SUMMER INTERNSHIP

REPORT

“To study the student’s perception towards e-learning

during Pandemic in India”
done at
 ACKNOWLEDGEMENT
The success and final outcome of this project required a lot of guidance and assistance from
many people and I am extremely privileged to have got this all along the completion of my
project. The internship opportunity I had with Unschool was a great platform for acquiring new
skills and personality development. Therefore, I consider myself as a fortunate individual as I got
the opportunity to be a part of it. I take this opportunity to convey sincere thanks and gratitude to
all those who have directly or indirectly helped and contributed towards the completion of this
project.
I take great here great opportunity to express my sincere and great sense of gratitude towards
‘Mr. Saurav Datta – OE’ for providing me an opportunity to do the project work in Unschool and
giving me all support and guidance which made me complete the project duly.
I owe my deep gratitude towards my internal mentor, who took keen interest on my project work
and guided me all along, till the completion of my project work by providing all the necessary
information and guiding me despite being loaded with the tasks and activities.
I perceive as this opportunity as a big milestone in my career development. I will strive to use
gained knowledge and skills in best possible way and will continue to work on improving my
skills in order to achieve my desired career objective.
CERTIFICATE FROM THE COMPANY
 Table of Contents

ACKNOWLEDGEMENT....................................................................................................................2

CERTIFICATE FROM THE COMPANY..........................................................................................3

PROJECT SYNOPSIS..........................................................................................................................6

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY...................................................................................................................7

INTRODUCTION................................................................................................................................9

1. INTRODUCTION TO THE PROBLEM/OPPORTUNITY..........................................................................9

2. OBJECTIVE OF THE STUDY............................................................................................................9
3. STATEMENT OF THE PROBLEM.....................................................................................................9
4. PURPOSE OF THE STUDY...............................................................................................................9
5. LIMITATION OF THE STUDY..........................................................................................................9

LITERATURE REVIEW...................................................................................................................10

ABOUT THE SECTOR..........................................................................................................................10

ABOUT THE COMPANY.......................................................................................................................26
COMPANIES PRODUCT / SERVICE.......................................................................................................29
APPLICATION OF MARKETING TOOLS...............................................................................................32

DATA ANALYSIS AND INTERPRETATION.................................................................................35

FINDINGS AND CONCLUSION.......................................................................................................41

PRACTICAL LEARNING AND CONTRIBUTION.........................................................................43

ANNEXTURE.....................................................................................................................................46

REFERENCE.....................................................................................................................................53
 EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

Designation as an Intern: Marketing and Operations Intern

Allocated Area: Hyderabad
Role performed: Generating quality leads and sales revenue, Marketing and promoting courses,
Recruit and Hire campus ambassadors, Train and developed Ambassador teams, Advertising and
Branding.

WORK SUMMARY-
Task Performed:

1) Induction  Day 1 & 2 , via Zoom webinar by Ms. Huda Fathima.

2) Allocation of Task for Month June  For the next 3 weeks, Interns given the
task and target to achieve within the end of the months. Interns were Youth
Influencers for the UnSchool ULead Programe. Problem solving sessions were
also given. Training sessions were scheduled to guide how to pitch customers
and lead generation.
3) Mentor Assigned  Another mentor allotted to the interns on the basis of
successfully hitting the leader board. All interns become Youth Leader and the
task of generating leads for hiring interns for the formation of my own team.
4) Allocation of Task for the Month July  For the next 5 week, we had been
provided with the details to share with our team and coupon codes for them to
use while pitching the customers. Sessions were taken to understand and align
with the team members. Trained interns on lead generation techniques and
pitching methods so that they can get positive conversions for the organisation.
5) Allocation of task for the Month August  Via zoom call update about the
progress of the task were monitored.

Opportunities: -
Due to this pandemic, e-learning platform have seen positive outlook in the future. Virtual reality
has become the new normal which stimulated the students to pursue online education and
according to the data it has been observed that e-learning platforms are much more suitable for
the new skill development for students and specially working professional.

Milestone to be achieved-
To achieve the target provided by the company before August 15, 2021.

Conclusion: -
Pandemic has opened a door of opportunities for e-learning platform. As people were stuck at
home, they came up with several ideas to use this time for the personal growth and e-learning
platform provide the numerous courses to upskill individuals to inculcate necessary skills that is
to be required by the companies in future. Although it will take time for customers to get used to
this change as there are barriers as well that has hindered the growth of this segment in EdTech
sector.
 INTRODUCTION

1. Introduction to the Problem/Opportunity

E-learning was started in early 19’s still the impact and customer base is low. Customers
are hesitant and don’t usually opt for online learning. Thus, I wanted to understand the
reason and the perception of the students towards e-learning also how covid has impacted
their perception.
2. Objective of the study
 To understand the EdTech market and its segments in India.
 To know the impact of pandemic on e-learning.
 To understand the perception of students towards e-learning.
 To speculate the future of e-learning and factors responsible for its growth.
3. Statement of the Problem
The problem of the study is to understand and determine the perception of the students
who has gone through online learning.
4. Purpose of the study
The main purpose of the study is to understand the mindset of the customers and what are
the factors that have shaped their perception towards e-learning.
5. Limitation of the study
The responses were taken only 50 respondents. The accuracy cannot be determined as the
respondents were chosen according to the convenience of the researcher.
 LITERATURE REVIEW

About the Sector

EDTECH SECTOR
The EdTech (education + technology firms) business is attracting big money from investors as
lakhs of students—from school to colleges—have moved to online classes several hours a day.
EdTech business is expected to grow exponentially in coming years.

