Digital learning

Ronnie Screwvala is making an initial investment of Rs 100 crores in U Education, his e-education venture which will enter into partnerships with global universities, create other affiliations as well as offer specialized courses, reported The Times of India (TOI) on January 14, 2015. "We will offer graduate and postgraduate degrees across a diverse set of courses from the predictable ones in management, law and engineering to the ones in entrepreneurship and sports, among others. The faculty is being built and we plan to start enrolments by the end of the year,” Screwvala informed TOI.
Over the past couple of years venture capital funds have backed several tech portals and Screwvala, who took home Rs 2,000 crores after selling UTV Software Communications to Walt Disney in 2011, has made several investments across internet startups through Unilazer Ventures. U Education, however, will be a separate business entity which will capitalize on the ever increasing demand for digital learning. The courses will harness technology to focus on employability, he told TOI.
Regarding the concept of online education versus the brick-and-mortar version, Screwvala said: "We are looking to disrupt this whole space and that will happen only when there is scale and size. The biggest challenge right now is the lack of credibility attached to online learning and also employment generation post degrees. We will look to address these.”