from different perspectives, like In any production set up India Design Council. We
consumer goods, what we use process, 70 to 80 have also been engaged in design
in day-to-day life, quality of life, per cent decisions for MSME sector. For 10 years we
and what people expect from are taken at the did handholding as part of the
experiences of using products design stage and at MSME Design Clinic scheme. We
and services. Industrialisation that stage if you helped set up several other NIDs
has gone up, there has been embed the idea of in the country and handholded
liberalisation in the last two to sustainability, it them for a few years. Because of
three decades. So, design is a will go a long way. the multi-dimensionality of the
differentiating factor for quality institute, we have played a very
of products and for meeting of products in the country so that important role.
diverse needs of people of the they would be export-worthy.
country. Because of these changes, Besides training, we also do What makes a design successful?
appreciation of design, and of consulting and design promotion.
other creative professions has The government is among our What are the parameters of a
gone up. clients; besides that, we have
clients in many other sectors. We good design?
Being among the foremost insti- have also been involved in the It depends on the context but if it
framing of National Design Policy is fulfilling the purpose it is meant
tutes in this field, what role has for the government, which helped for, improving the quality of life,
and making sense in the society
NID played in spreading aware- and the environment, if it’s joyful
and safe, it is successful. From
ness? economic perspective, people say
We were quite way ahead of that good design is good business
times. Many design movements but it has to serve the purpose it is
across the world are as old as meant for. For business, you make
NID. Design as a profession also products that become obsolete,
came up around the time when like mobile phones. So, success
we established NID in India. The depends on what lens you use –
basic idea behind setting up NID economic or sustainability lens.
was to help improve the quality
BW EDUCATION SEPTEMBER 2022 101 Photographs courtesy NID
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CAREER INSIGHTS / DESIGN / INTERVIEW
So how are sustainability and uct, we buy a service, so that we to come to the creative field. We
environment concerns being don’t need so many products, like are not looking at born designers
addressed through design? And renting a car, or having communi- but those who have the ability to
what are some of the initiatives ty washing machines. It’s also im- observe, communicate, who can
of NID in this regard? perative as the impact of overuse think differently and who have
Sustainability is a very integral of resources is quite visible. the ability to address the problem.
part of the teaching-learning at They need to have a natural
NID, since the beginning. We are What is the aptitude that you flair, the ability to appreciate the
particular about the material, the society and environment they
end of life of product, circularity, seek in students at the time of come from and come up with
reuse and recycling. We teach possible solutions.
some modules on sustainable admission and how do you groom
designs and eco designs. The WWW.BWEDUCATION.COM
design should not be a burden on them once they join the course?
the environment. We take students who are inclined
In any production process, 70
to 80 per cent decisions are taken
at the design stage and at that
stage if you embed the idea of
sustainability, it will go a long way.
So, the material to be used, energy
consumption, durability, and oth-
er factors can be decided at that
stage and sustainability can be
consciously deployed. Since these
products are made in millions, the
multiplier effect is immense.
There is also the larger concept
of how you design services instead
of products. This is a major shift,
wherein, instead of buying a prod-
BW EDUCATION SEPTEMBER 2022 102
Can you also comment on the field, there is scarcity of human hope that institutes will also invest
infrastructure in the country for resources, and it will take time to in faculty development.
design courses at the moment, do so.
and what more needs to be done Would you say that design is
in terms of faculty and other India is in the midst of huge in- more of an interdisciplinary
aspects? dustrialisation and a large number study?
The country has a huge potential of small and medium industries Design is always interdisciplinary.
for design. Today, a lot of IITs have are coming up. So some of that In my opinion it’s not a discipline
set up their design departments. infrastructure can be used as ex- but draws from every discipline,
And there are architecture tension to the classroom. At NID, be it management, social science,
institutions providing insight besides the classroom, we have technology, humanities and art.
into design. Depending upon always engaged with the industry It’s about a set of sensibilities.
the domain of design you offer, and the real world and used the But yes, the skill sets are taught
they have to create infrastructure entire world as infrastructure. We in the domains of disciplines and
accordingly, and also the are in the middle of the city and verticals of programmes. The
supporting skill sets required learn from there. teaching is also interdisciplinary
for that. Today, there are a large and we have faculty from social
number of design schools coming Faculty is definitely an issue science, humanities, physiological
up and setting up infrastructure. because of the sudden expansion sciences, economics, engineering
But at the moment, because of of the field and it being practical and technology, architecture,
the sudden expansion of the oriented, many of them take up fine arts and multiple disciplines
jobs. Not everybody is interested of design. So we have a very
BW EDUCATION SEPTEMBER 2022 103 to come back as design teachers. I varied and diverse set of people
facilitating design education.
