ViewSonic, a company that deals with audio-visual solutions mainly for the edtech sector, recently completed its 35 years in the industry. In a sit-down with CNBC-TV18, Eric Wei, Asia Pacific General Manager, ViewSonic, talked about how the company has grown over the years and is expanding in India to explore the edtech sector with its product suite.

After witnessing a lockdown due to the COVID-19 pandemic, workplaces in India are adopting a hybrid model, allowing employees to either work from home or from the office at their convenience. On the other hand, schools are back to the traditional in-person set-up in the classrooms and are sticking to it.

The pandemic gave the world, especially India, a headstart towards a more digitised future. Even after having smart classes and smartboards for over a decade now, teachers were still reluctant to move to a tech-led approach.

Also Read: Elon Musk wants Pentagon to now pay for Starlink critical satellite services in Ukraine

Wei said that schools in South East Asia, Europe and the USA are keen to adopt a hybrid learning model for the students in a way that is not just limited to a zoom call but is more interactive like it is in the classroom. ViewSonic is helping them by providing their Interactive Panels which work equally well on both platforms.

ViewSonic has also set up various experience centres — both in India and abroad — to help schools and teachers understand the platform and get hands-on before committing to or outrightly declining the tech.

Currently, Wei said that the company is facing challenges in the country given the diverse population and also the reluctance that comes from schools as it is an added cost for them. Despite this, over 60,000 classrooms in India are equipped with ViewSonic’s technology. These schools include both private and government schools to ensure equal opportunity for students from all backgrounds.

Earlier this year, ViewSonic also partnered with Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) to provide 1,300 interactive panels for the digital classroom project. This programme, worth over $50 million, was put in place by BMC to replace blackboards in Mumbai's civic schools with interactive flat panels.

Also Read: Setback for Meta as Supreme Court clears decks for antitrust probe into WhatsApp's 2021 privacy policy