Before Pandemic
Online learning is an apt platform to present a world-class learning experience to the ever-
expanding student and workforce. There is no denying that each year a limited number of
seats are available at leading universities. Many lose out on them as well as on the chance of
getting quality education. Online education has changed this phenomenon. Many online
websites have opened up access to live and interactive, anywhere learning in collaboration
with premier management schools. The faculty is best in class and the students gain
knowledge from seasoned stalwarts across industries. Simple to use interface, virtual field
trips, email, virtual labs, electronic textbooks, and free online resources are giving them
excellent global educational experiences.
 5.8M students enrolled in online courses in 2016? This is a 263% increase over the
last twelve years, making India the third largest online learning market with 1.3
million learners right after the US and China.
 There was a 175% increase in the cost of education from 2008 to 2014.
 Courses online are 53% cheaper than offline alternatives.

After Pandemic
EdTech, which was already clocking a healthy double-digit, year-on-year growth before
Covid-19, suddenly got a massive boost with inflow of investments, acquisition,
upgradation in offerings and more players quickly shifting and adding students thanks to
one of the lowest Internet data charges.
The COVID-19 crisis has been a major catalyst in enhancing the learning process not just
for students and educators, but also for investors and EdTech start-ups. The year before
 the pandemic saw already high growth and adoption in education technology, with global
EdTech investments reaching €15.87 billion in 2019.

Market Size
EdTech market size in india in 2020, with projection for 2025 by segment (in billion U.S.

dollars)
(Source: statista.com)

In 2020, the kindergarten to twelfth grade education market had a market value of 1.16
billion U.S. dollars. in comparison, the skill development market was worth less than 500
million U.S. dollars. In 2020, the whole market was worth 2.8 billion, however, by 2025 this
is expected to change drastically, increasing the overall market size to 10.4 billion. The
kindergarten to twelfth grade market is expected to stay the most valuable, followed by the
test preparation and online certification market.
Market Share
In India, the education market stood at US$ 100 billion in 2016 and is expected to reach US$
180 billion by 2020. Introduction of technology has led to increasing acceptance of online
learning in India.
As of 2016, India witnessed a growth in users with 40% of the total population using the
Internet. The internet user base is expected to reach 735 million by 2021 which highlighting a
positive outlook for online education in India. With the increasing adoption rate of
technology among the youth and rise in the number of smartphone users, the country will
witness an incredible pace of internet growth.
The online education market stood at US$ 247 million in 2016 with around 1.57 million paid
users that is expected to expand at a 52% CAGR to reach US$ 1.96 billion in 2021 driven by
increased consumer adoption, improvements in offerings and changes in business models.
The paid user base is expected to increase from 1.57 million users in 2016 to ~9.6 million in
2021. Out of 1400 EdTech companies in the world, India has the second-highest number with
327 companies (10%).

Sector Contribution to GDP

India's Ed-tech sector has seen an investment of USD 2.1 billion in the calendar year 2020
compared to USD 1.7 billion in the entire previous decade, according to a research report.
The Ed-tech industry is poised to reach USD 12 billion by 2025, said Ed-tech sector thematic
research report covering the e-learning industry of Anand Rathi Advisors Limited (ARAL).
The report also discusses the challenges faced by various stakeholders, the National
Education Policy 2020 and other government initiatives that help the sector thrive.

Sector Composition CAGR

Pre-School Market: Expected to grow at 23% CAGR between 2017-22
FY25.
Higher Education: Private universities with 39% share in FY19; US$ 35.03 billion by 2025.
Private Education: Private coaching sector stood at Rs 51,712 crore (US$ 7.5 billion) in
2018.
Sector & Sector Composition growth/de-growth catalyst
1. Investment in education
 100% FDI (automatic route) is allowed in the Indian education sector. From April 2000
to September 2020, Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) equity inflows stood at US$
3,849.20 million.
 An estimated investment of US$ 200 billion is required to achieve the government’s
target of 30% GER from the education sector by 2020.
 The Indian government is going to spend Rs. 10 crore (US$ 13.63 million) on model ITI
institutions, focusing on youth skills development. Under this initiative, ~15,000 model
ITIs will be established across the nation.
 In April 2021, Education India—India’s academic partner and a start-up in the field of
education—is set to invest Rs. 20 crore (US$ 2.4 million) in School Acquisition Module.
The company is planning to have more than 200 schools on lease Module until 2023.

2. Policy Support
 Education sector in India remains to be a strategic priority of the Government. Skill India
Mission 2015 aimed at skilling around 400 million youths in the country by 2022.
 In May 2020, Government launched PM eVIDYA, a programme for multi-mode access
to digital/online education. Other initiatives to be launched include Manodarpan, New
National Curriculum and Pedagogical framework, National Foundational Literacy and
Numeracy Mission.
 On July 29, 2020, National Education Policy 2020 was approved by the Cabinet.

3. Immense Growth Potential

 India has the world’s largest population of about 500 million people in the age bracket of
5-24 years and this provides a great opportunity for the education sector.
 The Indian education sector is set for strong growth, buoyed by a strong demand for
quality education.
 The education industry in India is estimated to reach US$ 144 billion by 2020 from US$
97.8 billion in 2016.
 As per the Union Budget 2021-22, the government announced that >15,000 schools, 100
new Sainik schools and 750 Eklavya model residential schools in tribal areas will be
qualitatively strengthened to include all components of the National Education Policy
2021.

4. Public Private Partnership

 Setting up formal educational institutes under PPP and enlarging the existing ones.
 In the case of PPP, the Government is considering different models like basic
infrastructure model, outsourcing model, equity/hybrid model and reverse outsourcing
model.
 Institutions of national importance like NIDs will be able to establish PPP and collaborate
with research labs across the country.

5. Opportunities for Foreign Investors

 There are more opportunities for private and foreign companies that are involved in
academic through financial partnership with Indian institutions.
 Future opportunity of setting up campuses of foreign universities in India.
 The Michael and Susan Dell Foundation announced an investment of US$ 100,074 in
Shiksha Financial Services India Pvt Ltd and
 provided loans to private schools.
 A US$ 10 million Development Impact Bond has been started by the British Asian Trust
to provide education to marginalised children in India.

