind of guidance from the very start. They look for the hidden genius in every child to expose them to the vast world of technology.
2. Vedic Mathematics – As Mathematics and technology are closely interwoven, care is taken to make the students adept at learning agile tricks that can improve the speed of calculations.
3. Flashcard Apps – Mr. Baig believes that flashcards are a really handy resource to have and can be useful at every stage of the class. They are a great way to present, practice, and recycle concepts, vocabulary, and formulae. They are in the process of developing different flashcard apps for learning centers, schools, and colleges. They also offer customized flashcard solutions.
4. Robotics Projects – The students of Skill Shark are given an opportunity to engage themselves in robotics projects thereby applying all the concepts that they have learned in class.
• Focus on Students coming from Engineering Colleges – The team at Skill Shark believes students should learn to apply engineering concepts to day-to-day problems and develop parallel thinking to solve them. As those students have already been exposed to technology, it makes sense to offer a push to them, thereby making them realize the potential that they can unleash. This also follows a four-fold impact that can be highlighted as follows:
1. Skill Development – Focus is mainly on developing skills among the students so that they can unlearn and relearn new things. This will lead them to the path of mastery in the long run.
2. Center of Excellence – Skill Shark has built centers of excellence in several colleges that can provide the students, as well as the faculties, with real-time, hands-on experience with the latest technology. This creates a sense of empowerment among the students that drives their internal motivation. They are provided with machines to experiment with and given the urge to develop their products.
3. Internships and Jobs – Being an EdTech platform, Skill Shark provides various career-building opportunities to its students that can make them stand out of the crowd.
4. Research and Development – Skill Shark engages in continuous research and development on its part so that it can bridge the gap between the students and the industries. This will make the students ready to face the corporate world with ease.
• Explorica Innovations – “We believe in promoting Innovations and Innovators globally through our Explorica Innovation Series” – Mr. Akbar Baig.
Innovation is the application of new ideas to solve problems, which are sometimes specific to a region or a context. Technological innovation is the most important driver of competitive success. Innovation is important for three main reasons: technological innovation in the market, the impact of technological innovation on society, and the importance of developing a strategy.
The team at Skill Shark proudly celebrates innovations and innovators for encouraging others to fuel the wave of innovation.
Mr. Baig states – “We are a team of experts from different domains in the 21st century. We strive towards bridging the skill gap in various generations through unique services and solutions.”
Mr. Baig is himself an Engineer in the field of Automobiles and is fully aware of the changes that are taking place in this field ranging from Electric Vehicles, Autonomous Vehicles, Motorsports, Renewable Energy, Artificial Intelligence, etc. He is a budding entrepreneur who realizes the importance of being skillful in one’s field to achieve heights of success. When asked further, he mentions – “India is a place that is booming with startups and there is no other place in the world that I would want to be in when the question of where to start building a business is raised.” This portrays the dedication with which he runs his business and the zeal with which he wants to make it available to everyone in dire need of it. Also, he mentions that the coronavirus pandemic played a massive role in pushing him toward starting an EdTech startup. He realized that people can utilize the time that they are spending at home by doing something that might add to the value of society. All the above factors culminated and encouraged him to start something on his own.
The business model of Skill Shark is designed to reach out to potential candidates and make them ready for the future. They will be the leaders of tomorrow who will drive innovations. Skill Shark follows a three-way approach to this that has been beautifully explained by Mr. Baig.
1. Innovate – The very first step is to think “out of the box”. Skill Shark enforces this idea by motivating students and faculties to come up with brand-new ideas that can have an impact on society.
2. Achieve – The innovations by the students can easily be materialized in the Centers of Excellence that Skill Shark has built in several Engineering Colleges. This hands-on experience will build confidence in the minds of people about the innovation that they have come up with. This will provide them with a live demonstration of their invention and how it can be used for the greater good of future generations.
3. Lead – As the innovators can witness their products being successful, this will turn them into probable leaders of tomorrow. They will be the “drivers” of technology thereby fostering the need for technological improvements.