Within design too, people find
ways to collaborate and work
together.
Finally, what is the way forward
and what trends do you see
emerging?
There are many perspectives
emerging but at the same time
many challenges have also
emerged. Besides sustainability
that we have discussed, we
have issue of migration and the
binary of global and local, and
other issues of the world that
have to be addressed. Design
has to get into many unknown
territories. Multiple perspectives
are required to come up with a
solution. So I see that designers
will have to work in participatory
settings. The boundaries of
discipline will shrink and it will
become more transdisciplinary.
Circularity will become a core.
We will have to take a clear stand
that consumeristic perspective
will no longer help. People will
have to become more conscious
consumers.
At the same time, societal sense
of aesthetics and experiences is
also changing so we need to ad-
dress that.
So, you need to move into
new territories with which many
people may not be comfortable.
Designers need to expand their
horizon and work on other areas
of design.
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CAREER INSIGHTS / DESIGN / INTERVIEW
“Design Is User-
Centric, At The Core”
Aneesha Sharma, HoD,
Department of Design,
IIT Delhi, provides an
understanding of the
area of study
By Meha Mathur
BW EDUCATION SEPTEMBER 2022 104 WWW.BWEDUCATION.COM
The Department of solutions for the grassroot Photograph by TRIBHUWAN SHARMA
Design, IIT Delhi, level problems of every strata
which has long-stand- of the society. The programme Design has fully equipped design
ing PhD and masters has consistently kept up with labs for the students wanting to
programmes, has now the national and international pursue industrial/product de-
started BDesign also. With a series standards and trends in design. sign, interaction/UX design and
of labs, freedom to explore across We have a very robust alumni communication design practices.
domains, and the whole learning base who play a major role in The department also has advanced
and research ethos, the institute shaping our design programme. research labs in the areas of ergo-
is poised to nurture the dreams Our alumni are today in esteemed nomics, sustainability, transpor-
of young school passouts in this design leadership positions tation, neuro-cognition and their
area of study. Aneesha Sharma, in various organisations like applications in design domains.
Head of the Department of Design Microsoft, Google, Philips
describes the thrust of the pro- Healthcare, Volkswagen, GE and What is needed for a person
gramme, in an interview to BW Tatas, to name a few. Our alumni to do well in the design field
Education. Excerpts: have also started their design and is there a scope for non-
studios in various domains of science students too? What
What is the focus of IIT Delhi’s design and that adds into our is it that IIT-Delhi seeks in its
design programme? Can you entrepreneurship side of our design aspirants while granting
describe the infrastructure that pedagogy. Being a part of IIT admission?
has been created at the institute Delhi, our students also embrace A successful designer requires
for the programme? the start-up revolution and they an equal amount of creative
The IIT Delhi design programme take up design projects which are and analytical mindset. Hence
has a strong rooting in the design further developed into a start-up. we do not restrict our intake
pedagogy with an experience of only to science students. We are
running the masters programme IIT Delhi has always highly val- very much open to non-science
for the last 26 years while we have ued its design programme and has students to take up design as a
started our BDes programme been instrumental in supporting career option.
