Educational influencers are leaders with an abundance of love for learning. They are leaders not because they have a team which follows their every command relentlessly but because they are a beacon of change.

These educational leaders have the mettle to question conventional ideas and are experienced enough to answer the unquestioned. They connect teachers, principals, and all other educators to bring educational change on a global scale. These highly skilled representatives of education go the extra mile to bring high-quality education to all those who need it.

In our quest to find such globally acclaimed educational influencers, our path crossed with Sahil Narang, Founder and Director of Edusky Global Education. The below conversation with Mr. Narang give insights into his organization’s journey and how it is helping students achieve their dreams.

Kindly brief us about the graph of your career as an educationist. Also, tell us about your entrepreneurial journey.

I believe my journey towards overseas education started right when at a young age of 17 years, I started my Bachelor’s Degree at the University of Nottingham in the UK. Aspiring to study Bachelors in Electronics and Computer Engineering, out of the many offers I received, I chose Nottingham because of its high reputation and recognition in the engineering sector and also as one of the oldest traditional universities in the UK. This entire process of selecting the right program and university for myself gave me an insider’s view of the education counseling domain. I learned about the different steps involved in the application process, the tests required, and then the visa process.

This was just the beginning. While studying in the UK, I became part of a global platform where I interacted with people from all over the world, which gave me an exposure to global education systems and also a deep understanding of people in general. After my graduation, I worked with some of the biggest consulting companies in the UK, in technology consulting. I also worked with a mid-sized manufacturing company involved in the precision polishing and grinding of optical lenses.

Studying at Nottingham and then getting professional work experience in the UK didn’t just give me a degree, but it made me a globally aware human being.  Once I returned to India, I researched organizations providing student counselling and I discovered a gap in the market. There were either giant organizations (treating students like commodities) or, on the other hand, there were mom and pop shops providing name-sake counselling without the proper knowledge and professional systems. This is where the idea of Edusky was born – an organization that would provide high quality, unbiased counselling, and assistance to students according to their aspirations. 

Pertaining to your experience in the educational consulting sector, how according to you has the need for international education and skilled labor increased over time?

As we progress into a more global environment, our skills need to be on par with the rest of the world, especially the developed economies. Over the past 10 years, we have seen a major shift in the Indian economic landscape in terms of foreign investment and the setting up of massive foreign co-operations in India. With the opening of the economy and such a high global interest in India both as a market and as a manufacturing hub, future-ready skills and expertise are required if we want to be successful in harnessing our full potential.

This is where international education and, in turn, international professional exposure becomes all the more relevant and necessary. If we need to work with the world, we need to think and act like the world. More importantly, we need to develop the soft skills required to communicate effectively. To bring ourselves on a level playing field, we need to venture out and delve into the academic expertise and professional systems and good practices of the western world.

Our students can gain from the high level of research being conducted in these countries and also contribute to it. Our youth needs to open their minds, adopt the ‘out of the box’ techniques, and learn to look at the world from another perspective. This is the only way we can promote the idea of innovation. International education can provide this global perspective.

Tell us more about the organization you are associated with and how you have been utilizing novel marketing techniques to enhance the growth of your firm.

Edusky Global Education is today, one of the leading organizations in India, exclusively specializing in overseas education services. We focus on international education and learning and use an efficient and methodical approach for admission to universities abroad, making the entire process frictionless.

Since inception, Edusky has helped over 700 students get to their dream university abroad. Edusky provides services for a wide range of educational programs including University Foundation, Undergraduate, Graduate, Short Courses, and Online programs at various universities globally.

Edusky is the authorized India partner for many of the world’s top-ranked universities and business schools. We also provide English test preparation and German language programs through our dedicated language center.

In terms of reaching out to the right audience, we have been extremely fast at adapting to online platforms. I believe that is the future and we need to develop our marketing techniques keeping in mind the latest social media tools which are frequented by our target audience. We need to be open to new ideas and ways of promotion.

It is always our endeavour to provide the most updated information to our students relating to universities and programs abroad, therefore we continue to organize Open Days / Seminars in our offices and now, more importantly, Webinars and Online Sessions where students can participate and interact with university officials directly. We are now using film as an effective tool for marketing communication, and we plan to innovate more using this medium.

What is your opinion on the effect of globalization on the education sector?

With the onset of globalization, the international education sector has become all the more important. Students and professionals today require more and more skills related to international business. These include soft skills like effective communication across languages and cultures. This very important skill can only be developed in an international environment. Therefore, education overseas is extremely valuable in the overall development of our country’s human resources.

What challenges have you faced throughout the course of your career, and how have you tackled them?

I believe, starting a company is one of the most challenging things one can ever do. Therefore, this came with its share of obstacles and difficulties. For a new brand, the most difficult thing to attain is trust.

How do you make people trust you and believe that you will actually deliver what you promise? This is the biggest question. The answer to this came with relentless work and actions, that eventually over the years, lead to market perception of Edusky being an honest and ethical company. Other challenges were of course present, for example, attaining market share in a brutally competitive space, and also keeping financially afloat in the initial years.

I realized quite early on my journey, that the only thing that will set our organization apart, and lead us to success will be our people. Therefore, I invested in finding the right people and making sure they were given the right opportunities and environment to progress.

It was challenging to bring together such a pool of talent and it always is, but the path to overcoming this was one of a high level of empathy and understanding towards our team, and a strong focus on individual and professional growth.

Considering the current employment scenario impacted by the COVID-19 crisis, according to you, which educational discipline or industry could open the most opportunities for the future workforce?

In today’s scenario, the most obvious answer to that question would be that the technology space would offer the most promising opportunities, considering that our dependence on technology-driven online platforms has increased manifold. The future of business seems to be online, more than it ever was. Therefore, our computer science and IT sector will develop further and create many more jobs.

However, looking at it from another perspective, not the most obvious one at that, I believe, and more so in India, that due to the increased level of technology in our day-to-day lives, humans will gradually become emotionally deprived. There will be an increased need for the “human connection”. This, in my opinion, will give rise and prominence to sectors such as mental health and psychology. We will need more skilled medical professionals and psychologists to deal with the “future shock” of such massive changes in the world.

What would be your advice to those who wish to venture into the educational consultation business?

To anyone looking at venturing into education, whether it’s consulting or any other aspect of it, I would advise them to have “quality” as their prime focus. Education is a very different business. There are no short-cuts in education. It is a long road, where you need to establish yourself as a high quality and ethical entity that often takes years and years. I would advise entrepreneurs not to expect quick gains, as expected in technology companies today. This is not the valley. They will need to be patient if they want to create a long-lasting and sustainable organization.

What have you envisioned for yourself with respect to career growth?

I envision a world where quality education is accessible to all, equipping our youth with international best practices, and a broader outlook towards development. I aim to grow the organization in terms of a high-quality brand while fulfilling our vision. I will be satisfied when ethical counseling and guidance becomes the norm rather than the exception.