Making online tutoring more affordable for students while promoting a culture of earning as you learn, a group of students in Kerala has developed an online learning platform that not only makes peer-to-peer learning more accessible but also creates income opportunities for college students.
Eight students from various academic streams at St. Thomas College, Ranni, have developed the online learning platform Tuterra, which revives the idea of neighbourhood learning. Unlike traditional tuition platforms that rely on professional tutors, this platform enables academically strong college students to enrol as online tutors and support their peers in a variety of subjects at an affordable rate.
Under the guidance of their mentor, Jikku James—Assistant Professor in the Department of Commerce—the students have incubated their startup at Ideagora, the Innovation and Entrepreneurship Development Centre (IEDC) in the college.
More than 200 students have already signed up to join the platform. What stands out is its growing diversity, with students from outside Kerala, including those studying in the UAE and the UK, also joining. This has given Tuterra wide acceptance among students.
The students behind the project are Midhun Mohanan, Christy Basil Anil, Gouri Sudhir, Namitha Raj, Lekshmi S. Nair, Karthik Kurup, Aathi Sankar Basav, and Arsha Vinod. They are supported by their mentor, Jikku James, Nodal Officer of the IEDC and Assistant Professor in the Department of Commerce.
“The platform is being designed to offer a user-friendly interface, verified student profiles, flexible scheduling, and affordable pricing. With the demand for personalised, one-on-one academic assistance increasing, Tuterra hopes to become a student-driven alternative in the online learning market,” said one of the co-founders.
After successfully testing the prototype, the students are now working on developing a robust UI/UX and backend infrastructure to scale up operations. “As part of reaching out to more students across the country, Tuterra is planning collaborations with colleges, universities, and other educational organisations,” Jikku James told “Open Digest“.
According to him, the project received strong support from the college management and faculty. “The IEDC, which was established in the college in 2017 in collaboration with the Kerala Startup Mission, has been supporting students who come up with innovative ideas. So far, we have successfully helped students set up 12 MSME startups and four tech companies,” he added.
