In an attempt to take a leap in making quality education both affordable and accessible to all students around the world, one of India's leading EdTech platforms in the space of higher education, upGrad, shared some big news on April 4, Monday. The Mumbai-based EdTech announced the formation of upGrad Foundation which will be its philanthropic and not-for-profit division.
Ronnie Screwvala, Chairperson and Co-Founder, upGrad, explained how online learning has changed the education perspective of all working professionals around the world. Not just focussing on lifelong learning, upskilling and career enhancements, upGrad Foundation also wants to focus on affordability, accessibility and awareness for all those with growing aspirations, especially teachers, coaches and a million learners who cannot afford the excellence.
Commenting on the launch of the foundation, Mayank Kumar, Co-Founder and MD, upGrad said, “We have been committed to LifeLongLearning and upskilling to ensure that our learners realise their career aspirations. However, working professionals face immense challenges in pursuing up-skilling courses, either due to existing financial constraints or due to the fear of lack of pay, while studying. Therefore, through the upGrad Foundation, we are trying to solve for skilling affordability and accessibility, by offering quality education to everyone with a desire to learn. Leveraging the benefits of online learning, we are trying to upscale the existing education community by guiding and training learners, teachers and coaches, towards building a skilled ecosystem within India.”
In order to become one of the world’s largest pro-bono buddy, mentor platforms and programme portfolios, upGrad initiated the formation of this not-for-profit foundation. The objectives and goals of upGrad Foundation include rendering various opportunities or programmes such as teachers’ training, mentoring and coaching, career guidance, scholarships, internships and online student exchange programmes. upGrad views the initial monetary commitment as just the beginning while the foundation insists on bringing on board donors and corporates to grant schemes in the upcoming years, thereby, enlarging the impact and reach.
The foundation mainly focuses on all working professionals which include first-generation learners, working women and people who are working in the Public Services or the Armed Forces.
