What are young professionals and students doing cooped up in their homes during this virus outbreak? Playing video games, binge watching shows on Netflix? 

Turns out they are diligently upskilling themselves on ed-tech platforms. Hari Krishnan Nair, co-founder of Great Learning, says they have witnessed a 100% increase in users across major cities.

Mayank Kumar, co-founder of upGrad, which has seen a 50% increase in enquiries a day, says the anxiety of losing jobs could be a major reason for this. "Also, one must not forget that March is synonymous with 'bonus' for most. The economic downturn can affect the immediate salary hike or even result in no hike. There is a massive psychological pressure. Acquiring a new skill set can be a stepping stone to a career transition," he says.

An interruption in the delivery of education can cause long term disruption. The pandemic requires universities to rapidly offer online learning to their students. Fortunately, technology and content are available to help universities transition to online quickly and with high quality. Raghav Gupta, MD, India, Coursera.
Prateek Shukla, co-founder of Masai School, believes that given the role technology is playing during the ongoing global crisis (remote working etc), learners are recognising the growing opportunities in the tech sector. “With organisations also investing in integrating new technologies, this poses a threat to those employees who are not up to date,” he says.