How students can pick the right college course for their career

In any school, 80-85 per cent students are not sure about what they would like to pick. India has 1.4 million schools till Class XII, including 100,000 private ones.

Ranju Sarkar reports on Univariety, a college and career counselling system that connects school students to the right content and people. 

Illustration: Dominic Xavier/Rediff.com 

Students are often influenced by peers or their families while choosing a stream for higher education. Schools want to help students make the right choice because their own brand depends on how their students do in life.

But a school is ill-equipped for such support.

Univariety, a start-up, helps a school use its own resources to set up a guidance system by enabling teachers and alumni to digitally engage with students and parents.

"We help schools create that digital infrastructure and get their students connected to the right content and people," said Jaideep Gupta, founder and chief executive officer (CEO).

The start-up, which offers career and college guidance system for schools, has raised ₹12.5 crore from Info Edge, the owners of job portal Naukri and food ordering app Zomato.

"Top colleges like IITs and IIMs are known for their placements and alumni network. Univariety is bringing that same awareness and those systems at the K-12 school level," said Hitesh Oberoi, co-promoter, managing director and CEO, Info Edge. "We believe that thousands of schools are interested in shaping students' success and aligning to future trends. Univariety can play a strong role in helping position such schools uniquely."

The opportunity is huge.

In any school, 80-85 per cent students are not sure about what they would like to pick. India has 1.4 million schools till Class XII, including 100,000 private ones. They have bought technology solutions such as smart classes for their students. Univariety is targeting these schools.

The company offering software as a service (SAAS) has three revenue streams: Subscriptions from schools, which varies from ₹2.5-6 lakh a year; second, a 'Certification with UCLA' course to help teachers become counsellors; and third, from universities keen to engage with school students.

Nearly 500 schools across the country are availing the company's service.

Next, it plans to largely use its app to engage with students and find better ways to effectively connect with the alumni.

The start-up also plans to tap schools in Nepal, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka and West Asia.