this semester. IIT Delhi design all the design endeavours of the
programme has always been design students as well as design The admission process re-
a bastion of functional design researchers. The Department of quires the aspirants to qualify the
UCEED (Undergraduate Common
BW EDUCATION SEPTEMBER 2022 105 Entrance Exam for Design) for
Bachelors-BDes and CEED (Com-
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CAREER INSIGHTS / DESIGN / INTERVIEW
mon Entrance Exam for Design) How can sustainability become multiple hats at various stages
for Masters -MDes. a core concern while designing of the designer. At times s/he
products? has to become a researcher, an
Is there sufficient infrastructure Design, at its core, starts by analyst, an animator, a technology
making inquiry into the user with expert, a psychologist, a materials
available in the country, a focus on his/her interaction with expert and so on. Hence designers
the environment and through the always have a streak of inter-
including faculty availability, for entire design process these two disciplinarity imbibed within
are consistently at the centre of all them. Hence at DoD one of the
design programmes? the explorations for innovation. very important learning for our
One should understand that Hence I believe that the due students is ‘learning to constantly
design has always been a part of considerations of sustainability learn new things, adapt to new
the Indian consciousness and its are naturally integrated into the challenges, and deliver in the
cultural mindset though we may designer’s consciousness. most constrained situations
not have cognised it as equitable ” to the point that it becomes
with the design as is formalised in As I had mentioned earlier, an attitude for the designer. A
the contemporary milieu. at DoD IIT Delhi we encourage designer is always open to absorb
our students to investigate the new knowledge in a very focussed
If we look in the recent history, grassroot level problems of our manner and the apply it in the
design, as a formal education- society. Hence, if you see our most optimal manner in any
al programme, was brought to student product design projects, design problem.
India in 1960-61 as part of PM you will find them ranging from
Jawaharlal Nehru’s vision. De- indigenous packaging, solar At DoD, we also emphasise on
sign institutes like NID were set lamps, harvesting electricity from collaboration. A designer needs to
up. The IITs also joined with the rains, chulha that cuts the smoke, collaborate with various experts
Industrial design centre at IIT ceramic filters, reusable female and skilled individuals so that
Bombay. Hence formal design hygiene products, and so on. this user’s problem is addressed
education has a long legacy and in the most sincere manner. Our
it has shaped the way we perceive Can you shed light on students also some from various
and practise design in India in interdisciplinarity involved in backgrounds and have eclectic
contemporary times. The design designs, with a few examples? skillsets. Hence they learn how
community is a very close commu- Design is all about finding the to work together in collaboration
nity and we have grown with the right and optimal solution for towards a common design
teachings of our erstwhile design my user’s needs. Towards this solution.
gurus like Kumar Vyas, S Nad- endeavour the designer wears
karni, Ashok Chatterjee, AG Rao,
LK Das and many, many more.
Spaces for Hands-On Learning
IIT Delhi has the following labs where design students can explore and try out new designs
i. User Experience Lab (UX tervention in rural ecosystem, nomics Lab: Meant for re-
Lab): Equipped with eye and other related aspects. search work on usability,
tracking, pupillometry, elec- health, comfort and user pref-
troencephalography (EEG), iii. Vehicle design Lab: As the erences.
galvanic skin response (GSR), name suggests, this lab grooms
behavioural observation soft- students for the design of vi. QuEST Lab: Works in the area
ware (Morae) and facial recog- transportation systems and of designing products and solu-
nition and physiological data related aspects. It is equipped tions for better quality of life.
integration tool (iMotion), the with marker rendering facility Equipped with a weather sta-
lab facilitates studies on emo- and a clay modelling facility. tion, equipment for air quality
tional and cognitive responses monitoring, including for in-
to designed products iv. Makerspace: A ‘do-it-your- doors.
self ’ facility equipped with la-
ii. Sustainability lab: This lab ser cutters, waterjet cutters, vii.Design and Innovation in Vil-
enhances students’ under- CNC routers, 3D printers, PCB lagepreneurs Ecosystem (DI-
standing and skills in longevity prototyping stations, soldering VINE) Lab: A sponsored lab,
of products, afterlife, circular stations, welding kits, and vari- for projects relevant to rural
economy, packaging design, in- ous hand and power tools ecosystems.
v. Human Factors and Ergo- – Information from IIT Delhi website
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CAREER INSIGHTS / DESIGN / INTERVIEW
“We have a Human-
Centred Approach”
Pratul Chandra Kalita, Associate Professor, Department of Design, IIT Guwahati, on what
design is all about and the focus of the course in the institute
By Meha Mathur
BW EDUCATION SEPTEMBER 2022 108 WWW.BWEDUCATION.COM
hat role does design play in erator interact with another device. Similarly, there are
every-day facets of life, and how graphic design interventions on the exterior of it.
do designers make products and Is there a scope for non-science students in design?
experiences better? And what is Some of the IITs do allow non-science students.
