prnewswire | October 21, 2020
Herff Jones, an achievement division of Varsity Brands and the leading provider of graduation and educational products and services, launched Pivot Project Live, a series of six webinars all about "yearbooking" during the pandemic. Developed to address the unique challenges facing yearbook staffs everywhere, these live webinars are intended to ease the burden of creating a yearbook amidst a whole new normal. Hundreds of advisers from across the country tune in to hear from other top, long-time advisers to discuss hot topics like getting great photos from a distance, changing coverage plans to meet changing environments, and building a culture when face-to-face isn't the norm. Each week's webinar is themed and led by a new guest speaker with a Q&A at the end.
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ONLINE EDUCATION
upGrad | November 30, 2021
upGrad, Asia’s integrated higher edtech leader, has entered into an exclusive acquisition agreement with Global Study Partners (GSP), Australia's largest study abroad company, in a bid to strengthen its overseas education network. upGrad will invest USD 16 Million to buy 100% of GSP and commit a further USD 10 Million for future growth. GSP is slated to close its current financials at a GMV of over USD 10 million which will grow four-fold in the coming year.
Following the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, 45.2% of prospective global students are now interested in studying their program virtually as an alternative, according to The Impact of COVID 19 on Study Abroad Survey. Canada’s ApplyBoard in the same segment got funded recently at a USD 4 billion valuation. Leveraging this behavioural change, upGrad’s acquisition of GSP strengthens its foray in Study Abroad, one of the fastest growing segments worldwide.
Founded in 2015 and headquartered in Sydney, Global Study Partners (GSP) boasts of an extensive institution network of over 600, with a focus on countries including, Australia, the UK, Canada, and the US, which are some of the most popular Study Abroad destinations in the world. GSP is also armed with more than 1,300 recruitment partners, including education and migration agents, schools, test preparation centres, alumni associations etc.
“As an Integrated EdTech leader - we span the entire gamut of a learner's need from the age of 18-50 and in that, Study Abroad is a key growth initiative for us - not just out of India which is one of the two largest markets but also for our learners internationally. GSP coming into upGrad’s fold will be a needle mover for us to attain a headstart in being a global leader in this segment too.”
Ronnie Screwvala, Chairperson & Co-Founder, upGrad
Elaine Starkey, CEO and Founder, Global Study Partners, said “I couldn’t think of a more complementary business that is underpinned by shared principles and ethics “to empower learners throughout the world. Ronnie and Mayank are true visionaries with a deep understanding of this sector and truly get that 'it's all about the learner’s experience'. GSP partners' - institutions and recruitment partners - worldwide, will enjoy the benefits that the additional reach and capacity GSP can now deliver, and they can expect significant growth in quality student enrolments.”
Students opting for Higher Education abroad from India are increasing rapidly and expected to reach ~1.8 million by 2024, as per Redseer report. They would be spending USD 75-85 Bn overseas, as Online emerges as the dominant channel for availing these services.
“With 150K students every year, Australia is one of the biggest destination markets for Indian learners. With these two education giants in the key supplier and the demand markets combining forces, we are looking to build a revenue of USD 100Mn in study abroad business in the next 3 years,” Gaurav Kumar, President - Corporate Development and M&A, upGrad.
About upGrad
upGrad - started in 2015 is a pioneer in the online education revolution, focused on powering career success for a global workforce of over 1.3 billion. It is one of the few Integrated LifeLongLearning Tech Companies in the world - spanning the college learner to the working professional from the age group of 18-60 years and across Undergrad courses, Campus & Job Linked Programs, Studying Abroad, short form to executive programs to Degrees, Masters and Doctoral - with a learner base of over 2 million across 50 countries and over 300 University partners & a robust enterprise business with a client base of 1000 companies worldwide.
upGrad’s Global Learning Engine rests on four pillars - (a) its large repository of original & owned content and IP, (b) its own best-in-class proprietary tech platform, (c) its high touch human-led delivery service backed by coaches & mentors, and (d) an 85% course completion track record, backed by a further 80% career outcomes guaranteed performance. Already termed Asia’s higher EdTech leader it has offices in the UK, US, Middle East, India, Singapore & Vietnam, and presence in many more countries.
About Global Study Partners (GSP)
Global Study Partners (GSP) is a leading B2B global EdTech marketplace for international student enrolments that works with 600+ Universities and Higher Education Institutes across the globe. GSP empowers students around the world by providing access to the best educational choices when embarking on studying abroad. Founded in 2015, the firm is headquartered in Sydney, Australia and has placed international students from 22 different countries into key study destination markets including Australia, UK, Ireland, US and Canada. GSP is committed to transforming lives through education and building out a globally connected student community.
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EDUCATION TECHNOLOGY
Amesite | October 21, 2021
Amesite Inc., the leading artificial intelligence software company offering a cloud-based learning platform and content creation services for business, university, non-profit and government agency learning and upskilling, announced today the launch of version 4.0 of its A.I.-driven online learning platform.
"The latest version of our best-in-class online learning platform enables our customers to launch Learning Community Environment™ systems with industry-leading speed and ease. n just 24 hours from signup, organizations can deliver learning entirely at the pace that each learner needs, with artificial intelligence that makes each course unique and up-to-date."
Dr. Ann Marie Sastry, founder and CEO of Amesite
Version 4.0 of the Amesite online learning platform includes multiple feature and service enhancements for both customers and their users.
Enterprise customers now have a guaranteed 24-hour launch time with a new streamlined user onboarding process that includes automated first-time logins for users. Organizations now have access to utilize user data through optional streamlined single sign-on and integrated user enterprise identities through Microsoft Directory.
Additionally, a new global dashboard enables enterprise customers to see learner status by region, job class, skills readiness/grades, and other optional categories, with the opportunity to integrate skills readiness/grades from other platforms and legacy databases.
Dr. Sastry added, "Management of data, one of the most difficult tasks for learning and development professionals, is now effortless, with tracking of learner status across the organization and the capability to integrate data from other platforms, including legacy data."
User experience upgrades in version 4.0 include new, completely flexible user journeys that enable each learner to work at their own pace with flexible livestream display modes that enable seamless lecture, discussion, and group work.
The workplace training industry was valued at approximately $165 billion in 2020, according to Statista, a leading provider of market and consumer data.
About Amesite Inc.
Amesite is an ed-tech, SaaS company with the most advanced artificial intelligence driven online learning platform in the industry, providing both content creation and a best-in-class infrastructure for the multi-billion-dollar online learning markets in business and education.
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