6. Opportunities for Innovative Services

 With tutoring in schools expected to grow from US$ 8 billion in 2011 to US$ 26 billion
in 2020, there lies a huge market for coaching and tutoring services that can be imparted
through innovative means, mainly the internet.
 RISE INDIA aims at training 100,000 drivers over a period of 3 years and impart training
to 2.5 lakh drivers in the next 7 years.
Government Initiatives & FDI
1. Union Budget 2020-21
 The government allocated an expenditure budget of Rs. 38,350.65 crore (US$ 5.28
billion) for higher education and Rs. 54,873 crore (US$ 7.56 billion) for school education
and literacy. The government also allocated Rs. 3,000 crore (US$ 413.12 million) under
Rashtriya Uchchatar Shiksha Abhiyan (RUSA).

2. National Education Policy (NEP), 2020

 On July 29, 2020, Union Cabinet approved the National Education Policy (NEP) 2020,
with an aim to transform India into an energetic knowledge society and global knowledge
superpower by making school and college education more holistic, flexible,
multidisciplinary, suited to 21st century needs and aimed at bringing out the unique
capabilities of each student.

3. NEP 2020 Implementation

 Gujarat aims to become the first state to implement NEP 2020 with a task force to create
a road map for implementing the new policy and adding changes from primary to
secondary and higher education.

4. Pradhan Mantri Kaushal Vikas Yojana

 On January 15, 2021, the third phase of Pradhan Mantri Kaushal Vikas Yojana
(PMKVY) was launched in 600 districts with 300+ skill courses. Spearheaded by the
Ministry of Skill Development and Entrepreneurship, the third phase will focus on new-
age and COVID-related skills. PMKVY 3.0 aims to train eight lakh candidates.

5. Partnerships with International Agencies

 To ensure that skilling fulfils the aspiration of the people at local level including
Panchayat level, the Ministry of Skill Development and Entrepreneurship is laying
foundation to empower the District.
 To strengthen resource support at the District-level, the Ministry introduced the Mahatma
Gandhi National Fellowship (MGNF), where fellows will be posted in the districts for
 two years will work with the district administration to create specific ‘State Skill
Development Plans’.
 Ministry of Education is implementing the ‘Scheme of Vocationalisation of School
Education’ under the umbrella of ‘SamagraShiksha-an integrated scheme for school
education’.
 The National Skill Development Corporation, under the Ministry, signed MoUs with
eight countries—Japan, UAE, Sweden, Saudi Arabia, Sweden, Russia, Finland and
Morocco for cooperation in the field of vocational education and training.

6. Ayurveda PGs to perform surgeries

 In November 2020, the Indian Central Medicine Council (CCIM), which governs medical
study and practise of Ayurveda, amended the 2016 regulations of the Indian Medicine
Central Council to allow Ayurveda PG students to practise general surgery.

7. Jawahar Navodaya Vidyalayas

 On October 6, 2020, Union Minister of Education and Union Minister of Minority
Affairs jointly laid the foundation stones for a new Jawahar Navodaya Vidyalayas at
Pakur-II (Jharkhand) to provide quality education to children free of cost from Class 6th
to 12th.

8. Telecom Connectivity
 In the Union Budget 2021-22, the government allocated Rs. 9,000 crore (US$ 1.23
billion) to boost telecom connectivity in the country that includes high-speed optical fibre
cables or satellite-based broadband services across 2.2 lakh village panchayats in the next
financial year.

9. Integrated Teacher Training Programme NISHTHA

 In 2020-21, NISHTHA - Phase II was launched at the secondary level. Due to COVID-19
situations, NISHTHA Online has been created by customising modules for online
delivery.
 As per the Union Budget 2021-22, under the NISHTHA training programme, ~5.6
million teachers will be trained in 2020-21.

10. Ayurveda institutions

 In November 2020, Prime Minister, Mr. Narendra Modi dedicated two future-ready
Ayurveda institutions—the Institute of Teaching & Research in Ayurveda (ITRA),
Jamnagar, and the National Institute of Ayurveda (NIA), Jaipur, to forge interdisciplinary
collaborations to give a contemporary boost to Ayurveda.

11. Alternative Academic Calendar (AAC)

 To engage students at home amid the coronavirus pandemic through educational
activities, an alternative academic calendar for students, parents and teachers for all
Classes I-XII has been developed by the NCERT under the guidance of the Ministry of
Education.
 Alternative Academic Calendar (AAC) for four weeks and the next eight weeks for
primary and upper primary stages had been released.
 The AAC Calendar provides guidelines to teachers on the use of various technological
tools and social media tools available for imparting education in fun-filled and interesting
ways. However, it has taken into account, the varying levels of access to such tools —
mobiles, radio, television, and various other social media platforms.

12. Foundational Mathematics course

 In October 2020, National Skill Development Corporation (NSDC) collaborated with
Khan Academy India to offer free courses on mathematics foundation and numeral
literacy skills for Indian youths.

13. India and Australia cooperation

 The Union Minister for Skill Development and Entrepreneurship, Dr. Mahendra Nath
Pandey, and Mr. Barry O'Farrell, Australian High Commissioner, participated in a virtual
meeting to operationalise and implement VET cooperation to promote development of
 occupational standards in order to strengthen cooperation in skill development and
vocational education and training (VET) between India and Australia.

14. STARS
 In October 2020, the union cabinet chaired by Prime Minister Mr. Narendra Modi
approved implementation of the Strengthening Teaching-Learning and Results for States
(STARS) project with a total cost of Rs. 5,718 crore (US$ 775.99 million); the project
will also receive financial support worth US$ 500 million from the World Bank.
 STARS project would be implemented as a new Centrally Sponsored Scheme under the
Department of School Education and Literacy, Ministry of Education (MOE).
 The project covers six states—Himachal Pradesh, Rajasthan, Maharashtra, Madhya
Pradesh, Kerala and Odisha.

15. MyNEP2020 Platform

 On April 1, 2021, Union Education Minister launched the ‘MyNEP2020’ Platform of the
NCTE Web Portal. The platform seeks to invite suggestions/inputs/memberships from
stakeholders for preparing drafts for development of the National Professional Standards
for Teachers (NPST) and the National Mission for Mentoring Program Membership
(NMM). The ‘MyNEP2020’ platform will be operational from April 1, 2021 to May 15,
2021.

