Reaching more than 10 million learners in India already, partnership to accelerate innovation and rapid growth to reach more learners
CAMBRIDGE, Mass. — March 20, 2025 — Today, Axim Collaborative, the steward of the Open edX project, announced a new partnership with the National Skill Development Corporation (NSDC) to collaborate on advancing the Open edX open-source software platform and exploring innovative education and workforce development strategies.
The partnership builds upon the success of the NSDC’s work in India, which already reaches 10 million learners on the Open edX platform, to unlock the power and potential to reskill and upskill millions more learners to fuel the workforce for the future. NSDC is a unique Public-Private Partnership in India, established to catalyze and promote skill development by establishing enabling policies, providing digital support systems, and establishing a workforce ecosystem for education and training. The partnership aims to leverage Axim’s stewardship of the Open edX project; NSDC’s mission to enhance and coordinate private sector initiatives for skill development; and DRC systems, an Open edX partner that supports the Skill India Digital Hub, to accelerate innovation and rapid growth to reach more learners.
Through its contribution of engineering resources and thought leadership, NSDC will collaborate with the Open edX community to advance the Open edX platform road map, development and maintenance and to serve as a valuable thought partner. NSDC and Axim plan to explore models for effective education and workforce innovation with the goal of sharing learnings, building the Open edX ecosystem, fostering new partnerships and fueling digital innovation. NSDC will also join the Technology Oversight Committee of the Open edX Platform.
“NSDC is not merely pondering the what-ifs — we are making them real. With bold strides, we are breaking barriers, building pathways, and transforming education into what it must be,” said Shri Ved Mani Tiwari, CEO of NSDC. “We believe this collaboration will significantly enhance our efforts in vocational training and skill development. By contributing to the Open edX platform, we can provide better learning opportunities and prepare a future-ready workforce.”
“This partnership underscores our commitment to making learning more accessible, relevant and effective across the globe,” said Stephanie Khurana, CEO of Axim Collaborative. “By deepening our collaboration with NSDC, we aim to expand the reach and capabilities of the Open edX platform, empowering millions to advance their lives through education. By sharing insights on NSDC’s effective education policies, upskilling strategies and workforce models, we seek to build stronger education-to-work pipelines that anticipate future workforce needs — ensuring individuals and communities thrive in a rapidly evolving world.”
About Axim Collaborative
Axim Collaborative is a nonprofit that transforms education to work pathways by facilitating collaboration and innovations to build an ecosystem of solutions to drive better outcomes for millions of learners. With a mission to make learning more accessible, relevant and effective for all learners, we seek to catalyze new digital and education practices that engage students in their course of study and enable them to persist through their programs and excel in their careers to realize greater social and economic mobility.
About National Skill Development Corporation (NSDC)
NSDC is the principal architect of the skill ecosystem in the country. It is a unique Public-Private Partnership enterprise working under the Ministry of Skill Development & Entrepreneurship, Government of India. NSDC was established to catalyze the skilling ecosystem for private sector participation and be the strategic implementation and knowledge partner to Skill India Mission to build efficient vocational training initiatives, empowering India’s youth. NSDC provides support to enterprises, startups, companies and organizations that are creating an impact by offering a world of opportunities in futuristic skills to the potential workforce. The organization develops appropriate models to enhance, support and coordinate private sector initiatives in skilling by offering funding support to eligible entities and concessional loans to the candidates, along with other innovative financial products and building strategic partnerships.
About the Open edX Project
The Open edX platform is an open-source learning management system that is used across the globe to teach and learn online. The Open edX platform powers more than 70,000 courses and supports more than 98 million learners. It has been deployed to support everything from single classrooms to universitywide education to government-sponsored nationwide learning initiatives. The Open edX project and its community pursue innovative approaches to learning and pedagogy; promote the adoption of best practices across the education continuum; and share the vision that everyone, everywhere should have access to high-quality education.
Contact:
Annie Cellini, Axim Collaborative acellini@axim.org
