Reviving education methodologies

A company that believes that in the 21st century, education should go beyond school text-books, Mexus Education, engages a student in a fascinating process of exploration, experience and extrapolation. Saurabh Saxena, Director, Mexus Education shares insights about the company’s new venture.  

Neha Malhotra (NM): Can you brief us about Mexus Education?
Saurabh Saxena (SS): Mexus Education is an education innovations enterprise of the Bilakhia Group, started in 2008. The foundation of Mexus is a belief that learning is most effective when it is personalised, entertaining, voluntary and involves active participation of the students. It is this thought that has inspired Mexus to design innovative learning solutions with a team of over 300 professionals from premier science and management institutes in India.

Today, Mexus serves more than four lakh students in 2000 schools and is ambitiously working towards their mission to be the world’s leading innovative educational enterprise by 2012. 

NM: ‘Ikenstore’ is the latest retail venture by Mexus Education. Can you shed some light on this venture?
SS: The ‘Iken store’ will be the access point where parents and students can have a first-hand experience of the Iken range of products. In the first leg of operations, Iken store will operate as an exclusive store for Iken products. However, it will showcase other stationeries but under the brand Iken. 
 

NM: What are the brand offerings that are available for the customers?
SS: The innovative learning tools of Iken that would be available in the Iken store are: 

Iken Books 
These are a first-of-its-kind concept in books where scientific concepts are explained through a fascinating comic book format. Curricular comic books mapped with NCERT curriculum enables learning through fun reading.

Iken Joy
A wide range of educational toys designed to help children play and learn the fundamentals of science.

Iken Library
A digitalised collection of subject and standard-specific learning resources in the form of entertaining live action films and animations.

Iken Pro
An exclusive collection of short informative films on global best practices ranging across a multitude of careers and subjects. There are several more iken product categories to follow in a space of three months. 

NM: How are the Iken products different from the existing educational learning material available in the market?
SS: Iken products are based on the philosophy that learning is effective when it is individualised and accessible anytime and anywhere. All our products follow a simple methodology – combination of theories and concepts with entertaining stories; case studies and interesting real-life applications. A lot of research goes into deciding the formats and methodology that each product caters to. Most existing products in the market typically cater to one type of learning methodology; thus typifying all learners as same. Because of lack of research in the field of education usually no one recognises the need to have multiple methods of learning for better understanding as per the needs and interest of an individual.

Iken products make sure that the formats cater to everybody’s interest and thus inculcate the spirit of self-learning in every individual. Thus, we have identified comic books to impart concepts of subjects like science, history and geography. Live action films to showcase practical application of concepts learned in science and math. Created short films on different career options in a case study based format so that students can ‘know before they leap’ for a particular career or area of interest; created toys that bring alive hands-on learning of science.

We do not believe in the concept of ‘studying’ – it is the learning that is important.  
 

NM: Who is your target clientele?

SS: Our aim is undoubtedly to target every school across the nation and make education more meaningful and simple. Our target clientele ranges from pre-school students to experienced teachers.  

NM: What are the preferred locations for ‘Iken’ stores?
SS: The first of Iken stores is in the process of completion at the Empress Mall, Vapi situated on the Vapi-Surat highway. This 500 sq. ft store will commence operations in next one month. Parallel to this, two more company-owned and company-operated stores will be launched in some of the renowned shopping malls of Mumbai and Delhi within the next three months. 

NM: What are the company’s future plans?
SS: In total, the company will open its own Iken store at seven locations in Mumbai, Delhi, Vapi, Bangalore, Kolkata, Chennai and Indore during this financial year.

Starting with seven flagship Iken stores in the next five months, the company plans to step up to 500 Iken stores pan-India in the next three years.