Byju Raveendran & Divya Gokulnath

BYJU- The Learning Platform

The learning software is also well-known across the world as a result of its partnership with The Walt Disney Company, a multinational entertainment conglomerate. Students from all around the world use the BYJU-Learning App to study everything from basic school courses to complicated engineering and medicine subjects, as well as how to pass admission tests.

Founders Story

Byju Raveendran never intended to be a teacher. However, because of his mathematical ability, many of his friends and neighbours would approach him to help them with various algebra and geometry difficulties. Soon after, Byju Raveendran began taking informal lessons, which subsequently became BYJU classes. BYJU is now a multimillion-dollar corporation, and Byju Raveendran is one of the founders. 

Byju's co-founder Divya Gokulnath believes online learning has become the new normal, with 13.5 million new students and counting. According to Divya Gokulnath, co-founder of Byju's, future classrooms will include technology at its centre, allowing students to shift from passive to active learning.

Divya Gokulnath considers herself first and foremost a teacher. After obtaining her engineering degree in Biotechnology from RV College in Bengaluru, Divya began studying for the GRE in order to study in the United States, and she enrolled in Byju Raveendran's seminars. Byju requested her to give a lesson while they waited for the results. At the age of 21, she took classes for students on easy hacks to get through campus recruitment. Later she realised her genuine happiness lay in teaching. By the time her results were published and she managed to crack a few universities in the US, but her love for teaching held her back in India.

During the shutdown, BYJU, one of the country's biggest Edtech platforms, saw a massive increase in users. It reported over 13.5 million additional students utilising the site to learn in only the first two months of the shutdown, March, and April. Despite the fact that most businesses are in a downturn, Edtech platforms have claimed growth since the outbreak of the coronavirus and the declaration of the lockdown. According to UNESCO, the shutdown affected over 32 crore students in India when the schools were closed. Byju's, created by Byju Raveendran and Divya Gokulnath, supplied all of its curriculum for free and launched live courses to assist afflicted students.

She was one of the first eight persons, along with Byju, who completed physical lessons before switching to online study through V-Sat in 2011. They released the app in 2015 and quickly became the most well-known Edtech company in the country. The $10 billion startup has entered the United States market. Divya comments on the rise of online education, the repercussions of the lockdown, and the future of Edtech as a student, teacher, and now director of Byju's.

Online education is on the Rise.

Students in grades 4 to 12 may use the app to obtain free lessons from Byju's teachers, attend live classrooms, and utilise practice exams to reinforce their knowledge. The Google Play Store recently named the learning app among the top ten most downloaded education applications. It's also on UNESCO's curated list of reliable educational apps, as well as CBSE's list of online media for students to keep learning during these trying times. They had reservations about how their child might learn via a mobile phone, but now that they are witnessing it in action, they are more open to the notion of digital learning. Teachers, on the other hand, have gained access to digital tools," she says. Teachers have also embraced online learning, despite their reservations at first, because there are no other options.

Blended Education

Blended learning is a type of education that combines several types of learning. Divya believes that the contemporary climate of physical separation and self-isolation has accelerated the acceptance of online learning.

Divya, on the other hand, believes that online learning is more than merely the online delivery of offline education. It's all about creating a fully individualised learning experience and utilising technology to its greatest potential, which she believes is still a major difficulty. The most significant benefit of Edtech solutions such as ours is that 'engagement' is built into our basic architecture.

The Classroom of Future

Technology will be at the heart of future classrooms, allowing pupils to shift from passive to active learning. Edtech platforms like Byju's will become a student's go-to learning companion after school. Edtech platforms will allow students to reinforce their learnings in school from the comfort of their own homes by providing improved conceptual comprehension and a customised, self-paced learning experience. Since the platform's debut in 2011, Divya has been involved in content production and teaching. Many people have been disadvantaged when employment has moved to the home and schools have moved online due to a lack of tools such as cellphones, language, or consistent internet connection.

Byju's is attempting to develop learning programmes in vernacular languages in order to resolve the communication problem.