Ronnie Screwvala's upGrad aims to take higher education offerings overseas

upGrad has earmarked Rs 500 crore for investments in the next 18-24 months for its overseas expansion

Renowned media entrepreneur and former UTV founder Ronnie Screwvala-backed upGrad is charting its overseas foray.

Co-founded by Screwvala — along with Mayank Kumar, Ravijot Chugh and Phalgun Kompalli — upGrad has earmarked Rs 500 crore for investments in the next 18-24 months for its overseas expansion, which involves taking its curated content in collaboration with leading educational institutions to international markets, besides providing other services.

For instance, besides tapping markets like Asia-Pacific (APAC), Europe, and West Asia with its domestic and international higher education programmes for working professionals and graduates, upGrad will foray into other services like overseas education consulting, as well as offering higher education programmes in collaboration with international universities.

The move comes at a time when, according to a recent analysis by RedSeer Management Consulting, the online higher education and lifelong learning industry is expected to be a $5-billion opportunity by FY25, clocking 10x growth from $500 million in FY20.

Currently, upGrad provides online programmes in data science, machine learning, technology, management, and law to college students, working professionals, and enterprises. These are delivered in collaboration with varsities and institutions, such as IIT Madras, IIIT Bangalore, MICA, Duke CE, and Liverpool John Moores University.