Grey Software

In a world where conventional education is the norm, students who learn through other methods go unnoticed and underserved. Most students require additional material besides the curriculum to understand concepts and gain expertise. Such students use online resources and open-source software projects as supplementary sources of knowledge and practice, which helps them graduate from university and get work. Upon the principles of “Open Software & Open Education,” Grey Software is a pioneering source of this vital knowledge and practice for students worldwide.

The company currently positions itself to help individuals gain practical tech skills at their own pace with resources and mentorship! Students can browse Grey Software’s code or educational websites for free and connect with mentors to help guide their software learning journey. It redefines software literacy beyond textbooks and exams by allowing learners worldwide to practice their skills remotely by collaborating with other developers.

Where do Grey Software’s educational credentials come from?

The company builds open-source products to prove its ability to compete in the market. It uses the research and development from these products to create up-to-date learning materials, which it publishes on its open education websites to share the knowledge they gain. Grey Software keeps these websites relevant to the changing tech ecosystem by making it simple for professionals and academics to contribute. Since students are frustrated with the gap between their school curriculums and the industry’s demands, it is vital that they have access to knowledge borne out of the exchange of ideas between professionals and academics.

“I wanted to be a player in the educational space, execute my own ideas of how to organize resources and software for students, and take it to the next level as a full-time commitment,” says Arsala Khan, Founder of Grey Software. Arsala was a Teaching Assistant and Hacklab Coordinator at the University of Toronto and interned twice at Google as a software engineer before registering Grey Software as a Canadian non-profit in August 2020.

He currently pursues his mission for democratized software education in Pakistan, where students have fewer opportunities than those in the US and Canada. “I had to go beyond the curriculum and learn unconventionally to achieve my dreams. I had a knack for it, and I love helping others bring out their potential.”

The company is designed with the understanding that people of different personalities living in different socio-economic statuses across cultures do not learn the same way. Accordingly, mentors at Grey Software teach individually or in small groups, and every learning experience is different. No template curriculum has to be followed, and student outcomes are not predictably enforced. This produces a nurturing learning environment where mentors understand their students and cooperatively guide them through projects, encouraging technical and personal growth.

The company envisions that each of its products is assigned a creative team and an education team; one to improve products for customers and one to turn those products into projects that students can learn from. It inspires the education industry by putting open knowledge and practice first. This creates memorable and transformative learning experiences instead of a stressful and mundane experiences aimed single-mindedly at securing employment.

In terms of sustainability, Grey Software generates revenue through individual and corporate sponsorships, and revenuesharing partnerships with like-minded organizations. The company maintains a generous free tier while also offering premium features to its subscribers. Furthermore, all designs, code, accounting, and analytics are made public to increase people’s faith in the enterprise.

Grey Software stands apart through its vision for a global educational infrastructure that caters to people everywhere, creating a healthy learning culture through its interconnected EdTech environment. True to its name, the company balances the polarities between traditional and alternative learning by rejecting factorybased education and understanding what is truly required for a student to learn how to create software.