[Written in partnership with MaGIC, but the editorial team had full control over the content.]
While we’ve featured many Malaysian edutech platforms that have emerged both before and during the pandemic, most of them are catered to students or the masses looking to upskill.
But to have meaningful and productive lessons, teachers must also know how to handle their students and classrooms through a screen. Yet there has been a gap in the market so far for a platform to train up educators.
That’s according to Zulfikar Alimuddin, Williams Rahaditama, and Hengki Dwiyan Hermawan, the founding team of an Indonesian edutech site, GuruInovatif.id (GuruInovatif).
“Usually, educational platforms target students or schools, even though there are more than 4.3 million teachers in Indonesia that need to develop their teaching competencies,” they told Vulcan Post.
Looking to expand its operations around SEA, it joined the Global Accelerator Programme (GAP) held by the Malaysian Global Innovation & Creativity Centre (MaGIC).
Teaching the teachers
Launched in September 2020, there are at least 3 problems in the development of teaching and learning that GuruInovatif wants to address. They include the access to training and certification, digital literacy, along with guidance and continuous professional development.
To solve these pain points, the platform offers development programmes to teachers that are taught by experienced trainers. Browsing the courses provided, it appears that most lessons are directed towards Indonesian school programmes, but there seem to be some general courses too that may be suitable for any teacher regardless of location.
Additionally, there are courses to guide teachers on how to navigate digital tools for online classes, including how to publish articles on WordPress, and learning the basics of using Google Docs.
According to the team, such courses are offered because there are some general concepts and frameworks that any teacher should adopt to teach effectively. Plus, they are aiming for GuruInovatif to cater to all teachers, regardless of subjects or grades.
GuruInovatif offers both live webinars and on-demand videos for their lessons, much like the Malaysian edutech platform ReSkills. The Indonesian startup shares ReSkills’ opinion that live webinars are beneficial as they facilitate interaction and discussions between participants and trainers.
“Meanwhile, on-demand videos are made so that teachers can access the training flexibly, anywhere, anytime,” added the team.
To ensure the success of the courses, GuruInovatif conducts pre-tests before each class to measure a teacher’s initial knowledge in a subject. After the class, another test is held to assess how much knowledge is gained from the training.
Once courses are completed, participants will be provided with certificates to showcase their competency in the subject matter.
Reaching the target market
With GuruInovatif aiming to train up various levels of teachers, its team is ensuring that no teacher gets lost during their training journey.
For example, teachers who come onboard as individuals will be guided through the platform’s self-service model, where demonstrations on how to use the site will be provided.
The GuruInovatif team has also managed to onboard teachers by collaborating with the related associations for teachers and school heads, along with government programmes in Indonesia.
Operating on a subscription and pay-per-class model, GuruInovatif reported that it now has over 100,000 subscribers consisting of teachers and educators. On average, the platform sees around 1,000 to 10,000 new monthly subscribers.
Based on the team’s sharing, it appears that they have little issue onboarding teachers who want to upskill, which shows demand for their programmes. However, the team is seeking funding from investors and venture capitals to expand and deliver their programmes to more teachers in Indonesia, and hopefully the rest of SEA too.
Access to the global market
Our plan for next year is to make GuruInovatif not only for teachers but for the education ecosystem (teachers, schools, local governments, students, parents, etc.). So, we hope that GuruInovatif can become a Super App for education.
Zulfikar Alimuddin, Williams Rahaditama, and Hengki Dwiyan Hermawan, the founding team of GuruInovatif
To build on this goal, GuruInovatif has joined MaGIC’s GAP, which gives startups the opportunity to potentially grow their platform in the APAC region.
GuruInovatif shared that they’re looking to gain advice from experts and mentors in getting their startup ready for the global market. The team is also hoping to network and collaborate with other startups in the region by forging regional partnerships and building a potential investment ecosystem.
Furthermore, to attain the funding they need to grow their platform, joining GAP will give them access to potential capital from the MaGIC ecosystem via the GAP Investment Partners.
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Based on the current GuruInovatif site, it is likely that there is more to be done before it’s ready to take on a larger market outside of Indonesia. For example, the main language on the platform is in Bahasa Indonesia, with other languages yet to be available.
Additionally, localisation is of utmost importance if GuruInovatif wants to scale effectively in the global market, as courses in each country’s programmes need to be relevant to its syllabus and taught by experts in their respective fields.
Featured Image Credit: Zulfikar Alimuddin, Williams Rahaditama, and Hengki Dwiyan Hermawan, the founding team of GuruInovatif
