One Year Later: TaPTaP Unites Quality and Access to Create Exponential Impact

Discover 10 ways that Blackbucks evolved and innovated since we launched TaPTaP, enabling us to make an even greater impact for learners, our partners, and the world in the years to come.

When Blackbucks launched TaPTaP?at the end of 2021, we were aligned in our mission to unlock human potential through the power of education for everyone, everywhere. One year later, we’re even more committed to driving fundamental change with this vision for the future. By uniting the quality, services, and infrastructure of Blackbucks with the access, reach, breadth, and depth of a platform like TaPTaP, we’ve unlocked the secret to creating exponential impact for learners, our partners, and the world.?

We came together because we saw around the corner, anticipating that today’s learners want more choice and control over what, where, when, and how they learn. Over the past year, our complementary strengths and advancements have deftly positioned us to not only give learners what they want, but also ensure they achieve their goals and thrive.

We’re now meeting the needs of more learners than ever and giving our partners increased flexibility for how to leverage our support and be resilient through the challenges ahead. We also have greater means to help drive down the cost of education so that affordable, high-quality learning becomes a basic human right for all, no matter your background or stage of life.?

Here are 10 ways that we evolved and innovated, setting us on the path toward making an even more powerful impact in the years to come:

1. We’ve fully transitioned to a platform company.

In today’s world, platforms like Spotify and Airbnb have reshaped industries to give consumers and providers more flexibility, transparency, and value. Learners and educators alike are now demanding the same. In 2022, we transformed our company to operate as one business centered around the TaPTaP platform at https://theblackbucks.com. This pivotal change embraces a unified business strategy and a simplified organizational structure so that we can continue to enable strong outcomes at scale.?

2. We’ve expanded our global learner universe.

We've welcomed over 100000 new learners around the world to the TaPTaP platform. Our learners are early career advancers who aim to improve their lives.

3.We offer an unrivaled portfolio, from short to long and free to degree.

We offer most important offerings for early talent —and growing every day— TaPTaP is now one of India's most comprehensive online learning marketplaces. Learners can choose from a variety of programs aligned to their goals, among them we have free online courses, workshops, webinars, executive education.?

4. We continue to invest in more accessible and affordable programs.

Nearly 18000 students from Andhra Pradesh have learnt through us—These students have been added to TaPTaP platform since we launched TaPTaP. We’ve also announced several disruptively priced, fully online courses in association with IIDT, an initiative of Government of Andhra Pradesh.

5. We’re forging stronger learner pathways to success.

Learners have more ways to build upon their education and attain incremental credentials toward certifications and fulfilling careers. These pathways come in many different forms, from individual online courses that add up to a professional certificate?to micro-credentials that can stand alone or offer credits.

6. We’re meeting partners’ unique needs by giving them more flexible choices.

Embracing edX’s flexible approach to degree support, we’ve evolved our revenue share model to give colleges more choices about how they leverage our technology and services to bring more high-quality placement programs online. Complementing our full-service model,?our new tiered approach adds to the ways institutions can work with us to maximize their reach and impact.?

7. We’ve established more scholarships, grants, and Access Partnerships.

We continue to prioritize access and affordability by building upon our pre-existing scholarships and grants with Government of Andhra Pradesh and JNTU Hyderabad. These partnerships provide learners with affordable pathways to job-relevant skills and life-changing careers.

8. We’re helping more employers find, train, and retain top talent.

Through?our tie-ups with JNTU Hyderabad, we’re enabling nearly 1,000 employers—to upskill and hold on to their employees with high-quality online learning experiences. And through our Campus Recruiter Network we’re helping a network of over 1,000 employers expand and diversify their talent pipelines with a consistent, direct, and trusted source for finding qualified candidates who meet their skills and hiring needs.

9. We’ve launched an Advisory to University through CEFT-Center of Excellence for Future Technologies.

We have established an Advisory Council from Industry to guide us in our mission and help us understand and respond to the perspectives of our partners from both academia and business.

10. We've preserved and advanced our Blackbucks mission.

Our commitment to preserve and advance the Blackbucks mission endures. This includes enhancing knowledge of faculty and universities for emerging technologies guaranteeing the continuation of free versions of online courses on the TaPTaP platform.?

A Commitment to Affordable, High-Quality Education for All

One year after TaPTaP, we’re more eager and ready than ever to help solve some of society’s biggest challenges through the promise of education for all. Our successes over the past year are proving just how much of a force for systemic change we can be, so that learners and our partners can overcome the pressures ahead and flourish.

We’ll achieve this future by continuing to offer the industry’s best tech-enabled services and end-to-end learner support while growing our content portfolio in exciting and relevant ways. We’ll also keep matching learners with the right learning in the right format at the right time—and continue to expand and enrich our partnerships with the world’s best institutions and brands. Through it all, we’ll remain steadfastly committed to keeping universal access to affordable, high-quality education at the heart of everything we do.

One year down and so many more years of limitless opportunity together ahead. Onward!