2 days. 10,000+ students. 120 colleges. India’s largest “Learnathon” was powered by Trailhead.

By 2020, India will have the youngest workforce in the world. Nearly two-thirds of the population will have an average age of just 29. This staggering statistic means skill development and preparing youth for the jobs of tomorrow is key.

Government initiatives like Digital India and Skill India are aimed at driving a higher-skilled digital workforce, but the task ahead is vast.

Upskilling through gamification.

The government-backed ICT Academy was established to up-skill and develop the next generation of students and teachers throughout the country. They were tasked with inspiring a more self-directed learning culture among students and set out to design and deliver a national Learnathon to accelerate learning through gamification.

The goal of the Learnathon was to have students sign up for an online learning platform, explore a given technology, and use a gamification element to incentivize them to learn. With Salesforce-skills in such high demand, it was chosen as the technology partner making Trailhead — the fun way to learn Salesforce — the perfect fit!

With online, guided, hands-on learning paths and easy to understand content, Trailhead empowers everyone to learn the skills they need, at their own pace, regardless of gender, background, culture or lifestyle. In addition to covering a wide variety of in-demand technical skills, Trailhead also helps develop the soft skills needed for more well-rounded, career-ready professionals. For such a diverse event, Trailhead was chosen to be the power behind the “New India Student Championship 2018” — the largest Learnathon of its kind ever to be held in the country.

Taking place on February 2–3 2018, over 10,000 students, from 120 colleges, across 10 states of India came together to learn Salesforce. The students were tasked with completing Trailhead modules and projects with hands-on challenges. Not only were they developing in-demand industry skills, but they also heard directly from industry technologists who spoke about the opportunities for those with Salesforce expertise.

Coupled with an exploration of Salesforce careers, the students were motivated to chart their own path to building Salesforce skills. At the same time, they were developing their Trailhead online resume, proving they had the real-world know-how in tech and increasing their chance of employment upon graduation.

“Learning is happening everywhere!”

Within their own campuses, along with their teachers, together with fellow students — even some of the parents got involved. Learning may have been the ultimate goal, but the element of competition added an extra helping of motivation.

While the thrill of adding badges and points to their Trailhead profile was front of mind, many students were eager to become the college level and national level champion. Campuses competed against the clock, and each other, all captured through live leaderboards.

Learning beyond the Learnathon.

And the learning didn’t stop when the clock ran out. At the end of the event, students were encouraged to continue their learning on Trailhead and to attend Salesforce courses offered on each of their campuses:

• Salesforce Fundamentals for Business Administration Specialists, a foundational course for business students.
• Declarative Development for Platform App Builders and Programmatic Development using Apex and Visualforce which are both offered to information system and engineering students.

A “first of its kind” event.

The event was a joint effort involving many key people to ensure its success. Debjani Ghosh, President Designate of NASSCOM praised the efforts, pointing out that ICT skills are inextricably linked with the careers of the future and initiatives to empower students with relevant skills are essential;

“Today’s Learnathon has been an exemplar of how students across the country can leverage digital platforms to self-skill.”

The CEO of the ICT Academy, Mr. M. Sivakumar was excited to partner with Salesforce in this initiative, working together to bring knowledge of global relevance to the youth in India:

“This endeavour helped students to skill up, discover career options, and get hands-on experience to prepare them for the next generation jobs.”

Students and educators alike were proud to be a part of a first of its kind experience. Sam Jessi, Professor and Head of Department at Saranathan College of Engineering shared, “It was really encouraging to see that not only Engineering and Technology students but also the Arts and Science colleges rolling up their sleeves and plunging into this Learnathon event together.”

And Anjali Singh, a student of KSR College of Engineering was eager to participate, saying, “I’m very happy to be a part of such a big Learnathon.

“This is a new experience for me, where I was able to learn a lot of new things from various fields.”

Preparing India for the jobs of tomorrow.

The New India Student Championship 2018 Learnathon created a new benchmark in learning. But what does learning Salesforce skills mean in terms of the jobs of tomorrow in India? The IDC estimates that 3.3 million new jobs will be created by 2022, of which 363,000 will be in the India market alone.

Through the Digital India and Skill India initiatives, the task of skilling up the young workforce will begin to create pathways into the Salesforce economy. Only through driving awareness and inspiring students to embark on their own learning journey will these lofty goals be met. And what better way to make a start than by holding India’s biggest Learnathon to date, powered by Trailhead.

Driving learning change with Trailhead for Students.

But there is more to do. To really solve the skills gap, industry and educational institutions must continue to work together to prepare students for an ever-changing business world. That’s why the ICT Academy is using the Trailhead for Students program to continue where this event left off in helping to meet their goal of upskilling students and teachers alike throughout India.

Trailhead for Students brings the power of Trailhead to the classroom. By partnering with academia, the program aims to democratize education, empower students and provide an equal opportunity for all. Working together with universities, community colleges, workforce development programs and educational nonprofits worldwide, Trailhead for Students provides everything educators need to get students ready for the Salesforce economy.

A brighter future ahead.

The New India Student Championship 2018 was an event designed to drive change on a large scale. Students completed countless modules learning new skills and earning badges. But they were also introduced to a new pathway into the Salesforce ecosystem, connected with others on a similar learning journey, and were inspired to develop a new self-study mindset. A change is what’s needed for a “New India” and it was certainly delivered here.

For these 10,000+ students, the Learnathon was just the start of more upskill, self-directed learning to come — making their future ahead look much brighter. Why not set up your own Learnathon? In a classroom, across campuses or beyond. Use Trailhead to learn together, earn together and connect with other students who are ready to start their path into the Salesforce ecosystem.