16. Guidelines for continued education of migrant children

 To ensure that skilling fulfils the aspiration of the people at local level including
Panchayat level, the Ministry of Skill Development and Entrepreneurship is laying
foundation to empower the District.
 To strengthen resource support at the District-level, the Ministry introduced the Mahatma
Gandhi National Fellowship (MGNF), where fellows will be posted in the districts for
two years will work with the district administration to create specific ‘State Skill
Development Plans’.
  Ministry of Education is implementing the ‘Scheme of Vocationalisation of School
Education’ under the umbrella of ‘SamagraShiksha-an integrated scheme for school
education’.
 The National Skill Development Corporation, under the Ministry, signed MoUs with
eight countries—Japan, UAE, Sweden, Saudi Arabia, Sweden, Russia, Finland and
Morocco for cooperation in the field of vocational education and training.

17. National Digital Education Architecture (NDEAR)

 Under the Union Budget 2021-22, the government has placed major emphasis on
strengthening the country’s digital infrastructure for education by setting up the National
Digital Educational Architecture (NDEAR).

18. E9 Initiative
 In April 2021, India along with Bangladesh, Brazil, China, Egypt, Indonesia, Mexico,
Nigeria and Pakistan joined the United Nation’s E9 initiative. E9 initiative is the first of a
three-phased process to co-create an initiative on digital learning and skills, targeting
marginalised children and youth, especially girls. The initiative aims to accelerate
recovery and advance the Sustainable Development Goal 4 agenda by driving rapid
change in education systems.

Growth Factor
 Low cost of online education
 Availability of quality education
 Traditional model was unable to fulfill additional demands
 Lack of educational infrastructure and qualified faculty
 Digital-friendly government policies
 Course demand among working professionals and jobseekers
 Growth in Internet and smartphone penetration

Segmentation
The digital learning market in India is categorized into three segments: K-12, professional
courses, enterprise training and other modes of training.
 1. K-12
 The K-12 segment is the largest and is the most attractive segment for digital learning
providers in India with more than 250 million enrolments. Digital learning in the K-
12 space comprises sub-segments such as smart class solutions, online tutoring,
online preparation for exams, simulation and virtual reality, STEM learning, AR and
robotics and assessment.
2. Professional Courses
 The global online professional education market is expected to exceed US$ 9 billion
by 2020, rising at CAGR of 14% between 2016 and 2020. Professionals are seeking
expertise through online courses being offered by various companies to elevates their
career paths. Employability is another key factor that is considered by learners
seeking online professional education. Big data, project management, mobile app
development, cloud computing and digital marketing are some courses that are
undertaken by professionals for upskilling.
3. Enterprise Training
 Corporate training is classified into two broad sub-segments—technical training and
professional and management development. The objective of technical training is to
impart technical skills required to successfully complete an assigned task; and
professional and management development includes training in business
communication and etiquette, cross-functional skills, leadership development etc.

CHALLENGES
 Insufficient digital infrastructure
 While the government has been making efforts to create and improve the digital
infrastructure across the country; however, there has not been any noteworthy
progress. According to the World Economic Forum, in India, only 15 out of 100
households have access to the Internet and mobile broadband is a privilege for only a
few students, with only 5.5 subscriptions for every 100 people. Further, at present
broadband reaches just ~600 corridors, largely in and around the top 50-100 Indian
cities, leaving rural areas with poor connectivity.
  Poor learning engagement
 In traditional classrooms, student-teacher and peer-to- peer engagements are high;
learners can approach their instructors and fellow students for feedback or discussions
and get their concerns addressed on-the-spot. While e-learning is not yet been well
developed to stimulate open-ended or crowd learning, unless the courses are
conducted live with the help of an online instructor.

 Lack of standardization, credibility, and quality:

 The lack of standardization of online programs and their formal acceptability remains
a concern. E-learning players offer multiple courses on the same subjects with
different levels of certifications, methodology and assessment parameters. Online
courses are designed and conducted by different instructors, who may be given the
autonomy to design the curriculum. So, the quality of courses differs across various e-
learning platforms. Most online courses do not get academic credits, credibility, and
recognition in the traditional educational ecosystem.

 Language of the courses

 India is a multilingual country and majority of the population is from non-urban
areas. The online courses mostly focus on English content limiting itself to the
English-speaking diaspora. Lack of quality content in regional dialects limits self-
learning opportunities for students from vernacular medium.

 Low completion rates

 Online courses are based on self-paced learning. There is minimum or negligible
motivation due to lack of face-to-face interaction. Hence, the completion rate of
online courses is low.

Strategies To Overcome
1. Building a powerful and credible brand
 It is important for online learning providers to build a trusted credible brand. Users
make a very conscious call when it comes to choosing any learning platform as it is
 going to impact their jobs, career, and their life for the next 30-35 years. As the
audience varies across school children, parents or a professional, it is necessary for
online learning companies to build a strong brand perception.

2. UI/UX and content

 Since consumers are spending more and more time on apps, organization,
categorization, and discoverability of the content are important, especially with
multiple streams being available. It is important to have FAQs and ‘Live’ chatbots for
ease of interaction and access.

3. Price points and packages

 Price is a very important factor. Companies are offering lower/midlevel price points
courses based on region or geography to make courses accessible to people from all
walks of life.

4. Site/App crash monitoring:

 Companies are keeping a close check on site and app traffic to avoid fraudulent
activities. Steps should be taken to monitor site and app load to prevent server crashes
when multiple students are logged in at same time because uninterrupted learning is
an important requirement by the customers.

5. Certification and gamification:

 To retain the student’s interest, companies are offering live games among peers or
with an interactive chatbot for learning operational innovations. Also, companies are
offering certification on courses that act as beneficial incentives for students.

