Vinay Pradhan, Country Manager and Senior Director, India and South Asia, Udemy
The education sector is witnessing a significant transformation with the integration of cutting-edge technologies such as artificial intelligence (AI), machine learning (ML), augmented and virtual reality (AR/VR) and internet of things (IoT). This revolution is being driven by 5G networks, which offer substantially higher bandwidth and lower latency. Vinay Pradhan, Country Manager and Senior Director, India and South Asia, Udemy, share his views with tele.net on the technology trends shaping the edtech space, emerging use cases of these technologies and deployment challenges…
How have information and communication technology (ICT) needs evolved in the education space over the past few years?
Over the past few years, ICT needs in the education sector have evolved dramatically, driven by the rise of AI, cloud computing and other emerging technologies. Businesses are spending substantial amounts on workforce training programmes that provide personalised learning experiences to optimise business outcomes. Similarly, professionals are investing in critical skills development to stay competitive and adapt to the evolving market.
As AI catalyses transformation toward skills-based organisations, Udemy stands at the forefront, empowering businesses to navigate this critical evolution. With disruptive technologies and tools reshaping industries at historic speeds, we have a huge opportunity to implement AI fluency across companies that will supercharge our learning and development strategies. At Udemy, we are helping individuals and enterprises increasingly leverage AI and GenAI to deliver personalised, skills-based training at scale. Our focus is on providing up-to-date, industry-relevant courses, and using our AI-driven platform to help organisations and professionals identify skill gaps, map learning paths and continuously improve business outcomes. This shift toward skill-based organisations is enabling us to deliver world-class, flexible learning experiences that meet the needs of today’s modern workforce.
How are you leveraging new-age technologies such as 5G, AI, IoT, cloud and blockchain? What are their noteworthy use cases?
At Udemy, we are actively leveraging the latest AI tools to transform how individuals and organisations upskill. One of our most recent innovations is the Udemy AI Assistant, which enhances the learning experience by offering real-time support with course and lecture summaries, step-by-step explanations, simplified breakdowns of complex topics and more. This tool is already being used by over 1,000 enterprise customers and continues to scale rapidly. To date, learners on the Udemy Business platform have sent more than 500,000 messages through the Udemy AI Assistant, representing a fivefold increase in learner engagement compared to traditional course Q&A forums.
Additionally, through our Skills Mapping and AI-powered Learning Paths, organisations can now build comprehensive skill frameworks. These tools help identify skill gaps, align learning with business goals and match employees to top-rated courses in the Udemy Business Collection, ultimately driving measurable outcomes in workforce capability.
To accelerate the adoption of in-demand GenAI skills globally, we have also introduced the GenAI Skills Pack after assessing over 1,700 GenAI-related courses on our platform. It consolidates the most relevant and high-impact courses into structured learning paths tailored for both technical and business professionals.
What challenges have you experienced in terms of adoption? How are you addressing those?
At any organisation, there is a learning curve to adopting new-age technologies such as AI and integrating these tools with existing systems, while ensuring robust data privacy and security. That said, the rapid pace of technological change demands continuous upskilling and agile change management to keep our platform innovative and effective.
What top priorities are expected to shape your organisation’s digital roadmap over the next two-three years?
Udemy stands at the forefront of a massive and expanding global opportunity in workforce reskilling. The demand for accessible, high-quality learning modalities has never been more urgent. This transformative shift in learning demands is being further accelerated by the rapid advancement of AI across industries.
In response to this unprecedented market opportunity, Udemy is strategically implementing a comprehensive AI roadmap that will revolutionise how learning experiences are delivered. By leveraging cutting-edge AI solutions to address enterprise-wide challenges, Udemy is positioning itself to supercharge global workforce reskilling initiatives. This technological enhancement represents not just a business opportunity, but a chance to fundamentally transform how skills are developed and maintained in an increasingly dynamic global economy.
Which key digital trends are expected to impact the sector going forward?
Arguably, all types of organisations and industries are undergoing significant transformation, influenced by several emerging digital trends. Based on Udemy’s 2025 Global Learning & Skills Trends Report, organisations are focused on three key areas of investment:
GenAI skills adoption is skyrocketing across enterprises: As organisations shift from GenAI fundamentals to practical applications, productivity-focused GenAI learning has grown 859 per cent year-over-year, with technical frameworks such as LangChain surging 3,949 per cent and over four million enrolments in GenAI courses to date (averaging eight new enrolments every minute).
Soft skills development must parallel technical AI competencies: Enterprises are significantly investing in problem-solving (103 per cent), team building (79 per cent) and business communication (41 per cent) to ensure AI technologies are paired with human creativity and innovation – especially critical as teams adjust to returning to office environments in 2025.
Leadership readiness remains a critical gap in AI transformation: While foundational leadership ranks among Udemy’s top ten business skills, and nearly 90 per cent of employees believe leadership is crucial to successful GenAI initiatives, fewer than half (48 per cent) believe their leaders are adequately prepared to guide these transformations.
