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| CLIENT Apex Academic Institute Kota, Rajasthan | PRODUCT LearnSpark — Coaching LMS Video lectures, online test series, performance analytics, fee management, student & parent mobile app | TIMELINE 20 Weeks Two-phase rollout |
Apex Academic Institute is one of Kota’s established coaching brands, preparing students for IIT-JEE, NEET, and UPSC examinations. With 12,000 enrolled students across three campuses, Apex had grown into a significant operation — but its technology had not kept pace. Faculty managed content via WhatsApp groups, tests were printed and manually graded, fee receipts were generated in Excel, and parents received performance data only once a quarter.
Apex’s director approached Key Brains Tech to build LearnSpark — a fully integrated LMS covering video lecture hosting, online test series with adaptive retesting, AI-assisted performance analytics, digital fee management with Razorpay integration, and a parent-student mobile application. The system also needed to handle the specific demands of competitive exam coaching: adaptive test difficulty, subject-wise performance tracking against IIT-JEE/NEET syllabi, and batch management across three campuses.
LearnSpark was delivered in 20 weeks across two phases and launched to all 12,000 students. Within 6 months, average student mock test scores improved by 31%, faculty administrative time reduced by 52%, fee collection efficiency improved to 97% (up from 81%), and the parent app achieved an 89% monthly active user rate.
| Key Outcomes at a Glance |
| 31% improvement in average student mock test performance scores (6-month measure) |
| 52% reduction in faculty administrative time — more hours redirected to teaching |
| 97% fee collection rate by month 3 (up from 81% with manual follow-up) |
| 89% monthly active user rate on the parent & student mobile app |
| 20-week phased delivery — on time and within budget |
02 Client & Context
About Apex Academic Institute
Apex Academic Institute was founded in 2008 by a group of IIT alumni and has grown into a prominent coaching brand in Kota’s competitive education market. The institute runs batches for Class 11, Class 12, and Dropper (repeater) students across three campuses, with batch sizes of 80–120 students and a total annual intake of approximately 4,200 new students. Revenue from tuition fees exceeds ₹18 crore per year.
Apex employs 95 faculty members and 40 administrative staff. Fee recovery was a persistent operational pain point — with 19% of fees chronically overdue, the institute was financing a working capital gap of approximately ₹2.8 crore at any given time.
| Pain Points Before LearnSpark |
| Content chaos: lectures shared via WhatsApp groups with no version control, access logs, or syllabus tracking |
| Manual test management: printing 12,000 test papers per cycle, manual grading, 5-day result turnaround |
| No real-time performance visibility: students and parents received data quarterly at best |
| Fee recovery rate of 81% — ₹2.8 crore in chronically overdue fees at any time |
| Attendance via paper registers with no automated parent alerts for absenteeism |
| Batch management across 3 campuses done entirely in Excel with frequent scheduling conflicts |
03 Technology Stack
LearnSpark is built on a Next.js frontend with a PHP Laravel backend and MySQL database — a stack chosen for its maturity in content management contexts and Key Brains Tech’s deep Laravel expertise. Video content is hosted on AWS S3 with CloudFront CDN for low-latency playback. The mobile app is React Native for cross-platform iOS and Android deployment.
| Layer | Technology | Purpose |
| Frontend (Web) | Next.js 14 (React) | Student/faculty web portal — lectures, tests, performance dashboard |
| Admin Panel | React.js | Institute admin — batch management, scheduling, fee tracking, reports |
| Mobile App | React Native (iOS + Android) | Student & parent app — lecture access, test results, fee alerts, attendance |
| Backend | PHP 8.2 + Laravel 11 | API layer, business logic, test engine, notification workers |
| Database | MySQL 8 (AWS RDS) | Students, batches, content, test results, fees, attendance records |
| Video Hosting | AWS S3 + CloudFront CDN | Lecture video storage and CDN delivery with DRM protection |
| Video Processing | AWS Elastic Transcoder | Auto-convert uploads to adaptive bitrate (360p / 720p / 1080p) |
| Search | Meilisearch | Full-text search across lecture library and 47,000-question bank |
| SMS & WhatsApp | MSG91 API | Attendance alerts, fee reminders, test result notifications to parents |
| Payments | Razorpay | Online fee payment — UPI, net banking, card, EMI options |
| Analytics | Custom Laravel + Chart.js | Performance dashboards, subject-wise heatmaps, rank projections |
04 Solution Architecture
Module 1: Video Lecture Library & Content Management
Faculty upload lectures via a drag-and-drop web interface. Each upload is automatically transcoded by AWS Elastic Transcoder into three quality tiers for adaptive streaming. Lectures are tagged by subject, chapter, and topic against the IIT-JEE/NEET/UPSC syllabus taxonomy.