6. Partnerships
 Companies are partnering with exclusive educators to help establish brand loyalty and
user retention. They are also focusing on both live and recorded classes for increased
interest.
Benefits of Online Education

(Source: Study International)

Changes in Education System

The COVID-19 pandemic has severely impacted the education sector. Pushed it to the
shift towards digital learning models as the educational institutes are closed due to the
virus outbreak.
1. Classrooms to Homerooms:
Most private schools in urban India have started offering online classes that support
student-teacher interaction on a real-time basis. However, this has not been offered by
government-aided schools and low-fee category educational institutions as they have
limited resources and cannot offer the same quality of digital learning options. Some of
India's leading educational technology start-ups have also began providing free access to
their learning platforms. Top EdTech start-ups have witnessed a steep surge in demand
for their content. DIKSHA, a digital platform for school education launched by the
Government of India, registered over six million views during the first three weeks of the
lockdown.

2. Infrastructure Change:
Due to the pandemic, the focus on education is shifting from physical to digital assets
which may ease some of the pressure on the stretched physical infrastructure in India.
However, it also implies that large parts of rural India, financially and socially
marginalized section mainly underprivileged women and children will be at a
disadvantage due to unavailability of digital infrastructure.

3. Lost Additional Learning:

Learning at schools and colleges is not limited to classrooms but also include peers and
groups. With the switch to digital learning many lifestyles and behavioral lessons are lost.
It is necessary for education institutes to address these issues through digital teaming or a
mixed mode of combining face-to-face meetings, along with digital lessons, to achieve
this objective. A detailed plan with inputs from experts in the field of education as well as
from teachers, students, parents, and psychologists needs to be developed to incorporate
the holistic purpose of learning.
Porter 5 Force Model Analysis

Competitive Rivalry (MODERATE) Threat of

New
Entrants

Lower competition among existing players because of the

demand- supply gap.
However, with limited number of institutes offering
Bargaining Competitive Bargaining
quality education, institutes compete to attract best Power of Power of
Suppliers Rivalry Buyer
students to their respective campuses.
Threat of New Entrants (LOW)

Threat of
Substitution
Minimal infrastructure requirements allow start-ups
to venture into the pre-school and vocational study
sector.

Low
Threat of Substitute (Low)

High
With many institutions offering specialised and skill
Moderate
based courses, it is easy for students to switch to
courses that better meet their need.

Bargaining Power of Suppliers (HIGH)

Bargaining Power of Buyers (LOW)

Bargaining power of quality education institutes

remain high High demand- supply gap has weakened the
Significant shortage of teachers has increased the bargaining power of the students
bargaining power
About the Company

Unschool is an e-mentorship platform that creates an online learning ecosystem for students and
professionals. The company allows students, graduates, young professionals, entrepreneurs, and
anyone with the curiosity to learn to create an online learning ecosystem that fits their needs and
industry demands.
Unschool is a marketplace where learned individuals or subject matter experts can coach
younger, inspired minds in their own fields.
Unschool was founded in 2019 and is headquartered in Hyderabad, Telangana, India
It is funded by Y Combinator and ranked as the #3 startup in India by LinkedIn. awarded and
recognized by the Government of India and incubated at T-Hub (Hyderabad) with 60000+
students, 50+ mentors across the country with 100,000+ hours of course videos. Unschool is
reviewed as the Top 10 Digital Learning Portals of 2019 by the Higher Education Magazine.

Vision
To create an online learning ecosystem for all learning needs enabling youth towards
employability.

Mission
To create a powerful online learning ecosystem for everyone, tailored for each one.

Brief History of company

Like many engineering graduates in India, 25-year-old Rahul Varma became an engineer
not by choice but out of chance. He realised much later in life that his passion lay in
management and sales, and not coding. After heading AIESEC’s operations in India, he
went on to become the Chief Operating Officer for an EdTech start-up in Bengaluru.
There, Mr. Rahul Verma realised that India’s schooling and education system was
outdated, as there hardly is any industry relevance to what was being taught in schools
and colleges. Most of the youth lack industry relevance and real-time skills to keep up
with the pace of change in technology and other industries.
In a conversation with YourStory, Mr. Rahul Verma examined the question that “is
current system and schooling standards really serving the purpose of creating employable
and enterprising workforce?”
Later he also found a NITI Aayog report stating that there are going to be 600 million
youth (45 percent of the total population) in India by 2025, and about less than 45 percent
of them will be employable.
All this led him to start Unschool in Hyderabad in February 2019.

Brief notes on Top Management

Rahul Verma
- Co-Founder and CEO of Unschool
- 6+ years of work experience in non-profits & start-ups.
- Public Speaker

Narayanan S (Rayn)
- Co-Founder and CBO at Unschool
- Soft Skill Coach
- Worked in Mcdonald's at 18
- Volunteered in AIESEC for 6 years
Companies Product / Service

- One-on-one Mentorship
- Live Community Platform
- Career Counselling
- Live sessions
- Internship Opportunities
Michael Porter Value Chain Analysis

STP
1. Segmentation
 Geographic – Region – All over India | Density – Urban and Rural
 Demographic – Age - 18-65 | Gender - Males & Females | Occupation - Students,
Employees & Working Professionals
 Behavioral – Degree of loyalty – Switchers | Benefits – Cost Effective, Additional
Features, User friendly & Simplicity | Personality – Ambitious, Enthusiastic & Active
Learner
 Psychographic – Lower, Middle, Upper class | Lifestyle – Succeeder & Achiever
2. Targeting
 Students
 Employees
 Working Professionals
3. Positioning
 High Quality Courses
 360 Degree Online Ecosystem
 Reinvent Learning
Sales & Distribution Channels
Sales is being achieved in the organization through website using affiliation marketing and social
media marketing.
Application of Marketing Tools

SWOT

STRENGTHS

S
Cost effective
Flexible
Quality content
Learner-centered approach

WEAKNESSES
Language limitation
Lack of experience &
innovation
Attrition & retention
Technology infrastructure
W
lacking
Limited courses

OPPORTUNITIES
Adding new skills profiles
New target audience
Marketing of products &
services
O
Growing internet penetration &
smartphone user

THREATS

T
Industry acceptance
Privacy & data security
Volatility
Competition with low priced
products
4 P’s of Marketing Mix
PRODUCT: Courses which are divided into
three categories
a) Management
b) Technology
c) Arts
There are several courses under these
heads which provides additional benefits
to the customer like internship
opportunities, live sessions, career
counselling, and live community platform.

