StartupTalky

Tag: STEM Industry

  • ThinkerPlace Director Deepti Sharma on Shaping the Future of STEM Education

    StartupTalky presents Recap’23, a series of in-depth interviews where we engage with founders and industry leaders to explore their growth in 2023 and their predictions for the future.

    The STEM industry, comprising Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics, fuels innovation and progress in our ever-evolving world. With a growing demand for skilled professionals, STEM fosters critical thinking and creativity, shaping the forefront of technological advancements. It stands as a key pillar, addressing global challenges and propelling us toward a brighter, more interconnected future.

    STEM job growth is rising, with an 8% increase expected between 2017 and 2029. Since 1990, STEM employment has seen a remarkable 79% surge, and the momentum continues with a projected 10.8% growth from 2021 to 2031. This emphasizes the persistent demand for skilled STEM professionals, shaping the future workforce landscape.

    In our recent interview for Recap’23, we connected with Deepti Sharma, Director of ThinkerPlace. We explored ThinkerPlace’s influence in the STEM industry, diving into its challenges, approaches to customer expansion, future aspirations, and beyond.

    StartupTalky: What does ThinkerPlace do? What was the motivation/vision with which you started?

    Deepti Sharma: Our company aims to nurture intelligent minds who can extend their learning abilities and knowledge scope beyond the PURVIEW of their textbooks. Our vision is to equip students with tools to learn from real-world experiences, delving into new-age skills through our S.T.E.M-based Educational DIY Toys. These toys teach coding, automation, robotics, and more, empowering kids to learn beyond books.

    What Is the Potential of AI and Tech Startups to Transform the STEM Industry?
    Artificial intelligence has changed how we do our jobs. Let’s understand the potential of AI and tech startups to transform the STEM industry.
    StartupTalkyMuskaan Kapoor

    StartupTalky: What is/are the USP/s of ThinkerPlace?

    Deepti Sharma: Our DIY Kits offer access to a Learning Management System, enabling kids to explore innovative skills like robotics, coding, automation, and IoT. These kits are much more than toys, allowing children to create gadgets, learn from interactive videos and 3D animations, and receive guidance from STEM experts.

    StartupTalky: How has the STEM industry you are in changed in recent years, and how has ThinkerPlace adapted to these changes?

    Deepti Sharma: STEM education is becoming increasingly important in India as the country seeks to become a leader in technology and innovation. We believe that there is a growing awareness of the need for STEM education, and we expect to see more schools and parents prioritizing this type of learning in the coming years. ThinkerPlace can play an important role in shaping the future of STEM-based education in India by creating high-quality products that are accessible to all children. We are committed to working closely with schools and educators to ensure that our products align with their curriculum and learning objectives, and we are constantly looking for ways to improve and innovate our products to meet the changing needs of students and educators. We believe that by providing children with engaging and effective STEM learning experiences, we can help prepare them for success in the digital age and contribute to the growth and development of India’s innovation ecosystem.

    Deepti Sharma: Our research team tracks new toy launches, conducts rigorous tests, and analyzes market trends to understand what resonates with children. This helps us understand our competition and plan our product roadmap and business strategy.

    StartupTalky: What key metrics do you track to check the company’s growth and performance?

    Deepti Sharma: We track metrics like website traffic, conversion rates, social media engagement, repeat customers, and sales performance.

    StartupTalky: What were the most significant challenges your company faced in the past year, and how did you overcome them?

    Deepti Sharma: Adaptation to the changing educational landscape has been a major challenge. We’ve navigated this by innovating our products to align with the evolving needs of schools and educators.

    StartupTalky: What are the different strategies you use for marketing? Tell us about any growth hack that you pulled off.

    Deepti Sharma: Our marketing activities span across digital channels, workshops with schools to boost STEM awareness, and participation in events and school activities for direct audience interaction.

    Director Deepti Sharma Highlights ThinkerPlace’s Focus on Independent Toy Making in India.
    Developing STEM DIY is a necessary thing for a child’s overall development. Here the director of ThinkerPlace shares the growth aspects of the industry.
    StartupTalkyAkash Kushwaha

    StartupTalky: What are the important tools and software you use to run your business smoothly?

    Deepti Sharma: We use tools like CRM software, accounting software, and Adobe Suite.

    StartupTalky: What opportunities do you see for future growth in your industry in India and the world? What kind of difference in market behavior have you seen within states in India?

    Deepti Sharma: The future of STEM is bright. It is an in-demand stream in our country, and even the government is pushing STEM Learning for children with its new guidelines in the NEP 2020 (National Education Policy 2020). The new guidelines say schools and educational institutes must have a learning system that is more goal-oriented and practical. This will nurture the children toward concept-building and practical thinking. ThinkerPlace has been successful in implementing the same in several schools across the country.

    StartupTalky extends its gratitude to Mrs. Deepti Sharma for dedicating her valuable time and generously sharing her insights with all of us.

    Explore more Recap’23 Interviews here.

