Resonance MD R K Verma Interview: If you ask anybody about entering into a sector where existing players are well entrenched with a deep pocket, the wise man would suggest you either not to, or have products or services compelling in quality parameters that people would choose yours than the others. Possibility, this was a time back in 2001, when coaching industry was blooming in Kota with already well-established players.
Despite that Ram Kishan Verma founded Resonance with 6 people to support him and today he has a team of over 3000 employees managing a national network across 50 cities in India, 24 integrated classroom contact program division (ICCPs) and 74 test centres. Resonance has been able to carve out a distinct niche for itself in the space of career education.
In an exclusive interview with TechObserver.in’s Shalini Shukla, R K Verma, Managing Director, Resonance Eduventures said, “The journey has been amazing with great success. These things require decent patience,” adding that in this era of technological advancement, Resonance is optimizing the learning experience by embracing innovative methods to support students in every possible way.
Tell us about the journey of your Resonance. How the idea of setting up institute came in?
I consider myself fortunate to have deep roots in education. I completed my B. Tech as an Electrical & Electronics Engineer from IIT Madras in 1994. And joined Bharat Heavy Electricals Ltd (BHEL) as a trainee engineer soon after completing my graduation. As my desire to pursue IAS made me quit my job. During my preparations, I started teaching physics to keep in touch with academics and to improve my skills. This is when my soul acknowledged that teaching is the occupation I want to pursue. I stepped into the world of teaching with a strong desire to make a difference in the lives of young people by giving them the correct knowledge at the correct time.
If you’re entering anything where there’s an existing marketplace, against large, entrenched competitors, then your product or service needs to be much better than theirs. Still, I was very positive when I laid the foundation of “Resonance”; it was the epoch when the Coaching Industry was blooming in Kota. I started with a vision of excellence in career education. And our key ingredients are still Practice, Persistence and Performance. Initially started with 6 people, later became a team of 16 in December 2001. And today we are a team of over 3000 employees. The journey has been amazing with quite a number of overwhelming times. I always kept it in mind that the most important thing that it takes is a high patience threshold.
What is the key focus of your institute right now?
I chose Education as my weapon to shape the world. As I believe that education is the most powerful catalyst for any reaction. Our Nation needs a strong set of professionals. Resonance works towards, building a strong foundation for the nation to progress. And this is our key focus, to give ample of IITians, Doctors, CAs and other esteemed professionals to the nation.
We also sincerely believe that academic excellence is one of the various dimensions required to enhance the overall development of the students. We are committed to preparing round shaped professionals with a focus on overall personality development to achieve academic excellence and to enhance the overall employability potential.
What kind of tests and parameters does Resonance use to assess the progress of a student and how successful those have been?
We check the progress of students through regular tests and quizzes, at just the right time for them. They get feedback as they learn and help when they need it most. Teachers track student progress, identify gaps and give students one-on-one attention to help them succeed.
We feel we have a lot of hidden creativity and skills across the country; we aim to provide the best education for the generation to understand functionality yet keeping sustainability in mind. Till now, our strategies are working quite positively and we are ready to incorporate any new changes if required.
What have been the academic achievements so far and what are your plans to improve it further?
The genesis of Resonance in the encyclopedic world of wisdom was on 11th April 2001. And the incredible journey started from Kota. The very first-year Resonance created a ripple in the education hub, Kota with 161 selection in IIT-JEE. There are many stars in our Institute.
In the year 2008-09, Anvit Singh Tanwar from Resonance secured a Top-10 Rank in IIT-JEE for the first time. Another student of Resonance, Kalpit Veerwal created history in 2016-17 by achieving the classic score of 360/360 in JEE Mains 2017 and his efforts found a mention in the Limca Book of Records. This year, Pawan Goyal secured AIR 4 in JEE Advanced and AIR 6 in JEE Main in 2017-18. He bagged highest marks -350/360 in JEE Main. He also achieved the prestigious Gold medal at IPHO 2018. In the future, we want to focus on all giving the best education to the students.
In what way, you are using technology to make yourself more agile and help students?
In this era of technological advancement, the idea of education cannot be confined to classroom teaching methodologies. So, to optimize the learning experience, Resonance is embracing the innovative methods with open arms. We try to support our students in every possible way, so that he/she may succeed in life.
Today, teachers can finally use technology to begin to deliver on the long-held dream of personalized learning for every student. With tools like Resonance’s E-Learning classes, students can learn at their own pace. Resonance’s Online Blog to give all the important and necessary information to the students. And the advent of virtual delivery platforms is the new way of learning. We have launched video lectures and informative YouTube videos. We have set up two online testing labs plus rented computer labs where students are taking online tests and preparing themselves for the JEE Examinations.
What are Resonance future plans?
Today, with a national network across 50 cities in India, 24 integrated classroom contact program division (ICCPs) and other 74 Test Centres, Resonance has carved a distinct niche for itself in the space of career education. Chasing excellence persistently has brought in many laurels for Resonance regularly. Resonance has been instrumental in delivering excellent results in the past 17 years, since its incorporation. And I believe that we will keep doing the same in the future, in an even stronger way.