- Offline download capability in the mobile app (DRM-protected for 72-hour offline access) — critical for students in Kota PG accommodations with variable WiFi
- Per-lecture engagement tracking: average watch percentage, rewind hotspots, and drop-off points surface struggling topics to faculty
- Lecture library search powered by Meilisearch — any topic across the 40,000+ minute archive in under 300ms
- Attached PDFs, formula sheets, and practice problems accessible in-app alongside each lecture
Module 2: Online Test Series Engine
The test engine supports the full range of test types used in Apex’s curriculum: full-length 3-hour JEE/NEET mock tests with negative marking (auto-graded in 60 seconds), chapter tests, and 10-question Daily Practice Problems (DPP) assigned each morning.
- Adaptive retest logic: if a student scores below threshold in a chapter test, the system auto-schedules a retest 7 days later with a freshly generated question set from the same chapter
- Smart test builder: faculty can auto-generate tests by specifying subject distribution, difficulty tiers, and syllabus coverage — no manual question selection required
- Question bank: 47,000 questions categorised by subject, chapter, difficulty, and previous-year occurrence in JEE/NEET papers
Module 3: AI-Assisted Performance Analytics
For each student, the system maintains a subject-wise competency profile updated after every test submission:
- Chapter-level mastery score (0–100) aggregated across all attempts on questions from that chapter
- Rank projection: the student’s current mock test percentile extrapolated to a projected JEE/NEET rank using 3 years of historical Apex cohort data
- Top 5 weakest chapters highlighted on the student dashboard with direct links to revision lectures
- Time management analysis for full-length mocks: time spent per question vs. top-performer averages — identifies whether students are losing marks to poor time allocation
Parent dashboards show a simplified view: overall batch rank, attendance percentage, and a weekly performance trend chart. An automated Sunday digest is sent to all parents via WhatsApp.
Module 4: Fee Management & Payment Portal
- Structured fee schedules by batch and payment plan (annual, semester, quarterly, monthly EMI)
- Razorpay integration supporting UPI, net banking, debit/credit cards, and BNPL/EMI
- Automated reminder sequence: WhatsApp + SMS at 7 days before due date, on due date, and at 3/7/14 days overdue
- Access suspension trigger at 21 days overdue — non-confrontational but effective collection lever with admin grace-override
- Auto-generated PDF fee receipts emailed to parents on every payment
Module 5: Attendance & Batch Management
- Tablet-based attendance by faculty at class start — one tap per student from the batch roster
- Automated parent SMS within 15 minutes of any absence, with parent acknowledgement response option
- Centralised batch scheduling across 3 campuses with conflict detection (faculty double-booking, room conflicts)
- Digital batch transfers with full history preservation — common in Kota’s mid-year coaching culture
05 Project Delivery Timeline
| Phase 1 Weeks 1–4 | Discovery, Syllabus Mapping & Architecture Curriculum workshops with 12 senior faculty to map the full IIT-JEE/NEET syllabus taxonomy. Existing question bank (22,000 questions in Word/PDF) audited and import pipeline designed. Database schema and system architecture finalised. |
| Phase 2 Weeks 5–10 | Core Backend, Test Engine & Video Infrastructure Laravel API built and tested. MySQL schema deployed on AWS RDS. Test engine with question bank, auto-grading, and adaptive retest logic built. AWS S3 + CloudFront + Elastic Transcoder video pipeline configured. Meilisearch question bank indexed. |
| Phase 3 Weeks 11–16 | Web Portal, Mobile App & Analytics Dashboard Next.js student/faculty portal built. React Native app (iOS + Android) developed. Performance analytics module built (competency profiling, rank projection, weak chapter detection). Fee management and Razorpay integration complete. Admin panel built. |
| Phase 4 Weeks 17–20 | Data Migration, UAT, Training & Rollout 22,000 legacy questions migrated and categorised. Student and faculty data imported from Excel. Faculty training (4 sessions). Batch-by-batch student onboarding over 2 weeks. Full go-live in week 20 across all 3 campuses. |
06 Results & Business Impact
Apex conducted an internal academic and operational review at 3 and 6 months post-launch. The following figures are drawn from Apex’s own test score records, administrative time surveys, and fee collection data.
| 31% Mock test score improvement | 52% Less faculty admin time | 97% Fee collection rate | 89% Parent app monthly active users |
Detailed Impact Breakdown
Academic Performance
- Average student mock test scores (all subjects combined) improved by 31% over 6 months. The DPP system and adaptive retest loop were identified as the primary drivers — students who previously had no structured revision mechanism were being nudged back to weak chapters automatically.
