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Interview

Shantanu Rooj
Shantanu Rooj
Founder & CEO, TeamLease Edtech

Shantanu is the Founder & CEO of TeamLease EdTech, India's leading learning solutionscompany providing comprehensive services across universitiesand corporates. In his current role, he oversees strategic operations, P&L management, special projects, etc., managing the overall organization's growth trajectory. An IIT (BHU) and IIM Calcutta alumnus, he is widely recognized as a serial entrepreneur who has successfully led his ventures to successful IPOs/acquisitions and started his career with HCL. Shantanu took his first step into entrepreneurship with Paradyne Infotech Ltd which had a successful IPO in 2005. Subsequently, he founded Broadllyne Technologies Limited, which swiftlyevolved into a significant managed services player in the educationindustry; Broadllyne was acquired by a large, listed company in India in 2009. With a vision of making India employable, Shantanu founded TeamLease Edtech (formerly known as Schoolguru Eduserve) in 2012. 

Team Lease Edtech is India's leading learning solutions company: it helps universities launch, run, and manage their own Online Programs, helps institutes improve the employability of their students through its apprenticeship-linked skilling programs; and helps corporates upskill & reskill their workforce to improve productivity and build a talent supply chain. TeamLease Edtech has an exclusive partnership with 50 of India's largest universities across 16 Indian states, trains 5 lakh students on its platform through 9 Indian languages, and works with 4500 corporates in their upskilling/skilling initiatives. 

Shantanu is a passionate business strategy professional, a serial entrepreneur, and a columnist and has been speaking/writing extensively about his vision of University 5.0—the Future of Higher Education.

Q:How will human skills complement technical know- how?
A:In the future, human skills will complement technical know-how by adding creativity, critical thinking, empathy, adaptability, and leadership to technology’s efficiency. While machines provide speed and scale, humans will bring judgment, ethics, and emotional intelligence — ensuring innovation, connection, and purpose in an increasingly tech-driven world.
Q:the future of hiring, will degrees matter less than skills?
A:Even today, employers value skills over degrees. Degrees are the baseline hygiene and are used as qualifiers for many job roles. But in today's times (and in future) just degrees won't be enough. Candidates will have to demonstrate evidence of skill and experience.
Q:As an Edtech founder what's the biggest challenge and opportunity shaping the sector today?
A:The biggest challenge is bridging the gap between education and employability—ensuring learning translates into real-world skills. The greatest opportunity lies in leveraging technology to personalize learning at scale, making quality education accessible and job-relevant for millions. At TeamLease EdTech, we see this as our mission and responsibility.
Q:With organizations moving toward digital transformation, how can HR integrate EdTech tools into its core talent strategy to bridge the skill gap, enhance leadership development, and ensure that workforce capabilities evolve in sync with business growth?
A:One of our recent studies showed that whereas employees are concerned about their job resilience and are investing their own money for upskilling; the contribution from employers is still lagging behind. Employers must invest in the retraining of their employees and link their success to measurable skill and productivity improvements. Once training gets linked to appraisal outcomes, organisations see good improvement.
Q:With AI disrupting jobs, how can students future- proof themselves?
A:Employers today are looking for candidates who are not only skilled but also experienced. It's an irony but it's true that employers expect work-experience even from fresh candidates. Hence, students should pick up every opportunity to gain work skills through internships, apprenticeships and On-job training.