NIIT in hunt for innovative cos in education for digital push

After acquiring Bengaluru-based education-tech start-up Perceptron Learning Solutions, NIIT is on a look-out to acquire more innovative companies in the field of education, says Udai Singh, Head Of New Business Initiative, NIIT.Such acquisitions will help in accelerating the company's digital transformation. NIIT wants to create a full-fledged tech enabled learning ecosystem for its clients, says Singh.The IT training major has acquired Perceptron's business to forward its digital initiatives and improve its NIIT TV platform, adds Singh.Below is the verbatim transcript of Udai Singh’s interview to Prashant Nair and Ekta Batra on CNBC-TV18.Ekta: The company has acquired an education tech company, Perceptron Learning Solutions Private Limited. If you could just start by telling is about this particular company, how much did the company shell out or NIIT shell out in terms of the acquisition and the rationale behind it?A: Essentially NIIT acquired the business of Perceptron to further accelerate our digital initiatives such as StackRoute, our DigiNxt series of products and our NIIT.TV platform along with our new multi-modal learning delivery platform, training.com. This is a very young and innovative company and they have used technologies such as predictive analytics, social network to support learning and semantic computing. We had the good fortune of starting work with them early and we have taken our association to the next level by acquiring their business. Prashant: How much have you paid for it?A: We haven’t disclosed that yet. However, as is said, it is a young and innovative company, so, it is a small size. Ekta: Any more acquisitions that you would plan of such nature going forward? A: As I said, our strategy is really to accelerate our digital transformation. Being a leader in this space, NIIT works with many companies including some of them who participate in larger solutions that we create. So, we are always on the lookout for companies that are doing innovative work in the educational technology space. However, right now, there is no specific conversation going on. Prashant: What will this company do exactly for you, that you have acquired? A: As I mentioned, as part of our platform, NIIT has been well known through its widespread network of on-ground centers and that is normally the first point of interaction for individual students. We see transformation really taking us to a technology enabled 360 degree learning ecosystem which is actually present online and therefore that becomes the preferred destination for anyone looking for a learning or training solution. However, having said that, our intent is to be very distinctive and different from players who either have an on-ground strategy or an online strategy. We see ourselves as being a leader in the blended learning space and therefore we will offer our students the convenience of learning online if that is what they prefer or learning at our centers where very distinctive instructor led experiences can be created for them. So, we are seeing ourselves creating a multi-modal technology based learning platform and that is where the work that we have done internally will be strengthened by the technology and components and tools that Perceptron has created. We see a lot of synergy and complementarity between what we have done and what they have done.