At IIT Guwahati, we are only restricted to science.
Wthe synergy between engineering
and design in IITs? Pratul Chan- There has been a lot of debate on this. Our take is
dra Kalita, Associate Professor, Department of Design, for scientifically-driven design and technological
IIT Guwahati, answers some these questions, in an
intervention.
interview to BW Education. Excerpts:
Can you elaborate on the thrust of the course at your
What is design as a field about, and what have been
some of the major advances? institute?
If you look at renowned companies like Apple or The bifurcations I talked about earlier are not formal
Samsung – how they gained competitive advantage bifurcations. In BDes, there is no specialisation as such.
over others, it was the innovative and design thinking But from second year onwards we have a basket of
approach. That is why there is a need to have human electives. In the first year we have common courses and
capital in this area, wherein you give the students students start taking interest in a particular domain.
the right skills, expertise and knowledge. Design is Not only that, our students take electives from other
driven by innovation and creativity and is a perfect departments too, like computer science and social
amalgamation of technology, art and aesthetics. If science. Besides computer science, which is a favourite
you look at the entire course among students, students also take
curriculum, you will find so many up electives in social sciences, like
courses, from art aesthetics and
technology, to also social science. Design is a practice- ethnography and psychology.
based discipline So that connection with other
departments is very high, not just
While products were being made unlike pure science in terms of open electives but joint
earlier too, what is the new ele- projects.
ment that design has introduced? but a PhD is a must What is the kind of expertise avail-
We as design fraternity are not into
technology development. That is in IITs, whereas in able in this field? And do you face
for people of hardcore technology. design, research is
We use technology to come up comparatively new. faculty crunch?
with best of the best products and Honestly speaking, there is a huge
services. In today’s world, how So, we are not faculty crunch. Design is a practice-
you make use of technology is a getting enough based discipline unlike pure science
major factor. In comparison to the but a PhD is a must in IITs, whereas
pure engineering way of looking at number of in design, research is comparatively
product or service, we have a more applicants new. So, we are not getting enough
human centred approach. number of applicants. We have
adjunct faculties who are industry
Can you give examples of such experts. We are also starting a new
programme sponsored by Ministry
human-centred approach in of Electronics and Information
Technology for masters in electronic
products? product design. And we have a panel of industry
We have to consider which particular demography are experts. So, right from curriculum development
we targeting for a particular product? We apply a lot onwards, we are taking inputs from them. For our
of contemporary research like ethnography. On the regular BDes and MDes also we regularly interact with
basis of that research, in the Indian context, we have to our panel of industry experts. We also have workshop-
come up with solutions. To take the example of ATM based course where industry experts are invited to train
machine, I can’t straightaway a US-based design for a students.
small town. Let’s take another example of healthcare,
the cutting-edge technology would be available. But During Covid, what was the experience, especially in
how do we use it in the Indian context, is an issue that
designers have to address. the workshop courses?
We faced tough challenges. Our programme is practice
So, what are the areas of work in IIT Guwahati? based, with hands-on learning. Initially we didn’t know
We have three branches – product design, or the the lockdown will get prolonged so we kept postponing
industrial design, the other is visual communication the workshop courses. But such difficult times teach
like graphic design and the third is human-computer us a lot of things. So, we started developing modules
interaction, which is about user experience. in such way that we could train students through
There is a big synergy between the three fields. We different approaches. We made videos of our instructors
are trying to make our products smarter. Let’s take the doing those product models, and we listed the readily
example of refrigerator wherein the cooling function is available material, so that students could repeat those
the domain of engineers. But you can have the refrig- exercises. And we found some interesting results.
