upGrad brings Silicon Valley experience to India through its GGU-led bootcamps
Mumbai : upGrad, Asia’s largest higher edtech company along with its San Francisco-based university partner Golden Gate University (GGU) launched two live bootcamps to bring Silicon Valley-style technical knowledge and soft skills to Indian working professionals.
The all-day bootcamps helped participants absorb and apply Silicon Valley-style 3 C’s—collaborate, construct, and care—using only high-intensity engagement and tabletop design thinking. Divided into competitive teams, the participants learned how to transform traditional STEM thinking and doing into GGU’s signature STEAMM (science, technology, engineering, arts, math, and management) practices to grow their strategic skillsets. Enthusiastic GGU-Worldwide DBA, MBA, Law, Business Analytics, and Project Management learners stood up to the rigors and challenges of the bootcamps.
Facilitated by Prof Jay Gonzalez, Vice Provost for Global Affairs and Professor at the Ageno School of Business at Golden Gate University, the recently concluded Mumbai and Noida bootcamps brought GGU Worldwide students, who are also working professionals, together for the first time. For four consecutive years, Washington Monthly ranked GGU #1 U.S. University for working adults.
Using engaging LEGO desktop exercises, Prof Jay Gonzalez engaged the learners and other participants by acquainting them with key elements that made the Silicon Valley home to many innovative products and services in multiple industries and sectors.
“India has one of the world’s highest youth populations who are determined to contribute towards the global economy. With the GGU and upGrad commitment to affordable and accessible education, we are determined to deliver GGU’s signature Silicon Valley experiences to learners here through these bootcamps. Learners can get a sneak peek into how an American style of learning, where practical approaches using collaborative, constructive, and caring solutions, will complement a professional’s hard skills to deliver business results,” added Prof Jay. “At the end of the Noida bootcamp, a 72-year-old enrolled in GGU’s Doctor of Business Administration, powered by upGrad, thereby establishing that age is no bar for lifelong learning.”
Commenting on the development, Phalgun Kompalli, Co-founder, upGrad further added, “We are excited to see the response from our participants, and this further reassures our commitment. upGrad has always prioritized outcome-focused learning, and with GGU onboard, it has become much more targeted and driven. We felt it was apt for us to curate a soft-skill-dedicated bootcamp that enhances one’s personality traits for solving workplace problems while also improving their time management skills and productivity, at large.”