Founder story: Resolute Education
In a rapidly evolving world, education has become more important than ever. The ability to learn relevant tech skills is crucial in preparing children for the future. Unfortunately, not all kids have access to the necessary resources and tools needed to succeed in this tech-driven world.
Resolute Education was founded in 2018 by Rajesh Pasungili, who discovered his passion for teaching while working as a math tutor. Over time, he realised that scaling in-person tutoring was not feasible, and began exploring more practical ways to impact education. One of his ingenious ideas was to teach electronic engineering modules to students to help them learn real-life practical skills. This idea was a huge success, and Rajesh and his co-founder, Gareth Thomson, created content off a module that they completed in their 3rd year Electronic Engineering degree. They then decided to record their content and package it into an online learning platform. Moreover, they provided teacher training upfront to offer turnkey solutions to schools.
Their ultimate objective was to equip schools to run the program themselves and scale globally, and were able to sign 20 schools in year one to implement their comprehensive coding and robotics curriculum. Their growth continued, and by last year, they had over 200 schools on their network in six countries.
Resolute Education strongly believes that every child deserves an opportunity to learn relevant tech skills that will help them succeed in life and level the playing field. According to Pasungili, there are 25 000 innovation hubs in South Africa: “Sadly most of us call them schools,” he notes.
Their innovative approach to education is changing the way we think about teaching and learning. Resolute Education offers turnkey solutions to schools that want to integrate tech into their curriculum through programs that enable children of all ages to build, for example, a robot or a car, and even code it through various programming languages. These lessons are taught in fun and relatable ways such as through interactive builds on projects such as how to build a sanitiser dispenser, creating a garden that is self-watering and even building small model houses that have solar panels.
Their passion for providing equal opportunities to all children sets them apart. As part of the Resolute Foundation, Resolute's focus is on children from disadvantaged backgrounds who may not have access to the resources and tools needed to succeed in a tech-driven world. They believe that by providing these children with the necessary skills, they can help level the playing field and enable them to compete with their more privileged peers.
Resolute Education is an organisation that is making a real difference in the lives of children. Despite the challenges posed by Covid, Resolute Education remained committed to their mission of providing children with the opportunity to learn relevant tech skills. They continued to grow their network of schools, expanding to ten countries outside of South Africa and reaching hundreds of schools.
As the world continues to evolve, the importance of education cannot be overstated. Resolute Education is at the forefront of this evolution, paving the way for a future where all kids have the opportunity to learn relevant tech skills and succeed in life.