PRICE: Unschool does not charge anything

for an instructor to make and publish content.
They earn when customers purchase a course.
The firm has only 11-20 employees and has interns from all over the world who is responsible
for generating sales for the firm and get around 5-12% revenue margin. The revenue generated is
then shared with instructors and employees.

PLACE: This is the e-learning platform and uses all digital media platform for all the processes.
They have their official website where customers can purchase the course and get detailed
information about the courses and tutors. They use social media platforms for branding,
promotion, and lead generation. They use HubSpot marketing tool to manage customers and
assign tasks to the interns and employees. All the information in stored in the HubSpot and all
necessary tasks and achievements of the interns are also saved which could ultimately help them
generate warm leads.
PROMOTION: Unschool uses social media for the promotion purpose specially LinkedIn and
Instagram. Interns basically promote their products on various platforms to reach potential
customers. Unschool is associated with Edudite Consultancy Private Limited as their channel
partner across North India.
PRODUCT LIFE CYCLE

In the introduction stage, eLearning adoption will be low. In the Growth stage, adoption rises
rapidly. In the maturity stage, adoption peaks and in the decline stage, there is a gradual decline.
E-learning was introduced in February 2009 in India and Kerala was the first state to launch
virtual classes through Edusat in elementary learning. Growth stage was achieved when the
outbreak of covid took place. The whole scenario has changed in this pandemic as people have
become accustomed with the new learning approach that is virtual or online. The decline in the
stage could be due to two reasons: there are better offerings that address the same need or maybe
the decline is because of the changing taste of consumers.
However, in the eLearning context, learning is not likely to decline. In fact, if we look at the PLC
of ILTs (Instructor-Led Training), in many organizations, they are in the decline stage, while
eLearning has to transverse a long PLC. In the Growth stage, more clients may demand for
courses ‘adapted’ to their learners and there may also be software catering to the same.
To ensure absolute customer delight, we must go further and accord each e-learning course the
same seriousness that we give a product. Acknowledging a course’s shelf life and ensuring re-
usability will boost the ways in which a firm could garner more of the e-learning market’s share.
 DATA ANALYSIS AND INTERPRETATION

1. Course Aspect

Interpretation: Course aspect basically calls for quality of the learning and what are the
factors responsible to aid the satisfaction of the students. Language (80%), informative
(78%) and logical & understandable flow of content (76%) have gained maximum
weightage according to the students when it comes to derive satisfaction from the course.
2. Purpose

Interpretation: From the above presented charts we can understand the basic purpose of
students to opt for any online course. Among various reasons the maximum weightage
was given to update skills (76%) followed by general interest in the topic (74%), to
update my knowledge as it is relevant to school or degree program or academic research
(74%) and for personal growth and enrichment (74%). Other objectives also plays
important role as each purpose got positive response from the respondents.
3. Learner’s Characteristics

Interpretation: Learner’s characteristics shows comfort level of students while accessing

internet and online learning materials. Most of the respondents have respondent with
neutral remark which shows that sometimes it may find themselves in the position where
they don’t know how to operate functions or access network to their advantage. The
maximum weightage was given to the using online learning contents (74%) which means
contents are easily downloadable from the websites or portals but when it comes to
uploading assignements or using search engines or installing software they find
themselves stuck somewhere. Apart from using contents, operating e-learning functions
have received maximum positive response which somewhere shows that e-learning
portals or websites are designed in such a way that it is easy for the students to use those
functionalities present their.
4. Environmental Characteristics

Interpretation: Above head shows the importance of level of interaction with instructors
and other learners in online learning environment. Here maximum weightage is given to
the control feature for video clip were appropriate (76%) followed by easily accessible
(72%) which clearly shows that most of the online platforms offering courses either does
provide feature where students can interact with instructors and other students or they
feel the need of interaction in the online learning platforms. However, students does feel
the need for email notification for information related to the courses with positive
response of 66%.

5. Behavioural Aspect
 Interpretation: Above charts intended to measure the extent to which students are actually
engaged in learning the course. The response somewhat gives the picture that students are
less involved in the courses as the neutral responses are high in many or the cases.
However, if we exclude the neutral response the maximum weightage is given to the
statement that they ensure that they are well prepared before participating in the quiz with
68 percent. It also seems that students rarely read posts that is made by the other students
in discussion forum which is shown in the bar chart. This justifies the nature of the
students that they don’t get involved with other people businesses. In charts it is also
shows that students perceive that the feedback provided on the online learning plaform is
not sincere as the evaluator doesn’t know them personally which usually is not the case in
traditional learning.

6. Learning Effectiveness

Interpretation: Above charts shows that does the online learning methods helps students
to be more effective in working independently and be self-motivated, and will they be
interested to join another course in future irrespective of price. Maximum students were
able to use and apply the learnings outside the course and 62% students perceive that
courses does made them self-reliant and they would also be interested to opt for courses
in future. However, when comes to price only 32% respondents said they will enrol even
 the price increases. Price plays a vital role as 48% students responded that they are most
likely to not come back if the course price is high.

