Headline

{EdTech Startup: STEMROBO Technologies} STEM robotics IoT and AI to shift the K-12 student culture from ´active listeners´ to ´active makers´

This EdTech startup is providing learning solutions in STEAM, STEM, robotics, IoT, and Artificial Intelligence (AI) to K-12 students. The company has been establishing Atal Tinkering Labs in schools across India.

STEM education has become significant in the modern age. The Government of India has been focussing on STEM education in schools through the Atal Innovation Mission´s Atal Tinkering Labs. Keeping this emphasis on STEM education in mind, STEMROBO Technologies has been offering solutions focused on leveraging tech in education, while acting as an enabler for students to learn and innovate in the field of STEAM, robotics, IoT, and AI.

The Tech Panda spoke to Rajeev Tiwari, Co-founder of STEMROBO Technologies, about the significance of STEM in today´s education.

Rajeev Tiwari

We believe in shifting the culture of students from being active listeners to become active makers to ensure that success in India becomes completely self-reliant

“STEM education’s growth is very vital as it helps to become self-reliant and opens opportunities for female students as well. In addition, now education is given at the lowest level along with technical advances and space to create and innovate. The same can make our economy develop stronger and faster,” he says.

Today, STEMROBO Technologies is one of the leading EdTech startups and has been putting up Atal Tinkering Labs in in more than 1200 schools across India.

“With the government’s quest to make India Atmanirbhar, we pride ourselves on being a completely ‘Make in India’ brand. However, the success of the government’s campaign will lie in the hands of education. The students and the youth are still pushed to listen rather than to create. Initiatives like NITI Aayog’s Atal Tinkering Labs need to be injected into the system to promote innovation and creativity in young minds. We believe in shifting the culture of students from being active listeners to become active makers to ensure that success in India becomes completely self-reliant,” he adds.

What They Do

The company aims at providing a platform to students across the globe to harness learning and innovation technologies in the field of STEM education. The startup concentrates on six main innovations, including block-based programming, app creation, app-development, AI, Python, 3D designing, Arduino programming, and fun with electronics.

The goal and focus of STEMROBO Technologies is to solve real-world problems by using techniques and project-based learning, while providing an immersive learning experience that caters to essential 21st-century skills

They have developed Tinkering and Innovation Labs in more than 1200 schools and work with more than 500,000 students and teachers to foster students’ out-of-the-box thinking and technological advancement.

“The goal and focus of STEMROBO Technologies is to solve real-world problems by using techniques and project-based learning, while providing an immersive learning experience that caters to essential 21st-century skills,” Tiwari explains.

Origin

In 2012, Tiwari and his colleague, Anurag Gupta, thought of starting a venture that could be an India centric solution in the form of innovative products, hardware, software, and pedagogy for the unique problems being faced by students in the K-12 Space.

“At that time, technology and creativity in the country were below average, which, in turn, slowed down the country’s progress. New-age inventions and 21st-century skills were seen as something that only the privileged could appreciate,” Tiwari recalls.

STEMROBO Technologies believed in encouraging and motivating students by giving them access to strategic technology that could lead to innovations and the country’s development

After a four-year research in 2016, they founded STEMROBO Technologies to help K-12 students get adept in STEM education and further enable their minds to better learning and innovation.

“STEMROBO Technologies believed in encouraging and motivating students by giving them access to strategic technology that could lead to innovations and the country’s development,” he says.

Imparting Education During the Pandemic

During the pandemic, the startup faced numerous challenges as they were providing B2B services to 1200+ schools. Their model for all the courses were offline. Due to the sudden closure of offices, research programs, which were to be completed soon, were interrupted. All these projects were hardware related projects and were therefore not possible in an online mode.

STEMROBO Technologies´ management and the entire team took this crisis as an opportunity and shifted all their content online, making it more personalized so that the learning of students wasn’t affected.

The pandemic helped us in providing customized services to rural areas. Students were provided with smart-phone friendly availability of various courses via, apps, WhatsApp, videos, and webinars

“Our teams kept courage and converted the face-to-face trainings into online training. We shifted our approach from B2B to B2B2C, providing the students with experiential learning and all the other facilities at one click,” Tiwari explains.

“In fact, the pandemic helped us in providing customized services to rural areas. Students were provided with smart-phone friendly availability of various courses via, apps, WhatsApp, videos, and webinars,” he adds.

Their USP

The company believes in changing the innovation landscape around the world by its available courses and programs. They leverage technology in K-12 education, which works on unique methodologies of robotics, coding, IoT, and AI for school students.

They are also supporting after school programs and promoting self-paced experiential learning through STEAM based DIY kits. In addition, they customize the course curriculum for students.

“Students get certificate for the various programs that they do with us. They also get the chance to attend workshops, available in native languages as well,” says Tiwari.

Growth Story

So far, STEMROBO Technologies has setup Tinkering and Innovation labs in more than 1200+ schools, enrolled more than 500,000 students, over 30 activity centres, and over ten robotics and DIY in house products.

The startup is committed to high growth in India and abroad. They are now joining global tie-ups and reaching into new markets. By 2025, they are seeking exponential growth by extending their product scope across 70+ countries and are targeting a revenue of US$ 250 million.

“We have achieved success in establishing our global identity in a very short time. So far, our teams have directly or indirectly reached more than 20 countries. We are providing online training in ten countries in Africa. Apart from Africa, we’re offering services in the US, Australia, Sri Lanka, the UK, and other neighbouring countries,” says Tiwari proudly.

The startup is incubated by Electropreneur Park and STPI, and Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MEITY, Government of India). The company’s AI Connect Platform has been selected under the AI Step-up Module initiative launched by NITI Aayog and NASSCOM.

Navanwita Bora Sachdev

Navanwita is the editor of The Tech Panda who also frequently publishes stories in news outlets such as The Indian Express, Entrepreneur India, and The Business Standard