Not Just Sales: Intellipaat Founder Diwakar Chittora On Why Learner Outcomes Come First

1. How has Intellipaat evolved over the years to address the changing demands of the tech industry and learners?

From day 1, we were very clear with our vision: to equip working professionals and young graduates with industry-relevant skills in the shortest time possible. We began with just one course: Big Data and Hadoop. Gradually, we expanded into analytics, then data science, artificial intelligence, and cloud computing.

Today, after nearly 13 years in the market, we offer 150+ courses across 18 categories. Our offerings have evolved from short-term certification courses to job-readiness programs (spanning 7–11 months), online degree programs, and even study abroad. Most recently, we've entered the undergraduate learning segment, catering to 18–22-year-olds who are pursuing engineering, management, or other disciplines, helping them pick up real-world skills alongside their formal education.

We’ve also significantly grown the enterprise training segment. Starting with a few clients like Ericsson and Genpact, we now work with 700+ corporates globally—including names like Nasdaq in the U.S. and almost every major IT, finance, and automotive firm in India. We support them in upskilling their workforce with the latest technologies.

2. What sets Intellipaat apart from other online learning platforms offering similar technology courses?

What makes Intellipaat truly different is our DNA—our mindset and intent.

The founders at Intellipaat are educators first, then entrepreneurs, and only then salespeople. This matters. Being an educator at heart means you’re obsessed with learner success—you think about outcomes first. In contrast, others are salespeople first, then businessmen and then educators, this chronology can impact learner outcomes very differently.

We apply a student-first approach in everything: content creation, delivery, support, assessments. The moment a learner joins us, we map their objectives and track their journey closely until they graduate. If someone struggles, we intervene. If they're thriving, we push them further.

Our curriculum is designed in collaboration with industry experts, our delivery includes hands-on labs and real-world projects, and our support is proactive and personalised. We measure everything through defined KPIs and use that data to keep refining the experience. This granularity in learner monitoring and the deep sense of responsibility we feel toward every learner is what truly sets us apart.

3. How does Intellipaat ensure its courses stay relevant to industry trends, especially in rapidly changing fields like AI, Data Science, and Cloud Computing?

All our courses are created and delivered by industry experts—people who are already working with the technologies we teach. This gives us a unique advantage because we don’t just follow trends; we anticipate them.

When we design a course, we think ahead—what’s going to be in demand 6 to 12 months from now? Since it takes at least two months to develop a comprehensive curriculum, we always work proactively to stay ahead of the curve.

Additionally, every course goes through a quarterly review cycle. We update content regularly based on what’s happening in the market, what hiring managers are asking, and what learners are experiencing on the ground. This includes updated case studies, assignments, and project work.

4. Can you share some success stories of learners from Tier 2 and Tier 3 cities who have significantly transformed their careers through your platform?

Absolutely—we have thousands of such stories.

We’ve had learners from Tier 3 towns and even remote villages who’ve gone on to land jobs with ₹25–30 LPA packages. Some of them were first-generation engineers in their families. And many have cracked roles that even IIT graduates find challenging.

One case, which was also part of a survey conducted by EY, featured a fresher from a Tier 3 town and Tier 3 college securing a ₹30 lakh package and cracking 6 companies. That’s not just a number—it’s life-changing. These stories are why we do what we do.

5. How does Intellipaat’s collaboration with companies like Microsoft enhance the value of its programs?

Our partnership with Microsoft is incredibly valuable to learners. It gives them access to official Microsoft course material, which is comprehensive and current. They also get to learn from Microsoft-certified trainers, ensuring world-class instruction.

When this is combined with Intellipaat’s pedagogy, learner support, and hands-on practice, it becomes a 1+1 = 11 situation. The outcome for the learner is exponentially better, as they gain both deep product knowledge and practical industry exposure.

6. How do you see the EdTech landscape evolving in India post-pandemic, especially with the return of offline learning?

Post-pandemic, we’ve seen a clear divide. Parents want their children back in schools, while professionals prefer working and learning from home. This shift has led to exponential growth in K-12 offline models, but professional education online has only strengthened.

Online learning saves time, especially in metro cities like Bangalore or Mumbai, where commuting alone can take up 3 hours a day. That’s the time people now use productively for learning.

Also, online learning removes location constraints. A learner in a remote town can now be taught by an instructor from Google in the U.S. That kind of exposure is priceless.

Plus, learners get recorded sessions with lifetime access, which they can revisit anytime. That’s something a classroom notebook can’t compete with. So overall, I believe online professional education is here to stay and only getting stronger.

7. What are the biggest challenges facing online education platforms today, and how can they be addressed?

There are two major challenges right now:

1. High customer acquisition cost (CAC): The biggest expense for most EdTech companies today is marketing. It’s often unsustainable and the primary reason many well-funded players are now struggling.

2. Short-term mindset and hypergrowth addiction: Many EdTech firms have focused too much on revenue and growth without ensuring learner outcomes. This has led to short-lived success followed by sudden decline or shutdown.

To address this, we need to bring the focus back to sustainable models and focus on the objective fulfilment of the learners. If we stay true to these, there is a significant opportunity ahead for EdTech globally.

news