The education landscape is undergoing a revolution, and the National Skill Development Corporation (NSDC) and upGrad, Asia’s leading learning, skilling, and workforce development company, have just taken a giant leap towards enhancing India’s skill-ability. Last Friday, the two organisations signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU). This partnership aims to empower the country’s youth with access to high-quality higher education and skilling programmes.
The MoU was exchanged between Ved Mani Tiwari, COO(Officiating CEO) of NSDC, Sanjeeva Singh, VP-IT & Digital, Shreshtha Gupta, NSDCI COO, and Ajay Raina from the NSDC, alongside upGrad’s Co-founder & MD, Mayank Kumar, and Head of Finance, Rohit Agarwal. As a result of this MoU, learners from all walks of life – college students, graduates, freshers, and working professionals – will have access to online programmes in Emerging Technologies, Management, Law, Digital Marketing, and more. Plus, they will receive a co-branded certification.
The MoU also includes immersive learning experiences, such as industry-ready projects, bootcamps, masterclasses, live sessions, and personalized one-on-one mentorship. Ved Mani Tiwari, CEO of NSDC and MD NSDC International, said of the partnership, “We are witnessing unprecedented growth and opportunities for our youth in this digital revolution. As technology gets adopted globally, we at NSDC are introducing initiatives that enable our youth to become new-age innovators. This program has been envisioned to build the capabilities of our learners by utilizing the rich experience of upGrad.”
Moreover, this relationship gives NSDC learners exclusive access to upGrad’s career development services, such as beneficial placements both inside India and internationally. This agreement is a major milestone for India’s education industry, and presents a better future for both students and professionals.
upGrad, founded in 2015, provides a range of online and hybrid Degree programmes, pathway and study abroad programmes, certifications, Bootcamps, Diploma, Master’s, and Doctorate programmes for working professionals, and more. Through its B2B arm, upGrad has enrolled ten million+ learners from 70+ countries, has a network of 300+ direct global university partners, a diverse set of 2500+ network links, and an international enterprise arm with 3000 corporate partners.
This partnership between NSDC and upGrad will significantly improve accessibility and scalability of skilling and digital learning in line with industry demands. It will also open doors for aspirants from non-metro areas and regional pockets to pursue study abroad programmes, and ultimately, present India as a global talent hub.
