Bangalore,January 4 2016: In a recent announcement, search giant Google revealed that Indians are frontrunners in learning mobile developer technologies. With the proliferation of mobile devices in India (the count currently hovers around 220 million), we have overtaken the US to become the most prolific, in terms of interest in mobile developer courses.
For most Indian techies the e-learning route is their favourite mode for learning mobile technologies. In fact Google has partnered with e-learning companies like Simplilearn, Udacity, Edureka, Koenig, Manipal Global and UpGrad to collaboratively provide Android development courses. Krishna Kumar, CEO of Simplilearn says over 65 % of mobile developer learners in India comprise of college students and fresh graduates, compared to the US where 60 % of the learners are working professionals between the age bracket of 25 - 44.
“We’re excited to partner with Google in its ambition to train two million Android developers in India,” adds Simplilearn Chief Business Officer Kashyap Dalal. “Mobile applications continue to disrupt businesses and partnering with Google is in line with our mission of solving for the global skill gap in the digital age."
Says Peter Lubbers, head of Google Developer Training: “We have seen tremendous response across mobile developer courses from India, with 16,500 students enrolling every month taking up Android development, mobile web development and learning new cloud based technology courses. We have also introduced a globally-recognised, Job oriented Google Developer Certification (Associate Android Developer) that will help close the gap for employers and job seekers and define a common standard benchmark for the Industry.”
The numbers are staggering enough for professionals and students to look at Android development as a serious career path. With over a million apps available at any point of time on the Google Play Store, 65 billion app downloads, and app developers earning more than $7 Billion, all it takes to be an Android developer is an e-learning course and a unique (or not so unique) business idea.
Connecting the Kashmir valley
Edureka, one of the authorized training partners for Google, has witnessed steady growth in its Android Development course right from 2012 when its course was first launched. Lovleen Bhatia, co-founder, says, “We saw very early success with our Android course. In 2013, we successfully trained Mehvish Mushtaq Hakak, who is the first woman app developer in Kashmir. With the help of our course, Mehvish created an app that solved a major challenge for inhabitants of the valley – finding listings of essential services.”
The app – Dial Kashmir -- provides phone numbers, e-mail ids and addresses of essential and commercial services in Kashmir. In addition to the directory feature, it also has other features like ‘Find Pin code’, ‘Railway timings’, ‘list of holidays’, ‘Prayer timings’ among others. The latest version of the app (version 3.7) contains updated pin codes and holiday list for 2017, in addition to newer search features. Currently, the app has a 4.5 rating in the Play Store.
With many such innovative ideas waiting in the wings, this is the best time to e-learn your favourite skills and create something that matters to the world. Says Lovleen: “While Android development saw a surge in recent months, we are happy to learn that across the world, people gave a thumbs up to edu-tech in general. In 2016, 78% more people engaged with our brand than last year. Beyond our primary markets (India, US and UK), learners from Indonesia, the UAE, Bangladesh, Israel, Kenya, Nigeria, the Czech Republic, Zimbabwe, Slovakia and dozens of other countries chose Edureka to up-skill themselves and stay relevant in the industry.”
On the power of e-learning, he says, “On one hand, the world is moving towards mobile, unlocking career opportunities around mobile technologies and more. On the other hand, learners are leveraging the best online tools and platforms to learn a wide array of technology skills on-the-job."
On that note, we wish you an app-y new year!