It is common for Indian students to travel from one location to another to receive tutoring on various courses. Not only is this time consuming but it might also put some students (in far flung areas, no access to transport) at a disadvantage. However, quality education is every student's right and with this motto in mind SiviaGoyal along with other Co Founders, Anand Arora (Ex- IIT Roorkee ), Deepak Goyal (Ex- IIT Delhi ) and Tejpreet Singh ( Ex- MDI ) co-founded Edusquare to bring various formats of coaching under one roof.

Sivia comes armed with a B.tech degree in Civil engineering and an MBA in HR programme. She is also recognized for launching the YSchool Learning app, especially designed for students in grades 8th to 12th with a focus on preparing students for medical or non-medical studies in their 11th grade. The technology enabled applications aims to bridge the gap between students learning in tier 3 and tier 4 cities and a mentor sitting in a centralized location.

In an in-depth interview with the Women Entrepreneur Magazine team, Sivia shares with us her thoughts on leadership, her professional experience as an entrepreneur in the edtech industry and her desire to reshape education in Punjab.

Give Us A Brief Overview Of Edusquare And Yschool.

Edusquare is an offline tutoring platform based in Ludhiana, Punjab, founded in 2014. It is home to the most skilled teachers in the region, including IITians and Gold Medalists, to coach applicants for various competitive exams. It is the result of bringing together of the finest faculty in and around Punjab under one roof in order to provide a one-stop solution for all students who travel too far for coaching.

In 2018, Edusquare established an online vertical as part of its expansion. It's called the YSchool Learning App. It is an AI-based and Blockchain backed application, designed for students in grades 8th to 12th.  It offers the whole curriculum, broken down subject by topic, in the form of video lectures, followed by topic quizzes and a full chapter test at the end of each chapter.

The student has the option of selecting from a variety of subjects, topics, and even subtopics that will assist him in eliminating all of his doubts while also studying the entire topic thoroughly.

Take Us Through Your Early Educational Journey And Prior Industry Experience. What Drew You Towards The Edtech Sector?

My father worked for the government. Because of his occupation, I got an opportunity to study and reside in several parts of Punjab during my school years. I received my civil engineering degree from Punjab University in Chandigarh after which I collaborated with Infosys for a while. After receiving my CAT result, I enrolled in MDI's MBA in HR programme in Gurugram. There, I had the opportunity to work with Dr. Reddy for my summer internship, where I gained valuable experience in the corporate world.

What drew me to the edtech industry is that the people of Ludhiana were not particularly conscious about importance of education at that time. Ludhiana is a city of entrepreneurs with a rich history. So, even if a child is struggling in school, they should not be concerned since they have a backup plan. They may fall back on their own business. As a result, we sought to alter this perception. So, my brother, who is an IITian, along with one of his childhood friends TejpreetSingh  and I started Edusquare in 2014. The other Co Founder Anand Arorajoined the team in 2018, when we conceptualized our Online wing Yschool.

What Was The Founding Idea Behind Establishing Edusquare? How Did You Develop The Idea Into A Full-Fledged Organization?

The founding idea behind establishing Edusquare was that there is no amalgamation in the education sector of Ludhiana. Students must devote more time to travel in order to receive tutoring on various courses. In order to solve that, my team prepared an institution, particularly a one roof model that provides students with a lot more exposure and tests on a regular basis.

“Y school is an AI-based application that monitors the learning journey and was designed in a way that professionals gathered material ahead of time to deliver a test to analyze the student's strengths and shortcoming”

In 2018, our online arm began with a collaboration with Himachal Pradesh and the `Beti Bachao, BetiPadhao' project. The Himachal government is providing free education to girls from rural regions.

Traveling is a major issue for students who live in hilly places but attend schools in plain areas. To address this issue, we devised a hybrid model in which a school was transformed into a hub where all nearby students from various schools would congregate after school, and we provided a setup of two-way interaction in which live video from Ludhiana was transmitted via our software, and the students were engaged and exposed as a result of the two-way interaction.

What Function Does Yschool Fulfill For Students? What Is The Company's Long-Term Plan For The Yschool Learning App?

YSchool focuses on three primary areas of preparation: study, test, and analysis. This provides students with a highly organized material consumption method that helps them understand their strengths and limitations, as well as measures to improve their performance in the future.

The Blockchain-based incentive system that will be included in the App seeks to make learning more enjoyable while also keeping it focused and inspiring the learner to work harder towards his objective. It will also assist a student in monetizing it in terms of having coupons and providing healthy rivalry among peers.

Yschool aims to utilize the Yschool App to aid students with structure and task-based mentorship, bridging the gap between students learning in tier 3 and tier 4 cities and a mentor sitting in a centralised location, making education more accessible and inexpensive. YSchool presently operates Digital Learning Centers in ten locations, with aspirations to expand to 100 or more in the next two years.

Tell Us About The Various Roles And Responsibilities That You Currently Take Care Of As The Co-Founder Of Edusquare? As The One Leading The Firm, How Do You Drive Growth Within Edusquare?

Currently, I am in charge of the positions of CPO (Chief Product Officer) and CHRO (Chief Human Resources Officer) (Chief Human Resources Officer). I manage the whole HR wing, including operations such as human resources, payroll, performance management, policy development, and staff recruitments. As a product officer, I am responsible for everything connected to the learning app, such as the new model user experience that we want to provide or the new features that we want to deploy.

I collaborate with the product team and provide them the specifications and give my inputs depending on the feedback we are getting from the industry or the new features that have recently been launched.

As a successful business leader what would your advice be to young women aspiring to become business leaders in the future?

Women are more cautious to speak up about their professional goals. They are also more cautious to enter the professional sphere than men, but their potential and ability are evident since they demonstrate professional and personal leadership capabilities.

My sole advice to women is to have full clarity of vision, complete faith in the quality of the product, and enormous enthusiasm and tenacity for driving its reach to the highest level.