-Paromita Sengupta (Bengaluru)

Sangal: flying start

Gurugram-based Umang Sangal (28) is the founder-promoter of Uplifters Academy Pvt. Ltd, a mint new edtech company (estb.2023), offering skills training programmes and guidance through live online classes which has got off to a flying start. Uplifters is targeting pre and final year undergrads and working professionals in Tier II-III cities to enable them to become job ready and progress in their careers.

Since its promotion in February, the company has signed up 2,500 students for its weekend, pay after placement and placement assistance courses, campus workshops, summer internship programs and virtual masterclasses.

Newspeg. In April, Sangal led a four-member team to conduct its inaugural campus technology workshops at the Silver Bells Institute of Higher Education, Shamli (UP) followed by the Asia Pacific Institute of Information Technology, Panipat (Haryana).

History. A computer science engineering alum of the National Institute of Technology, Allahabad, Sangal acquired five years of corporate experience (UBS, Pune and Airtel Payment Bank, Gurgaon) before he bit the bullet to follow his true calling — skills education — and go solo.

“From my NIT days, the idea of lending a helping hand to under-appreciated professionals in neglected small towns of India was always at the back of my mind. Raised in small town Shamli in Uttar Pradesh with limited opportunities and mentors to guide me, I started teaching underprivileged children from neighbouring slums while I was in engineering college,” recalls Sangal.

Subsequently, during his stint with UBS, he was awarded as the employee who contributed maximum CSR (corporate social responsibility) hours with Pune-based non-profit Keep Moving Movement. This incubated the Uplifters idea. In 2023, Sangal invested his total personal savings (Rs.20 lakh) to promote Uplifters Academy Pvt. Ltd.

Direct talk. “Our goal is to support and enhance India’s untapped and undervalued talent, and prepare students to compete with the best worldwide. Towards this end, our ten highly qualified (IIT, NIT, BITS-Pilani, DTU alumni) teacher-mentors — mostly my friends employed in top multinationals — are making every effort. According to industry experts, the maximum demand in the jobs market is for data science, software development and digital marketing — which comprise our first offering of courses. What distinguishes us from other course providers is that we teach in ‘Hinglish’, a combination of Hindi and English which our subscribers from small towns and cities prefer. Moreover, our fees are affordable with several flexible payment options,” says Sangal. Enrolment fees per student for 4-7 month skilling courses is in the range of Rs.5,000-20,000.

Future plans. Sangal has ambitious plans for the future. “In December, we plan to introduce new courses in cybersecurity, artificial intelligence and machine learning. We have also drawn up a blueprint to step up our collaboration efforts with education institutions in tier II-III cities to place our students,” says Sangal.