7. Benefits, Drivers & Barriers

Interpretation: Under this head those points or features were included which could act as
a barrier or driver for the e-learning platforms that could either hinder or stimulate e-
learning. The maximum weightage was given to the option of better utilization of
available time for enhaced learning with 68% which shows that most of the students feels
that e-learning courses are for time utilization whereas 26% respondents are not even sure
about that. Later it is dipicted from the charts that insufficient computer and internet
skills and limited scope for personality development will act as a major barrier for the
students while opting for e-learning courses with weightage of 54% both. Low fee
opportunity were not considered important according to the respondents thus it can be
interpreted that fee can not be the idle driving force when it comes to change perception
of the students towards e-learning. Stendents are more inclined towards the benefit that
the e-learning will bring in for them.
 FINDINGS AND CONCLUSION
1. Finding and Conclusion
Price factor does not impact the perception of students towards e-learning.
However, price is considered while choosing the platform from where they want
to pursue the course. Benefits or additional features that comes with the courses
are more important for the students.
Convenience, credibility, quality was considered stimuli for the perception
creation in the minds of the students.
Students have perceived the courses as complimentary not as essential as for now
but soon with the development and investment by the startups huge
transformation could be seen in the future.
Involvement and engagement of students while pursuing the course plays
important role in creating positive outlook about the platform or the firm. It is
more likely to act as a retention factor for the firm.
Main purpose for the enrolling in online course is to understand and inculcate the
new skills or learning and apply them outside the course.
Personality development is not possible using e-learning is perceived by the
students and most students opt for tradition learning because they provide
opportunity for personality enhancement while interacting with superiors and
other students.
Covid has altered the whole education system but has opened the possibility of
new opportunities which the e-learning platforms are using for their benefits. It
has complimented the growth of this segment and now many players are now
recognized by the students that was initially unaware about.

2. Suggestions
The success of e-learning implementation depends on the right approach that e-
learning institutes should adopt for the incorporation of any new technological
innovations for improving the efficiency of their lecturers.
System quality is better than service and information quality as the use of digital
technologies does improve quality of the system if it is not implemented nicely, it
can have negative impact on satisfaction of the students from the courses.
Focus on content quality as they account for accuracy, completeness, ease of
understanding, timeliness, relevance, and consistency.
Implementation of gamification plays vital role in engaging and involving the
students in the course thus more interesting fun activities should also be included
to maintain the interest of the students, so they won’t leave the course in between.
The learning resources such as reading materials and multimedia resources need
to be organized in a logical way.
Steps should be taken to monitor site & app load to prevent server crashes
because uninterrupted learning is an important requirement by the students.
Price points and packages are very important factor for lower/middle class
customers and tackle competition.
It is important to have FAQs and ‘Live’ chatbots for ease of interaction and access
of information related to the course and it will provide transparency which will
create positive impact on learner’s mind.
 PRACTICAL LEARNING AND CONTRIBUTION

Internship Summary
Internship Designation: Marketing & Operations Intern
Duration: 3 Months

Internship – Roles & Responsibilities:

Primary task is to market the Unschool courses to students across various colleges in the country.
It involves: -
1. Marketing and Promoting Unschool Courses.
2. Leading a team of Campus Ambassadors across the country.
3. Training and development of Ambassador teams.
4. Advertising and Branding the Unschool website and product.
Technical & management tasks given to provide exposure to help upskill and build resumé.

Internship Daily Routine – Task & Work Process

June: I was given the task and target to achieve within the end of the months.
As an Youth Influencer for the UnSchool ULead Programe I have called
prospective customers and also used various social media platforms to generate
warm leads.

July: Another mentor allotted to the interns on the basis of successfully hitting
the leader board. I became Youth Leader and the task was allocated to me of
generating leads for hiring interns for the formation of my own team.

August: For the last week I have been provided with the details to share with
my team and coupon codes for them to use while pitching the customers.
Sessions were taken to understand and align with the team members. Trained
interns on lead generation techniques and pitching methods so that they can get
positive conversions for the organisation. Via zoom call or DM on official
group on WhatsApp update about the progress of the task were monitored.
Expected Competency (Knowledge & Skill & Attitude)
 Effective Communication
 Leadership
 Product Knowledge
 Market & Industry Insight
 Prospecting
 Customer Service
 Problem Solver

Overall Learning outcomes

Pitching techniques: In the first month of sip, sales target was assigned to me and to
achieve that I had to pitch products to the customers. I have used 7 minutes rule to target
the customer on call.

Branding & Promotion techniques: I have used several social media platforms to promote
the brand and the products offered by the Unschool.

Networking skills: To achieve the sales target I have connected with various people on
social media to know more about them and their likings so that I can use that information
in pitching the product to them. Actively participating in the sessions with the TL and
asked relevant questions which helped me stand out from the crowd of 30+ interns.

Professional Communication: I have used mail to communicate with my TL. I have

always informed him about my whereabouts and in case of any query I have properly
took advice from my superiors.

Leadership skills: I had a team of 7 interns whom I had to train and lead. I took sessions
with them to know each one of them, taught them several branding and promoting
techniques, solved their queries, and provided suggestion/solutions in case they stuck
somewhere or need my assistance with any potential customer.
 Teamwork: Initially I was working with the team of 30-35 interns where I have helped
and took help from them. Interacted in the official group when there was any query was
posted and have always showed my appreciation when somebody from my team achieved
their target and hit the leader board.

Motivating skills: There was the time when most of the team members where losing hope
and wanted to quit the internship. I have personally interacted with them and motivated
them to not quit and work hard till they achieve the target. My coach “Huda Fathima”
inspired me and always believed in me that is why I feel I have hit the leader board. I
have used the same technique and tried to make my team members to believe in
themselves again.

Patience: In any business it is essential skill to be imbibed with. It helped me to keep

moving forward and always believe in myself. Sales task requires time and patience and
ultimately all my hard work that I am doing will pay off.

Managing Team: In the first month of my internship, I was given the task to maintain and
update the attendance of the team members who were present in the sessions. Me along
with one of my friends was also responsible for making sure that each team member is
present at the session.

Active Listening: I have attended all the sessions schedules in the internship and was
actively listening to what message our TL must convey in those meetings. Each and all
interns were given a chance to maintain MOM (Minutes of Meeting) of a particular
meeting. I have also shared MOM of the meeting in the official group. I have also asked
questions related to the topic of the meeting.

