KOCHI: Winding lectures. A big pile of books detailing varies sides of business. Long, mandatory hours of studying. Now, you can delete those conventional images of MBA learning. All you require is a mobile app to get the coveted degree, courtesy the initiative of Avagmah,a Bangalore-based startup.
Thrissur-native N D Dinoop, a senior manager at TATA Class Edge, offers a case in point. “The MBA programme of Pondicherry University is supported by online videos and are delivered on smartphone and web using the Avagmah platform. The online learning support has a dedicated app which can be downloaded from Google Play. I use the app to study while travelling to work and back,” said Dinoop.
Over 2,500 students have enrolled for the MBA programme through Avagmah’s app in two batches. Over 52 per cent of students are from cities like Kochi, Kottayam, Kannur, Kollam, Coimbatore and Cuddalore. Started in 2013, Avagmah Technology Platform (ATP) is a cloud-based SaaS technology. It offers end-to-end web and mobile app platforms, helping universities manage marketing, student counselling, engagement, retention and virtual classroom.
It allows students to manage assignments, discuss case studies with faculty. and classmates. Students can also build customisable weekly study plans to tweak the number of hours per week. Avagmah has so far partnered Pondicherry University, Los-Angeles based UCLA Extension and Narsee Monji Institute of Management Studies (NMIMS). “Universities deliver video lectures on the app. They’r excellent and I like the simplicity with which the faculty explain concepts,” said Kannur native Vivek, who is pursuing MBA.
“With millions of working professionals aspiring to compete with their global counterparts, Avagmah looks to help universities in imparting quality and contemporary education through technology and internet. The idea is to help working professionals earn quality higher education online so that they do not have to leave their jobs or take sabbatical for higher studies. Avagmah’s platform assists universities with app and web technology solutions for the delivery of courses,” said Karthik K S, who founded the company with Sankar Bora and Prasad Palla.
The company got the first break when it signed up Pondicherry University in 2014. Avagmah recently received funding from Infosys co-founder Kris Gopalakrishnan and Atul Nishar, founder of Hexaware Technologies and Aptech Computer Education.
Since its inception, the startup has raised around `33.5 crore in investment. Singapore-based Lionrock Capital, serial entrepreneur K Ganesh and Neeraj Bhargava are the other investors.