Hero Group on Tuesday announced the launch of its new edutech company – Hero Vired – that will offer an industry-focused learning experience for young professionals.
The programmes offered will be in collaboration with some of the world’s leading universities including the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) and Singularity University among others.
“Vired is a combination of two words – virtual and education. We believe Hero Vired will be the future of learning. Hero Vired will change the way we learn and help address some of the big skill challenges the country faces. We have a very large population going through higher education who are unemployable. At the same time, we have industry, which is starved for talent,” Akshay Munjal, founder and Chief Executive Officer of Hero Vired, said at an online event.
He added that the government also wants to increase the gross enrolment ratio in higher education, taking it from 26 per cent to 50 per cent.
“If we continue doing what we are doing, we are not solving the problem, we will end up producing more graduates who are also unemployable…we want to break this vicious cycle. We are going to do this by partnering with some of the best global education institutions and universities, bringing in experienced faculty and industry practitioners and combining that with the best-in-class technology system,” he said.
Hero Vired will offer certificate programmes in finance and related technologies, integrated programmes in Data Science, Machine Learning and Artificial Intelligence, full-stack development, Game Design, and Entrepreneurial Thinking and Innovation.
Future programmes will cut across domains such as design, electronics, leadership, health management and emerging technologies.
The origins of the Hero Group can be traced back to 1956 when Hero Cycles Limited was established by the Munjal brothers. Ranked among the top 10 business houses in India, the promoters of the Hero Group forayed into education as early as 1964 with the most recent being the BML Munjal University in 2014.
“Our efforts in education have been skewed towards nurturing future leaders who are skilled, knowledgeable and have the requisite skills required for leading organisations to success. With decades of experience in this field, we understand the need for a skilled workforce in contributing to India’s evolving industrial landscape,” Munjal said.
He added that with Hero Vired, the aim is to provide a premium learning experience, with a heavy emphasis on a personalised mentor-mentee interaction environment, to drive improved career outcomes and opportunities. Veteran banker Naina Lal Kidwai, who was also present during the online event, noted that there has been a move from hierarchy to meritocracy, which is “very favourable”.
“But the big change is today with COVID. I believe that this is one of those pivoting moments in management, and for people coming through the system, where there is going to be a need for different skillsets and equally, a very different perspective that managers and corporates are going to see,” she added.
Kidwai noted that work from home is here to stay, and while there will be a combination (work from home and work from office premises), working with that combination is not easy.
She added that people will have to be resilient and agile, along with the focus on collaboration with others in the organisation.
