February 5, 2021
TED NewsDesk, New Delhi: One of the leading higher Edtech companies of India, upGrad, formed a committee of four members to establish and promote their operations based in the UK. The committee includes four leaders, namely Prof. Sir Deian Hopkin, Dr Kishore Sengupta, Julie Mercer and Ashwin Assomull.
Sir Deian presently works as a Principal Advisor at Wells Advisory and Associate Partner Anderson Quigley. He is a former Vice-chancellor and Chief Executive at London South Bank University (2001-2009). He then worked as an Expert Adviser, First Minister of Wales (2012-2020).
Kishore Sengupta, who is also on the board, is a former member of INSEAD and Naval Postgraduate School California and is currently Reader in Operations at Judge Business School, University of Cambridge. Another distinguished professional on the board includes Julie Mercer, a partner at Cairneagle Associates. Mercer was Global Industry lead for Deloitte’s Education Practice and worked there for almost 20 years. The final member of the committee is Ashwin Assomull, a partner at LEK Consulting. Before this, he worked as Partner and Member of the Emerging Market’s Leadership Team at the Parthenon Group.
Phalgun Kompalli, Co-founder, upGrad commented, “We are excited to work with our board to help us achieve our global aspirations. The appointment of this board signals our commitment to moving aggressively ahead with our international expansion strategy.”
The committee is highly skilled and capable enough to develop strong associations. Besides, it also can build credibility for the brand with its expertise in analysing the needs of the market.
“One clear consequence of the restrictions imposed by the pandemic has been to widen the search for new ways of delivering high quality higher education. upGrad is a highly successful innovator in the delivery of online learning. Building on its excellent track record of achievement, working in partnership with key universities and major technology enterprises, it is now poised to expand its provision globally and help to transform the future workplace,” said Sir Hopkin.
By establishing the business operation, upGrad aims at paving the way for the development of international markets. The company is making efforts to empower the team of leaders to step into the global markets.
Julie Mercer added, “I am excited to be working with upGrad to support their plan to bring their offer to the UK. There has never been a better time to bring a digital-first, student-centered approach to higher education and upskilling and reskilling as we work to rebuild and reshape our economy. Working with university partners and experienced career coaches with a focus on employment outcomes, I believe that upGrad will play an important role in supporting students learn online in partnership with some of the best universities in the world.”
The prominent committee members get an appointment within one month of Zubin Gandevia as CEO, Asia Pacific. Last year the Edtech decided to appoint Saranjit Sangar as the CEO, UK & EMEA.
upGrad, in partnership with various universities, offer more than 100 courses in subjects like Data, Arts, Management, Technology, etc. Some of its partners include Deakin Business School (Australia), Duke CE (US), LJMU (UK), IIT Madras (India) and so on. upGrad tops the list of Linkedin’s Top Startups of 2020. The company also secured a place in the list of GSV Global EdTech 50.
Source: LiveMint