- Top-quartile students showed even stronger gains: the top 25% of each batch improved their rank projections by an average of 18 percentile points.
Administrative Efficiency
- Faculty administrative time fell by 52% on average. Senior faculty reported redirecting 8–10 hours per week from manual admin back into live teaching and student mentoring.
- The test paper printing budget was eliminated entirely — a direct cost saving of approximately ₹4.2 lakh per year.
Fee Collection
- Fee collection rate improved from 81% to 97% within 3 months. Outstanding fee balance reduced from ₹2.8 crore to under ₹60 lakh.
- Online payment adoption reached 74% of all fee transactions by month 3, reducing cash handling at the front desk.
| Student Spotlight: Dropper Batch |
| Highest performance improvement: +41% mock score improvement (vs. 31% overall) |
| DPP system had the highest impact — Dropper students had lowest prior self-study structure |
| Parent app adoption: 94% monthly active (parents of repeaters are most engaged) |
| Fee collection rate: 99% — highest of any batch in the institute |
07 Client Testimonial
| “We had been talking about building a proper LMS for four years. Every vendor we spoke to either wanted to sell us a generic platform that did not understand how coaching institutes work, or quoted us a price that made no sense. Key Brains took the time to understand our curriculum, our batches, our problems, and built something that feels like it was designed specifically for Apex. The parent app alone has reduced daily calls to our admin office by more than half.” Vikram Agarwal Director & Co-Founder, Apex Academic Institute |
08 Challenges & How We Solved Them
Challenge 1: Digitising the Legacy Question Bank
Apex had accumulated 22,000 questions over 17 years stored in hundreds of Word documents and scanned PDFs. Many questions contained mathematical notation, chemical equations, and diagrams that a simple text import could not handle.
- Solution: We built a Python parsing pipeline to extract questions from Word documents and structure them into the database schema. Mathematical notation was stored in LaTeX format and rendered via MathJax in the frontend. Scanned PDF questions required a dedicated 3-person data team over 4 weeks — scoped and priced as a separate data migration engagement.
Challenge 2: Video Streaming Quality in Kota PG Accommodations
Kota’s student population lives in paying-guest accommodations with variable broadband. Early beta testing revealed significant buffering complaints on 720p content during evening peak hours when bandwidth was most constrained.
- Solution: We implemented HLS adaptive streaming via CloudFront, automatically selecting the quality tier based on real-time bandwidth. The dedicated offline download feature (DRM-protected, 72-hour validity) allowed students to download lectures on good WiFi and watch without any streaming dependency.
Challenge 3: Faculty Resistance to Digital Test Creation
Several senior faculty members were resistant to moving from paper-based test creation. The primary concern was the time investment required to re-enter questions into a new digital system.
- Solution: We built a Word-template-based question import tool. Faculty continued writing questions in a structured Word template (provided by us), then uploaded the file — the system automatically parsed and imported the questions into the bank. This reduced the digital transition cost for new question creation to near zero.
09 Future Roadmap
- AI doubt-solving chatbot: A subject-specific chatbot powered by a fine-tuned LLM that allows students to ask conceptual questions 24/7, reducing faculty load on common queries and providing instant support during self-study hours.
- Live class integration: Embedded live class capability replacing the current Zoom dependency, with in-class polling, real-time doubt submission, and automatic lecture recording archived to the LMS.
- Multi-institute SaaS: A white-label version of LearnSpark packaged as a SaaS offering for other coaching institutes across Rajasthan — Apex is exploring a commercialisation joint venture with Key Brains Tech.
- Scholarship & merit management: Automated merit-based fee discounts dynamically adjusted based on test performance, replacing the current manual process managed by the accounts team.
10 About Key Brains Tech
Key Brains Tech Pvt. Ltd. is a Jaipur-based software development company specialising in custom web applications, mobile apps, AI/ML integration, and enterprise software solutions. Founded in 2021, we serve clients across healthcare, retail, education, real estate, and fintech sectors across India and internationally.
| Service Area | Technologies |
| Full-Stack Web Development | React.js, Node.js, Next.js, PHP (Laravel), MongoDB, PostgreSQL, MySQL |
| Mobile Applications | React Native, Android (Kotlin), iOS (Swift), PWA |
| AI & Machine Learning | Python, scikit-learn, TensorFlow, OpenAI API, FastAPI |
| Cloud & DevOps | AWS, GCP, Docker, GitHub Actions, CI/CD pipelines |
| Integrations & APIs | Razorpay, Twilio, WhatsApp Business API, Salesforce, SAP, Zoho |
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