British Council, the world’s largest provider of English education today launched an ambitious program to bring English learning to the masses in India. Digital learning has been picking up the world over, and British Council has launched two products in partnership with Applied Mobile Labs (erstwhile Voicetap technologies) and AA edutech (formerly Sun Online) - two leaders in the learning space using the mediums of both Voice and Video to make English language universally available.
Speaking on this momentous occasion, Mr. Martin Davidson, CEO – British council said, “We look at India as a very key geography for us, and also understand the key requirements of the English learners in India. We have partnered with two leading and innovative organizations – who have the where withal to help us bring English to the masses”.
“English on Mobile” is a product that has already been used by close to 3000 people and allows people to learn spoken English over just voice and SMS – from any phone, anywhere in India. The product is available at Beginner, Intermediate and Advanced levels - the Advanced level and a separate module for Jobseekers have now been validated by British Council. The product allows users to practise English, interact with experts and give assessments. Users at the Advanced level also get a completion certificate from British Council. Speaking about the partnership, Mr. Mrigank Tripathi, CEO & Founder of Applied Mobile Labs (erstwhile Voicetap) said, “We are extremely excited to have partnered with British Council for content on our product. We aim to take the British Council certification to the masses, and have already partnered with leading players who will help us take it to the market. This is a first of its kind product – where a common person anywhere in India will be able to learn from British council certified content, anytime, over any network or phone and also get certified by British Council for it!”
The product “English strokes” brings together English and Cricket in an online course so one can turn their love of cricket into success with English - word by word, stroke by stroke! The product will help anyone improve their vocabulary, grammar, spoken English, pronunciation and listening skills, as well as develop their confidence, accuracy and communication ability. Speaking on the occasion, Mr. Kris Srikkanth, a man with different strokes and who lofted the ball as well as the game of cricket to a new high, said, “We understand the Indian psyche, and are using the one thing that is close to almost every Indian heart – Cricket, to help them learn English. We are confident about the methodology and I personally am very happy & excited to have partnered with British Council for the road ahead”.
Background on Partnerships:
1.Applied Mobile labs Private Limited (AMLPL)
AML is one of India’s largest mLearning company, that has built its proprietary mLearning technology platform and partnered with leading authorities to bring learning to the masses. Founded in 2009, AML today works with Governments, telecom operators and large enterprises alike to bring mLearning to the fore. AML’s platform is deployed at Tata DOCOMO & Airtel currently and is going live with other operators soon. AML’s work in the mLearning space has been widely acclaimed and they have won many national and international accolades for their efforts in mLearning. The most prominent amongst them being:
- Top 5 contenders for the GSMA mLearning award 2012
- Finalists at the Mobile Premier award 2011
- Winner of the Red Herring Global and Asia award
- Winner of the mBillionth award twice in a row
- Amongst the top 10 NASSCOM start-up companies.
Their mLearning platform is also being used for Government related skilling initiatives by various large companies.
Mrigank Tripathi is the Founder and CEO of AML and has 14 years of experience in strategy consulting, sales, operations& business development. He has previously worked with companies such as Mercer Management Consulting, Swisscom & Reliance Infocomm. Mrigank holds an MBA from INSEAD
British Council has partnered with AML to take two products to the market:
1.Advanced/Business module of English on Mobile
2.Jobseekers, focusing on English for employability
Apart from these two, British Council is also working on validating the other two modules for English on Mobile.
2.AA Edutech (formerly Sun Online)
AA Edutech Private Limited is a private limited company incorporated under the companies act 1956 and Kris Srikkanth, the former Indian Cricket Team captain and the former Chairman of the Selection Committee of the BCCI is the promoter/founder director of the organization.
AA Edutech already delivers training in maths and science through Edustrokes (www.edustrokes.com), an existing portal which is aimed at integrating learning of mathematics and science with sport. In addition, learning initiatives through Career Strokes (www.careerstrokes.com) for employability and soft skills, Cricket Strokes for online cricket coaching and mobile ventures are already in existence as well.
The products carry a prestigious Global award from School of Educators in the category of “Best Digital Content Provider” for www.careerstrokes.com and “Outstanding Online Education provider” for www.edustrokes.com (received at the SOE Global Education Awards held at India International Centre, New Delhi on 16th December 2012 by School of Educators.)
AA Edutech have state of the art infrastructure, in-house, including:
- Professional content department (experienced teachers and faculties)
- A professional studio setup for conducting the live sessions
- 2D and 3D Animation Studios
- Pre and post production facilities
- Technically qualified team for delivery and implementation
- CDN facilities for faster content delivery
AA Edutech already work with over 2000 schools and several corporate organisations and governments.
The British Council is the United Kingdom's international organisation for educational opportunities and cultural relations. The British Council creates international opportunities for the people of the UK and other countries and builds trust between them worldwide.