SHArP Edge  proposes a vivid vision in the technical education with active involvement of all stakeholders in the community i.e- college administration, faculty, students and government at large. 
SHArP Edge aspires to build a pedestal for the much needed yet inadequate technical education in developing and under-developed countries. 
SHArP Edge contemplates an illustrative pedagogy,  inculcating various teaching methodologies- traditional chalk-board method, digital methods using audio-visual aid, learning-by-doing method - to create a holistic ecosystem.
SHArP Edge will foster and promote teachers, at various levels,  who would develop, establish and then continuously evolve as a community, making the learning curve grow exponentially, amplifying it with peer to peer learning too.
SHArP Edge continuously strives for and firmly believes that a direct connection with the ultimate beneficiary is must and hence it will connect with students at different levels, in various capacities to enhance collaborative learning. 
With a widespread network in technical education institutions, SHArP Edge aims to Edge forward & collaborate with government to frame the policies in technical education sector and  would strive hard to implement them with the community too.

Problem

•With around 26,478 institutions, India has the largest higher education system in the world in terms of number of institutions but in contrast the gross enrollment ratio (GER) is dismal at 12% as compared to 83% in USA and the government is targeting to achieve a 30% GER by 2020. •Number of All India Council for Technical Education (AICTE)approved engineering colleges has increased from 1475 colleges in 2005-06 to 3241 colleges in 2010-11 leading to a shortage of more than 1,50,000 teachers/faculty members in engineering education •India produces around 750,000 engineers every year and, only 25% competent to work Given the growing number of colleges and lack of competent faculty most engineering colleges are struggling to attract quality students. There is a growing demand by students for improved accessibility and convenience and direct application of content to work settings. To conclude, with increasing numbers in engineering colleges in India, quality of engineering education is deteriorating and a huge gap is created between the industry and the academia.

Solution

A true transformation in technical education is achievable only on a “ participatory model” where SHArP Edge brings industry and academia veterans to truly connect and work with the target populations involving them as partners not just customers or participants. We work at grassroots to diligently work and partner with community for the following processes: Set up research centers locally to gather and inculcate local needs Identify local leaders who are faculty, students and educationists and empowering them Prioritize and then implement innovation and community-sustainable solutions based on structural and cultural needs. We tie up with technical education institutes to provide the following: SHArP Teach: For teachers 1. Developing teaching pedagogy with active industrial collaboration  2. Training modules and certification for teachers SHArP Tutor: For students Imparting theoretical as well as industrial experience to students with the help of digital content and learn-it-by-doing models SHArP Class: For classroom teaching and overall learning management Developing a linking pin for SHArP Teach (teachers) and SHArP Tutor (students) where teachers can interact, teach, monitor and provide feedback to students for continuous improvement

Example

To illustrate the typical problem of current graduates, let us take the case of Gopal who, after completing his Bachelor‘s degree in Computer Science and Engineering with a good academic track record, has just joined an IT Services organization. Gopal has also undergone about 2 months of refresher training by the organization on software engineering before being assigned to the project. On the job, however Gopal begins to flounder. He is first of all quite stymied by the amount of information he has to digest in a short span of time. He did not have the skill to filter out and read what was really required for the job. The second challenge was his unfamiliarity with handling a large volume of code. He did not have the skill to abstract out the entire system, and only focus on the interfaces for the device driver he had to develop. The next challenge was on the design of the module. He had to pick a design which was not only efficient in the time but also efficient in use of system resources. Last but not the least, the design had to be robust. When it was time to integrate and test the driver, he had to really grasp the complexities of debugging an embedded system. Though his own module was quite simple, he had to have the big picture of the system. These problems can be traced to the following as well how our product helps the student: Problem Lack of imagination in understanding concepts in the academic setting and also probably in the evaluation patterns followed SHArp Edge Solution Use of Cognitive learning principles by using 2D, 3D models, simulations, diagrams, visual and audio material for better retention and better imagination. Problem Poor quality of faculty and teaching methods that could not integrate the classroom learning system with long term knowledge retention requirements and industry requirements SHArP Edge Solution Teachers Training module, integrated learning platform, improved teaching styles in the form of games, assessments etc. Problem Few problem sets (examinations) for students to test design oriented problems which would have given students the chance to explore the design space and appreciate the challenges, and SHArP Edge Solution Continuous evaluation systems, additional study material, regular assessments, identification of the student’s weaknesses, building learning curves and additional learning needs. Problem Little exposure to joint projects with faculty members, industry veterans and other peers to experience complexities in the actual work place and prepare students better for a career in the relevant industries. SHArP Edge Solution Industry videos, Do it Yourself learning system, interaction with Industry experts, relevant industry exposure and experience sharing

Marketplace

We do not see any direct competitor working on a similar methodology and as such there is limited competition. Although, there are various companies working on some areas in the higher education space. The key names include: 1. Edurite 2. S.Chand and Co. 3. Innovate Edu 4. Winzest 5. Free online courseware Impact and measures taken by SHArP Edge Brand Impact of bigger players · It is good to have competition & the bigger players have helped us to create awareness for digital content. Also competition proves that market is lucrative · The survival in the market is not based on brand name but based on quality of content and we have already proved ourselves over bigger players Past Experience of established players · Most competitors come from K-12 background who have ended up making content which may not be relevant for the engineering market Monetary Power to Influence Market Conditions · Ability to make good content is not dependent so much on money as it is on research and understanding ground level realities. We have a clear advantage of early entry in terms of content as each player (big or small) will have to go through this cycle of experimentation. Clients moving away to competition · The switching cost for a college after using our solution is high so a client today will always remain client as the method is integrated with the entire education system of the college.