Bringing virtual reality to classrooms – The Daily Star

Founded in 2018, Nerdiz is Bangladesh's first virtual reality (VR) educational platform. Pradeepta Kumar Saha, the co-founder Nerdiz, conceived the idea in 2016, after he realised that he was a visual learner. "Many students have problems with conventional learning methods and visuals make things easier for them. So, I decided to introduce VR in our education system," he shared.

Since its establishment, Nerdiz has reached out to over 3,500 students across various schools. Furthermore, they diversified their venture to incorporate skill enhancement and impacted around 4,000 people. Before the pandemic, they were piloting with Teach for Bangladesh, Chittagong Grammar School, and Its Humanity Foundation's school.

While talking about the challenges they faced, Pradeepta shared that the high costs are a barrier. "There is limited awareness and knowledge about virtual reality. Educating people about the product is a huge task in itself," he added.

In the past few years, Nerdiz has increased its areas of expertise. Apart from VR experiences, the team of Nerdiz teaches coding to kids and offer a range of tech solutions to schools. Their VR product is subscribed by schools on the basis of monthly payments.

During the pandemic, Nerdiz made its online content free, witnessing a 300 percent growth in online users. They recently launched courses on coding and other emerging skills. The cost of these courses ranges from BDT 3,000 to 6000 per month. Their project, 'Rupantor', is a sponsor-based campaign that enables underprivileged students to learn through virtual reality.

Their future plans include creating an ecosystem for immersive learning and getting kids ready for the future. "We also intend to generate more tools for schools and make learning more interactive," Pradeepta concluded.

The author is a freelance journalist who likes reading, planning, and scribbling. Email: mislammonamee@gmail.com.

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Bringing virtual reality to classrooms - The Daily Star