Bihar born from a small village of samastipur district Mr. Rakesh Kumar, 37, an IIT-Varanasi and IIM-A graduate and one of the Experifun’s co-founders,said “There is a need for us to see whether we can challenge the status quo,” Experifun lets students hear plants making food and much more.

THE EXPERIFUN TEAM WITH RAKESH KUMAR (THIRD FROM LEFT) AND VIVEK PANDAY (FOURTH FROM LEFT)........image-Experifun. 

Don't you think you would have studied photosynthesis better if you had more fun with it? Maybe it would have been more interesting if you could hear the plant actually making food. Crazy  as it sounds, it would have made learning more fun.

Unfortunately, the Indian education system continues to be characterised by rote learning and very little critical thinking, although things are changing slowly. That's where companies like Experifun come in: these firms are eyeing the opportunity to make the classroom experience more interactive and yes, interesting. “Newton said gravitational acceleration is 9.8 m/s, but no one ever questioned that.”

Kumar said Experifun was born out of a conversation with an IIM-A professor that left both Kumar and his IIT batch mate Vivek Pandey, 37, stumped. Started in March 2012, Experifun designs and develops next-generation science exploratory gadgets that introduce interactive learning to classrooms.

It all started when Kumar and Pandey were trying to develop a household cleaning device and wanted to pick Kumar’s professor’s brain (the professor chose to remain unnamed). “He has a reputation for being a very blunt person,” Kumar noted, adding, “he can understand things well and bring your case down with a decisive argument.”

While discussing robotics, the professor asked them something very fundamental to engineering - "Why is Laplace (a mathematical function) fundamental to so many solutions?" Neither of them could answer that, which got them thinking. “We realised that we went to some of the best school in India and still didn’t fully understand ideas and concepts,” Kumar explained. “If we were struggling, we wondered what the situation is like for students from Tier-II and Tier-III colleges.”

The cleaning device idea was shelved as Kumar and Pandey decided to turn their attention to education, focusing on how children learn in the classrooms.

The duo wanted students to connect what they learnt with their everyday lives. Since most classroom lessons, however, comprise of chalks and blackboards, and the occasional laboratory experiments, Kumar and Pandey decided to bridge the gap they felt existed between theory and practice in science lessons.

The team used their engineering backgrounds and years of software experience to work on innovative products, such as the Plantell, a battery-operated device that allows students to hear plants during photosynthesis. The company's inventory includes over 20 products, such as a charge sensor; the Movecule, which helps children understand relatively abstract concepts like heat energy at the molecular level; and HeatBlink, which tests the conductivity of various bodies.

They conducted testing sessions with children across Bangalore, interacted with parents and piloted the concept in schools to gauge whether it would fly or not.

While they had the science part covered, Kumar and Pandey knew they needed someone to implement the design aspect of their ideas and products. “We want to marry technology and design because in the long run, that will be our key-differentiator,” Kumar said. To achieve that end, the company hired designers from MIT, Pune, in August 2012.

With an initial investment of Rs 40 lakh, Experifun applied to the National Design Business Incubator (part of the National Institute of Design, Ahmedabad) in December 2012. Selected start-ups present products that are judged by a panel of noted academics and government officials keeping the design quality in mind. The company emerged as one of the winners and was awarded Rs 10 lakh in debt, Rs 5 lakh in equity and a one-year moratorium on a loan at 5 percent interest. These were in addition to the usual perks of gaining mentors, networking and the like.

In January 2013, the team started marketing their experimental products to schools in 'Smart-lab-in-class' offerings called Caboodles. A Caboodle includes an innovative range of products, a one-year warranty and support, a manual, teacher's training videos, teachers' workshops, a lesson plan and co-branding material (if the school opts for it). Caboodle offerings are available for CBSE, ICSE, Cambridge, IB and state boards, from Class 6 to Class 10.

By the end of the year, Kumar and Pandey found out about the Edupreneurs program launched by the Pearson Affordable Learning Fund (PALF) and US-based Village Capital. Fifteen shortlisted companies, selected from over 125 applicants underwent three months of workshops that involved pitching to peers, investors, and prospective customers. Experifun emerged as one of the winners of the program and received $75,000 as venture capital.

“The program was for companies that target low-income schools, with innovation being the main driver,” Kumar added.

"Experifun is dedicated to making science fun and easy for children through effective experiential learning," said Amar Kumar, senior associate at PALF. "The company’s commitment to putting the learner at the heart of its product and strategy, and building quality products that prove they advance learner outcomes, make it an ideal partner for Pearson."

Kumar and Pandey want their products to be accessible to all types of schools -- from international to state-run schools in small cities.  Hence, Experifun is very conscious about its pricing, Kumar pointed out, adding that in general, the kits are affordable for schools as they cost Rs 400-Rs 500 per month.

The response, so far, has been encouraging, with about 70 schools signing up for Caboodles, including one in the Philippines, in just under two years. “ The outcome has been phenomenal and we have been able to bring our innovative yet affordable products to schools, with the pricing working out to as low as Rs 10-Rs 15 per month per child for schools,” Kumar noted.

It isn't hard to believe that the product has done well with schools. M B Nagabhooshana, a science teacher and the principal of Bangalore's Guru Darshan Public School, has used Experifun Caboodles for the past year for high school students. "We have killed the experimental behaviour of students," Nagabhooshana observed, " but these devices bring it back. The children start to experiment immediately." Nagabhooshanan doesn't stick to the grade labels of Experifun and mixes around devices - using a Grade 5 product to explain a Grade 9 or 10 concept.  He confesses to sometimes tinkering with a few of the devices just to "satisfy my curiosity."

The PALF-Village Fund infusions will help Experifun grow by increasing its team strength, building new products and partnerships and reaching more schools across India. After Bangalore, Experifun is eyeing tapping schools in Andhra Pradesh, Tamil Nadu, Madhya Pradesh, Bihar and Gujarat.

The team also wants to make Experifun available to the masses and is currently discussing ideas about retailing their kits in stores soon.

source:firstbiz,by kamakshi Ayyar,