The business model of Skill Shark mainly takes care of SDG 9, SDG 4, and SDG 8. These SDGs are interconnected with SDG 5 and SDG 10 indirectly. SDG 9 talks about the industry, innovation, and infrastructure. Skill Shark, through its operation, has enabled people to engage themselves in innovations, thereby trying to reduce the gap between the skills that an industry values and the skillsets possessed by an individual. SDG 4 talks about “Quality Education” and Skill Shark focuses on the same, by imparting youth with the knowledge that can serve to be beneficial for society. Also, as stated by Mr. Baig, he plans to employ more people from Telangana, so that local employment can be boosted. This points toward gender equality and reduced inequalities among employees (fostering employability).
The business has been involved in identifying skill gaps and facilitating the learning process. It is invested in making people ready to face the developments related to the fields of EVs, renewable energy sources, and sustainable development. The business is focused on reaching out, not only to Engineers and school students, but also mechanics, technicians, and people engaged in blue-collar jobs, to make them aware of the developments in technology.
The business measures its success by understanding the present situation and mindset of the people, thereby educating them on the various advancements in the field of technology. They have touched upon the lives of many people and is continuously growing at a tremendous rate.
The way they are serving society is commendable, as a result of which they are gaining a lot of recognition outside India. They also received the AcceleratorsX award, which appreciates initiatives that aim at making one’s city accelerate to the “Future”.
As mentioned by Mr. Baig, Skill Shark has signed 40+ strategic MOUs with universities, startups, and a lot of other stakeholders. Skill Shark, as an EdTech startup, has upscaled more than 20,000 people and has touched upon the lives of nearly 0.6 million students in both India and Africa. Skill Shark provides its students with a kit that serves as the preliminary guide to the world of innovations.
It is constantly in the process of scaling its business. Mr. Baig states that as it is not a product-based company, the major challenge that it faces is in terms of its scalability. They are constantly keeping an eye on their competitors and trying to devise ways that can help them take their business to newer limits.
As correctly mentioned by John Adriance – “Educating and supporting our youth is the best way to invest in a prosperous future.” Skill Shark, from its inception, has created wonders in the field of providing quality and skillful education to the youth. Investing in the youth can be the best thing that a business can do because they are fresh talents coupled with the passion to learn new things.
“My faith is in the younger generation, the modern generation. They will work out the whole problem, like lions”- Swami Vivekananda.
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Skill Shark has contributed to the general public's development from its inception in 2020. Before the pandemic took control, Skill Shark had already reached out to 1,000 students from 5+ Engineering colleges like Methodist College, Anurag Group of Institutions, and so on from Hyderabad, itself. During the pandemic, the company resorted to teaching its content via live programs (80%) and recorded courses (20%). They have also conducted webinars and online programs for more than 5,000 people. By the time the pandemic took a backseat, more than 6,000 people had been trained in the field of Electric Vehicles (EV's) and sustainability.
Skill shark does not only target the younger generation but they firmly believe that people engaged in blue-collar jobs, like mechanics and technicians, should also be educated about the recent developments in technology. They conducted a program in the Solapur Mechanic Association with 30+ garage owners to know their thoughts and ideas about EV's. They have upskilled 300+ mechanics from Hyderabad, Mumbai, Solapur, Pune, and Delhi.
Having targeted the youth and people from blue-collar jobs, they turned their attention to people in the fields of diploma, technician mechanics, and engineers. They hosted the “EV Exploration Challenge” at Pimpri Chinchwad Polytechnic College to educate people about the recent developments in the field of EV's.
Inspired by the work that Skill Shark was doing, they started getting requests from Sunyani Technical University, Ho Technical University, and KTU in Ghana, West Africa. They have a dedicated MOU with STU to develop a Center of Excellence for learning and development activities pre 2025.
They have also set up 10+ incubation and training centers in Nigeria and Nairobi till date.
We have drawn high inspiration from the work that Skill Shark is engaged in and we hope that they will continue to touch the lives of people in this way.
