Elixar Systems: Harshit Awasthi & Sashakt Tripathi on Gamifying Education with Augmented Reality
Education has long been a passive experience—reading books, watching videos, and memorizing facts. Harshit Awasthi and Sashakt Tripathi, student co-founders of Elixar Systems, are turning this model on its head. By utilizing Augmented Reality (AR), they are creating "gamified science labs" that allow students to interact with 3D models and conduct experiments from their living rooms. Their journey, which began at BITS Pilani, is a testament to the power of student innovation and the potential of immersive tech to solve the global problem of "rote learning."
The spark for Elixar Systems came from personal frustration with the traditional coaching culture. Sashakt, who spent time in Kota's intense coaching environment, saw firsthand how students struggled to visualize complex concepts. "Teachers would try to show a tetrahedral structure using their hands," Sashakt recalls. "It was nearly impossible for students to truly grasp the 3D mechanism from a 2D drawing. We realized AR could bring those concepts to life right in front of them."
Moving from Passive to Active Learning
Elixar's core product, Kalam Science Labs, is designed to make learning interactive. "Most EdTech today is just digitized versions of old methods—videos and PDFs," Harshit explains. "With AR, students are conducting the experiment themselves. They interact with digital apparatus, see the results in real-time, and learn through doing. It’s active learning vs. passive consumption."
The BITS Pilani Advantage
Building a startup while pursuing an engineering degree is a juggling act, but Harshit and Sashakt found a supportive ecosystem at BITS Pilani. "Our college doesn't have a mandatory attendance policy," they share. "This gave us the freedom to utilize our time for research and development. We could build our prototype on the back of a biology textbook while our peers were preparing for assignments."
The duo also leveraged government schemes like Startup India and research grants from IISc Bangalore and DST. "If your idea has revolutionary potential, finance is not the biggest problem," Harshit asserts. "There are grants and innovation challenges that provide the initial runway without needing to chase valuation from day one."
Gamification: Making Education Fun
One of the biggest hurdles in education is student engagement. Elixar Systems addresses this by gamifying the curriculum. "Students love playing games but hate reading textbooks," Sashakt observes. "By turning scientific concepts into interactive, game-like experiences, we eliminate the stress of learning. When a student sees a magnetic field or a chemical reaction mechanism as a 3D interactive model, they aren't just memorizing—they are understanding."
Advice for Student Founders
- Choose Your Co-founders Wisely: The bond between co-founders is your "Iron Man suit." If that bond is strong, everything else is manageable.
- Leverage Your Ecosystem: Use your university's incubators, mentors, and the cheap manpower (your friends!) to build your initial MVP.
- Never Say 'It's Not My Job': In a startup, everything is your job. From coding to sales to customer support, you must be ready to do it all until the product reaches the customer.
- Identify the 'Bottoms-Up' Opportunity: India is too diverse for a top-down approach. Startups should look at basic, local problems and build solutions that collaborate into a better society.
The Vision for Elixar Systems
Looking ahead, Harshit and Sashakt aim to scale Elixar Systems into a global AR solution provider for education. They believe that as mobile penetration increases, the demand for immersive, interactive content will explode. For them, success isn't just about revenue; it's about seeing a generation of students who understand science because they've "lived" it through AR.
Elixar Systems at a Glance
- Product: Kalam Science Labs (AR-enabled learning).
- Heritage: Born at BITS Pilani, funded by IISc Bangalore and DST.
- Philosophy: Active learning through gamification and interaction.
About the Guests
Harshit Awasthi and Sashakt Tripathi are the Co-founders of Elixar Systems. Both are students at BITS Pilani, with Sashakt specializing in Computer Science and Harshit in Chemical Engineering. They are visionary student-entrepreneurs who are passionate about leveraging cutting-edge technology to solve systemic problems in education. They have been recognized in various innovation challenges and are dedicated to making interactive science education accessible to students across India.
Elixar Systems is an Augmented Reality solution provider focused on the EdTech sector. Their primary product, Kalam Science Labs, uses AR to create interactive 3D laboratory experiences, allowing students to conduct experiments and visualize scientific mechanisms in a realistic and engaging manner.