How new-age EdTech startups will help in addressing the dearth of skilled machine learning experts?

By Ankush Singla

They say “change is the only constant”, and with every passing second, the world is experiencing huge technological advances taking humanity to newer heights. A new age is getting accomplished, every second is a taste of something new, something better than before.

Enhanced outreach of technology has resulted in industries and end users taking a leap of faith into the world of new concepts. Several industries have polished their approach in designing an outcome for the new generation to mould something new and relevant, according to the trends of the future. Machine learning (ML) is one such domain that has around 10x jobs at present as compared to the situation, five years ago. This situation has shaped up due to various contributing factors including huge popularity of machine learning. Fortune 500 companies are integrating machine learning and artificial intelligence into their processes and Indian firms are following suit. Machine learning is responsible for shaping the business landscape. Business analytics and intelligence teams are able to analyse terabytes of data in seconds using different methods like recognition, diagnosis, regression, prediction and many more. Machine learning focuses on the development of algorithms which helps those machines teach themselves grow, develop and respond to new data. The reason machine learning has become hugely popular is because it has helped all the companies (from various industrial sectors) get exact and real time insights and mitigate the strategy level risks, if any.

While on the one hand, we are amazed by these developments; there is a concern on the other hand too. Yes, machine learning is the most in-demand skill right now but is our talent pool really equipped with the required skills. The answer is “No”. Demand for machine learning experts will continue to increase in the coming years and will probably outpace the current supply of talent pool in the next three-four years. According to the LinkedIn economic graph, the jobs in ML have been a turning point in the technological trends as compared to the other umbrella domains. The number of jobs which were five years ago is now 9.8 times, thus, helping to provide an asset to the industry. Educational institutions have always provided the industry with the required set of skills but with an increased demand in such a short time, they have been unable to come up with a solution on such a short notice. In order to cater to the current industry trends, EdTech startups have come with excellent “Industry-Vetted Course Curriculum”.

EdTech startups don’t focus on just teaching theoretical concepts but rather provide an online learning which is no less than the offline classroom approach. There are online videos which can be accessed anytime and from anywhere. Since the videos are self-paced, it is made sure that they cater to the speed of every individual. EdTech startups create a perfect amalgamation by getting industrial experts on board and creating a course curriculum as per the exact needs of the ML industry. In order to make sure that the student doesn’t deviate and follows the curriculum, virtual / physical assistance is provided which analyse the performance of each and every student on a daily basis and customised approach is recommended.

They are deploying algorithms to bring a personalised touch for every student, thus ensuring a better application-based learning. We have experienced and welcomed this new way of mobile teaching which takes care of every individual student’s needs, comforts and results at the same time. EdTech companies have come up with the content which not only satisfies the need of the industry but can also be imparted to anyone in due amount of time; thus, fulfilling the requirement of the ML domain. Several factors which have enabled these startups develop skilled ML experts are:

1. Self-paced learning
2. Industry-vetted content
3. Regular industrial interaction through bootcamps and webinars
4. Individual learning and development system
5. Real-time actionable insights
6. Industrial projects which can be deployed in companies

Machine learning is one of the most promising technologies of the last decade and it is the perfect time to realise we have a companion since “Machines also Learn”.