BW EDUCATION SEPTEMBER 2022 109 WWW.BWEDUCATION.COM
CAREER INSIGHTS / DESIGN / INTERVIEW
“Need To Look At
The Bigger Picture”
Manasi Kanetkar, Assistant Teaching Professor of Design at IIT
Gandhinagar, on the synergy between design and other fields
By Meha Mathur
BW EDUCATION SEPTEMBER 2022 110 WWW.BWEDUCATION.COM
Manasi Kanet- currently we are working on wear- aspects taken care of?
kar did her able biomedical devices along with We are trying to incorporate
BArch from one of the professors, in which we it as a teaching discourse. All
Pune in 2002 are helping in the research itself. the courses have sustainability
and followed We sit and brainstorm on how component and how they translate
it up with to do value addition, how to give to design per se. And we provoke
MDesign from Industrial Design more parameters to check data. the students to think in that
Centre, IIT-Bombay in 2006. We test if it is comfortable, is it direction. The campus itself
Teaching engineering students easy to be transport. So it could promotes sustainability to a great
at IIT-Gandhinagar, Kanetkar involve the weight, material, hy- extent. Like there is no disposable
is also part of several projects giene, ease of wearing it and so on. material allowed.
being conducted by the institute,
lending her design expertise. In an We have also worked with What aptitude is needed for a
interview to BW Education, she some teams to take the product person to be a great designer?
shares the role that designers are to market. We help assess, is the You have to be a team player for
playing in several areas, and what idea correct to take to funding sure. You have to appreciate what
is required of designers. Excerpts: agency, taking an overview of each stakeholder would want.
how the project is going through, Unfortunately, how design was
What are the new advances in representing the data through taught till a few years back in
proper visual aids and giving it a multiple institutions was that a
design, and how has this field form that it looks like a saleable designer would sit in one room
product. and would make a sketch and
expanded? pass on the design. But things
I did my masters from IDC IIT You have to come are changing and so are design
Bombay in 2006. And at that together, be schools, which are now promoting
time user experience design was multidisciplinary approach. You
not much known. Only two-three versatile in terms have to come together, be versatile
out of a batch of 30 joined user of outlook and in terms of outlook and need to
experience design. Whereas the need to look at look at the bigger picture. And
scenario is different and most the bigger you have to go to the tiniest detail
of the students are going for it. picture. And you at the same time. The detailing
The definition of design itself has have to go to the matters. Then again you have to
changed. Until the 90s, it was tiniest detail at come out, and look at the bigger
thought about as making things the same time. picture.
look pretty. The designers were The detailing
not very involved initially in the matters You have to be aware of the sto-
conceptual stages. Establishing ry of the elephant and blind men.
the need of the product was At IIT-Gandhinagar, there is no The designer needs to be aware
stepped aside. design programme as such. I am that this could be the reality.
teaching design to engineering
Nowadays the role of designers students since last four years. I What is the kind of infrastructure
has become more encompassing am understanding their needs, available in design, especially
and not limited to how a thing and what would they benefit from. in terms of availability of facul-
looks but how it works. And they I am creating those possibilities ty? And what is needed to make
are looking at not just the product from which students would ben- the awareness of design more
but beyond. A product is part of a efit. widespread?
bigger system, and you have to see At IIT Gandhinagar we already
how that product links to those You mentioned the political and have a ‘tinkering lab’ where
systems and how we can improvise one can experiment. And the
on these interactions between peo- environmental dimension of awareness it’s already widespread,
ple, social elements, government and whether you are a trained
schemes, etc. You have to respond design. How are these various designer or not, there are many
to all those needs – ecological, people engaged in problem
social and political. And so, there solving. It’s just a question of
are multiple opportunities here, making it more human and
instead of sticking to the old defi- more aesthetic. That is where
nition of design. designers are adding value. There
is also a Maker Bhavan to foster
Also, with the number of grad- experiential learning. There is very
uates coming out every year, there sophisticated equipment available
is a need for design to taking new there and they are expanding it.
directions. It doesn’t have to be
new branches. But, for example, WWW.BWEDUCATION.COM
BW EDUCATION SEPTEMBER 2022 111
SPECIAL STORY / SPORTS
Sports BecomesPhotographbyPIB
A New Normal
The old grouse of non-Cricket sports not getting support and the
sportspersons languishing doesn’t hold true any longer, as the medal haul at
Commonwealth Games has shown. Government and private sector schemes
are helping the youth in their medal pursuit
By Poonam Singh
Sudhir Saxena, 30, a kick-boxing champi-
on, still finds it hard to be in the lime- In 2016, he played one championship and nailed it.
light, as this sport was only recognised In 2017, he went to Asian Championship and waved
a year back by the Ministry of Youth the Indian flag in the stadium. Since then, he has
Affairs. “The recognition has increased never looked back. He has bagged over 12 national
medals and more than 40 state-level medals.
the scope of the sports at national and He believes that sports should not be played as
international level. Now, it is not difficult to find a an extra curricula activity, it should be adopted as a
sponsor as it used to be,” says Saxena. serious pursuit.