  • What Is the Potential of AI and Tech Startups to Transform the STEM Industry?

    This article has been contributed by Deepti Sharma, Director, ThinkerPlace.

    Artificial intelligence has fundamentally changed how we do our jobs. Our reliance on AI has made life easier and more ingrained in our culture as a whole.

    We used to rely solely on Google to provide us with information, but now we ask AI to do our work for us. The question that we must all ask is: How will it affect the next generation?

    In the STEM sector, entrepreneurs in AI and technology are quickly changing how we study and approach STEM subjects. STEM education is a crucial part of education systems worldwide as it prepares students for a rapidly evolving workforce.

    Artificial Intelligence’s impact on STEM learning and education, in general, has been up for debate and discussion for quite a long time now.

    Science, technology, engineering, and mathematics are the four key academic areas that are highlighted. Historically, lectures, books, and experiments have been used to teach these subjects. STEM education is evolving, though, with the rise of AI and digital businesses. Innovative tools and methods are being used by AI and tech businesses to improve STEM education and make it more open to all students.

    To improve instruction and learning quality, several AI technologies are applied in STEM education. Because of its complexity, it is currently difficult for AI technology to make STEM learning simpler for students. To accomplish high-quality STEM learning, one must carefully take into account these complicated elements because there are many important concepts involved.

    AI technologies can help students develop crucial skills like cognitive thinking, problem-solving skills, creativity, and more. Many articles and statistics report good efficiency and algorithm accuracy when AI is used in STEM learning.

    Statistics on How AI Will Transform the STEM Industry

    Now let’s take a look at how AI will transform the entire STEM industry with some statistics:

    1. The International Federation of Robotics estimates that the number of industrial robots installed worldwide will reach around 3.1 million units by 2025, driven in part by advancements in AI and machine learning.
    2. GitHub’s “2022 State of the Octoverse” report states that the use of machine learning and AI on the platform grew by 200% in 2022, indicating a rising trend of AI adoption in software development.
    3. A study by PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) suggests that AI technologies can contribute up to $15.7 trillion to the global economy by 2030, with the largest impact expected in the manufacturing and engineering sectors.

    Potential of AI in the STEM Industry

    • AI offers enormous potential for automating routine, repetitive jobs, freeing scientists, engineers, and researchers to concentrate more on innovative work. Another way AI and tech entrepreneurs are changing the STEM sector is by developing new tools and technology that are fundamentally altering how research and development are carried out. To analyze enormous datasets and spot patterns and trends that would be challenging for people to spot on their own, AI-powered techniques are now being deployed. This is causing discoveries in industries like healthcare, where artificial intelligence is being used to create novel cures and treatments for illnesses.
    • In sectors like manufacturing, where robots can complete jobs quickly and accurately, AI-powered automation also increases productivity.
    • AI assists in analyzing and gaining useful insights from enormous datasets as a result of the growing amount of data being generated. As a result, predictions and decisions can be made with more accuracy. Machine learning algorithms can spot patterns, correlations, and trends in data that humans might overlook.
    • In addition to revolutionizing the STEM sector, AI and IT entrepreneurs are also generating new career prospects. There is a rising demand for individuals with the skills necessary to create and manage these systems as more businesses adopt AI and other cutting-edge technologies. As a result, there are more positions available in disciplines like data science, machine learning, and artificial intelligence.
    • Personalized Learning: AI can revolutionize STEM education by providing personalized learning experiences. Intelligent tutoring systems can adapt to individual students’ needs, pacing, and learning styles, offering tailored instruction and feedback. This personalized approach enhances students’ understanding and engagement with STEM subjects.
    • AI and technology startups are also supporting emerging technologies such as Virtual Reality (VR) and Augmented Reality (AR) that make STEM learning more immersive and engaging. With VR and AR, students can experience complex concepts and scenarios that would otherwise be an impossible task. For instance, students can explore the human body, the solar system, or even the intricacies of a molecular structure in a virtual environment. This approach to learning makes it easier for students to comprehend complex concepts, leading to better learning outcomes. “Even at ThinkerPlace, we are bringing in innovative AI-driven toys for kids, through which they get a rich and fun experience of STEM learning,” says Deepti Sharma.
    • AI and technology are also working towards gender equality and bridging the gaps in STEM education. Historically, STEM subjects have been a male-dominated field, and the industry has struggled to attract women and people from diverse backgrounds. However, AI and technology startups are leveraging their innovative approaches to make STEM education more inclusive.

    Conclusion

    Overall, AI has the potential to revolutionize the STEM industry by automating tasks, personalizing learning, enhancing data analysis, advancing research capabilities, transforming healthcare, improving engineering processes, and addressing complex challenges. It empowers scientists, engineers, and researchers to push the boundaries of knowledge and innovation. The potential of AI to improve STEM is seamless. It can help the industry go beyond and excel in innovations that no one had ever thought of.

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    StartupTalkyDevashish Shrivastava