Overall contribution to the company in the Internship duration (Revenue, Leads, Ideas)
Revenue: Rs. 20,000 (Including both revenues generated by me and my team)
 Leads: Over 500 (Used social media platforms like WhatsApp, LinkedIn, Telegram,
Snapchat, Instagram, and Facebook to generate leads)

ANNEXTURE
Questionnaire

Research Title: To study the student’s perception towards e-learning during

Pandemic in India
Please take few minutes to complete this questionnaire to help us understand few aspects related to the perception regarding E-
Learning. All information gathered is solely for research purpose and will be treated statistically without dissemination of your
personal and specific data or answers.

Q. Email : …………………………………………………………
Q. Name : ……………………………………
Q. Age :
o Below 25 years
o 25 - 35 years
o Above 35 years

Q. Gender :
o Female
o Male

Q. Occupation :
o Student
o Self-employed
o Salaried

Q. Annual Income of the Family :

o Below 2,00,000
o Below 4,00,000
o Below 6,00,00
o Above 6,00,000
Q. Education Qualification :
o Undergraduate
o Postgraduate
o M.Phil / Doctoral

Q. Number of MOOC (Massive Open Online Courses) Completed earlier ?

o 1
o 2
o 3
o 4
o More Than 4

Q. Overall learning experience (In years) :

o 1
o Up to 2
o >= 3

Q. Indicate name of the course provider from where you have completed the above
said MOOC course.
o Udemy
o Coursera
o Unschool
o HubSpot
o Unacademy
o NPTEL
o Others

Q) Course Aspect
Statements are constructed to understand the opinion on the quality aspects of online learning methods.

Sl. Strongly Strongly

Statements Agree Neutral Disagree
No. agree Disagree

1. Informative
2. User friendly interface
 3. Provides interactive sessions
4. Flexible

5. Optimal instructions

6. Quality content
7. Internet speed
8. Technical stability

9. Language

Logical & understandable flow

10.
of content

Q) Purpose
Statements are constructed to understand the basic purpose in learning the MOOC course which you have
mentioned above.

Sl. Strongly Strongly

Statements Agree Neutral Disagree
No. agree Disagree

1. General interest in topic

2. To update my skills
To update my knowledge as it is
3. relevant to school or degree
program or academic research
For personal growth and
4.
enrichment
To meet the requirements of
5. existing job demand for fun and
Challenge
6. To Meet the new people
To earn a certificate/statement of
7.
accomplishment
To Improve my knowledge and
8.
skills
 Completing this course will
9. increase my chances of
promotion

Q) Learner's Characteristics
Statements are constructed to understand the comfort level accessing internet and online learning
materials.

Sl. Strongly Strongly

Statements Agree Neutral Disagree
No. agree Disagree

1. Operating e-learning functions

2. Using online learning contents
Uploading assignments and
3.
downloading course contents
Using Internet search engines,
4. setting book marks and
downloading files
Installing software and changing
5. configuration settings on my
computer/laptop

Q) Environmental Characteristics
Statements are constructed to voice out opinions on the importance of level of interaction with instructors
and other learners in online learning environment.

Sl. Strongly Strongly

Statements Agree Neutral Disagree
No. agree Disagree

Discussion forum reflects our

1. experience in doing this online
course
Facilitates quick problem
2.
solving
 3. Social interaction is important
Control features for video clip
were appropriate [ for example,
4.
play, repeat, full screen,
slowdown, stop and pause]

5. Easily accessible

Receiving email notification

6. from the instructor for
important news and deadlines

Q) Behavioural Aspect
The below given items are intended to measure the extent to which you are engaged in learning the
course.

Sl. Strongly Strongly

Statements Agree Neutral Disagree
No. agree Disagree

1. I listen to e lecture carefully

2. I skip e lecture frequently
I submit the assignments before
3.
the deadline
I rarely read post made by
4.
others in discussion forum
I ensure that I prepare myself
5.
before I participate in the quiz
I evaluate the peer feedback
6.
sincerely

Q) Learning Effectiveness
Below statements will allow us to understand does online learning methods helps you to be more
effective in working independently and be self-motivated.
 Sl. Strongly Strongly
Statements Agree Neutral Disagree
No. agree Disagree

I have improved my knowledge

1.
through this course
Still I am not clear with subject
2. what I have learned through
this MOOC Course
I am able to use the skills what
3. I have learned in this course
outside the class or in my job
I feel more self-reliant as the
4. result of the content learned in
this course
I am interested to join other
5. courses offered by e-learning
platforms in future
I am willing to take the course
6.
even if there is a price increase
I may not come back if the
7.
course fee is high

Q) Benefits, Drivers & Barriers

Below pointers will point light on features that will act as a barrier, drivers and benefits that could either
hinder or stimulate e-learning.

Sl. Strongly Strongly

Statements Agree Neutral Disagree
No. agree Disagree

Insufficient computer &

1.
internet skills
2. Lack of interaction
Lack of supportive culture
3.
within
4. Increased convenience

Better utilization of available

5.
time for enhanced learning
Lack of credibility of online
6.
courses
Less creativity and innovating
7. ability due to less interaction
with instructors
Limited scope for personality
8.
development

9. Low fee opportunity

 Reference

https://www.businesstoday.in/latest/economy-politics/story/indias-edtech-sector-sees-21-billion-
investment-in-2020-287440-2021-02-12
https://www.ibef.org/download/Education-and-Training-May-2021.pdf
https://www.indiatoday.in/education-today/featurephilia/story/the-future-of-edtech-how-2021-
will-bring-faster-tech-adoption-in-the-education-sector-1798301-2021-05-03
https://www.ibef.org/industry/education-sector-india.aspx
https://www.ibef.org/download/Education-and-Training-August-2015.pdf
https://www.statista.com/statistics/1235210/india-edtech-market-size-by-segment/
https://www.newindianexpress.com/business/2021/may/25/edtech-sector-set-to-grow-despite-
raging-pandemic-2307213.html