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Tag: upGrad Abroad

  • Amitabh Bachchan revives his ‘Angry Young Man’ avatar in new upGrad ad

    Amitabh Bachchan revives his ‘Angry Young Man’ avatar in new upGrad ad

    Mumbai: Ed-tech major upGrad’s latest digital film features actor Amitabh Bachchan in his 70’s popular persona of the ‘Angry Young Man.’ Conceptualised by upGrad’s creative agency The Womb, the ad spot announces the launch of its new vertical upGrad Abroad. 

    Directed by Amit Sharma of Chrome Pictures, the ad film shows Big B on an uncharacteristic rampage annoyed by the fact that upGrad Abroad offerings did not exist during his college days. The film aims to reassure parents and young aspirants that learning opportunities from globally recognised institutions need not be limited by societal or financial constraints anymore.  The film is now live across upGrad’s digital platforms. 

    According to the ed-tech, aspirants who seek to attain academic qualifications from global institutes or universities can now pursue their dream through upGrad Abroad’s diversified portfolio of 20+ programs that comes with the flexibility to complete the first 12 months online, followed by the on-campus learning in the subsequent months.

    “Over decades, the world has seen Bachchan on 70mm, KBC on TV and in numerous ads,” The Womb creative head Suyash Khabya. “So, how do we show him differently now? And that’s where the idea of bringing back ‘Angry Bachchan’ struck us. At the shoot, he was as fit as a fiddle even at 80…kicking, punching, and breaking stuff. We felt as if we were reliving the Zanjeer or Deewar era again. We’re confident that just like he breaks upGrad’s office in the commercial, the ad will break clutter.”

    “Times have really changed. We live in a world where opportunities are booming across all walks of life,” remarked Amitabh Bachchan. “I enjoyed doing this ad film because I want to remind today’s youngsters and their parents that in life appreciating and seizing opportunities is what will lead them ahead. Experiencing learning in newer ways as offered by upGrad Abroad, puts forth such an opportunity where you can access global education at affordable prices.”  

    “While our recently launched upGrad Abroad vertical is a breakthrough, we realised that the bigger challenge is to first reach out to the relevant target audience and create maximum visibility for them to be able to make an informed decision,” commented upGrad India CEO Arjun Mohan. “In this regard, it was extremely critical for us to understand the market sentiment and then make a strong marketing move. And that’s when the decision of joining hands with Amit ji to further our upGrad Abroad mission, came to life; whose on-screen persona and charm will undoubtedly make heads turn and will leave a lasting impact on the audience, thus hitting the bull’s eye.”

  • upGrad introduces online ‘Study Abroad’ program

    upGrad introduces online ‘Study Abroad’ program

    KOLKATA: The Covid-19 pandemic played spoilsport with people’s plans to seek higher education at foreign universities. With the crisis showing no signs of abating soon, would-be-students are re-evaluating their priorities or are in quandary on how to fulfil their desire to “study abroad”. To overcome this challenge,  edtech platform upGrad has unveiled a Study Abroad program to enable learners to experience on-campus learning with renowned international universities.

    The idea of this initiative draws back from a recent survey conducted by the e-learning leader, wherein it was found that a lot of upGrad learners and alumni are still willing to travel and study abroad, to find employment in foreign regions. Responding to such emerging demands, but also keeping affordability in mind, as not everybody in such testing times is willing to make heavier financial commitments, upGrad has designed this unique model offering.

    The program is designed carefully keeping in mind the online cost for one year, which is 1/10th of the offline expenses, thus offering dual benefits of being cost-effective, with an added advantage of mobility. Learners under this arrangement have a chance to study abroad and explore job opportunities in the respective region as per their choice in the coming future, at a cost significantly lesser than what they would have to pay for a fully on-campus foreign course.

    With a target to achieve 50,000 learners by 2026, upGrad has already kicked off two such programs; the first being the pathway to Australian Universities where renowned Australian universities like the  James Cook University, Brisbane Campus are participating, along with the second program, Master’s Degree in Data Science wherein learners will receive dual accreditation from IIIT Bangalore and the International University of Applied Sciences, Germany.

    The newly introduced program is not only applicable for learners in India, but also geographies like the Middle East, southeast Asia, etc. It will also allow them to pursue the program in two parts: one-year online in India or from their respective countries, followed by an opportunity to complete their course on-campus abroad in the subsequent year/s.

    upGrad India CEO Arjun Mohan said, “We have always aimed at providing quality transnational education to our learners who are currently residing across geographies. With the Covid-situation impacting international students’ mobility dramatically, we have now come up with a sustainable solution of the ‘Study Abroad’ program, where the learner spends this year studying online and moves abroad the next year to gain their global exposure or build a career there. With this one-of-a-kind program arrangement & Ankur’s joining us, we look forward to expanding the Bachelor’s market for studying abroad by making it affordable and relevant to the current market situation.”

    He added that the higher learning platform is looking to close at least 20 university tie-ups as part of the initiative in the coming months.

    Both programs are in-build with personalised mentorship from upGrad to offer a continuous handholding throughout the program modules and includes an end-to-end counselling/visa support to make the entire process and learning experience hassle-free for its learners. On the successful completion of the on-campus program in the second year, learners can also apply for a post-study-work visa in the destination country and build a career there.