In 2013, Saxena called it quits due to family pres- For that to happen, the financial concerns of a
sure and started a job in the banking sector for live- sportsperson need to be taken care of. After all,
lihood. At that time, the game was not recognised sport is an expensive pursuit, and you need equip-
by the government, so no job or any such incentives ment, right nourishment and right trainer. And you
were available for such players. need to be travelling for tournaments. A family’s en-
However, he was destined to be back in the game. ergy and time is also entailed – waking up in the wee
BW EDUCATION SEPTEMBER 2022 112 WWW.BWEDUCATION.COM
hours, dropping off the ward to the training venue, Kiren Rijiju announced Khelo India University.
preparing right meals. In many cases, a parent’s In the month of October 2020, the minister virtually
career also taking a backseat. inaugurated eight Khelo India State Centres
of Excellence (KISCEs) across India. The eight
Game Changer states include: Manipur, Arunachal Pradesh,
To fulfil players’ requirement, the government Mizoram, Kerala, Telangana, Nagaland, Karnataka
has initiated many policies that make it easier for and Odisha.
sportspersons. For example, in kick boxing, a bronze
medal winner gets Rs 8,00,000 per annum, and for Strokes Of Success
a silver medal he takes home Rs 15,00,000. Also, Navya Singal, a swimmer and a Ist year student of
each tournament pays them a smart remuneration. psychology honours at LSR College, New Delhi,
has already won three gold, four silver and two
The real game changer is the Khelo India pro- bronze medals in SGFI National School Games,
gramme, that has been introduced to promote sports SFI All India National Club Championships and
culture in India at the grass-root level by building a Khelo India Youth Games. “From a sub junior to a
strong framework for all sports played in our coun- junior and now a senior, my journey here has been
try and establish India as a great sporting nation. good. (It’s about) tough training, scolding, injuries,
rehabilitation, competitions, medals, trophies,
Talented players identified in priority sports disci- jubilations, media interviews, plenty of media
plines at various levels by the High-Powered Com- coverage, stardom in my school throughout, and all
mittee will be provided annual financial assistance of that”, adds Singal.
Rs 5 lakh per annum for eight years.
Swimming is her lifeline. She has been doing
Khelo India School Games, which are a part of the swimming training and doing competitions for
Khelo India programme, were first held in Janu- well over 12 years now, She has been part of the
ary-February, 2018 in New Delhi. Under-17 athletes SAI-Glenmark National Swimming Academy (Talk-
were invited to participate across 16 disciplines: atora Aquatic Complex) — now a ‘National Centre
Archery, athletics, badminton, basketball, boxing, of Excellence’ — since its inception. Since it’s also
football, gymnastics, hockey, judo, kabaddi, kho- a Khelo India Training Centre, all are Khelo India
kho, shooting, swimming, volleyball, weightlifting, swimmers here.
and wrestling.
As more people/students are more focused to-
To enhance support to Indian players, in February
2020, the then Minister of Sports & Youth Affairs
BW EDUCATION SEPTEMBER 2022 113 Photograph by HOCKEYINDIA.ORG | PRO KABADDI
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SPECIAL STORY / SPORTS
BW EDUCATION SEPTEMBER 2022 114 Photograph by ULTIMATE KHO KHO
WWW.BWEDUCATION.COM
wards sports, government is also taking initiatives “The competition is in the
to maintain and provide infrastructure. “Earlier, water; outside it we are a
we used to build top infrastructure for a major clan and the academy has
event, but after the event, that infrastructure used played its nurturing role
to remain idle. After the Commonwealth Games, for this to happen. Here,
they converted Talkatora into National Swimming everyone is only a
Association and now into SAI Glenmark National swimmer and that is what
Centre of Excellence. So, the best swimmers are get- is celebrated here”
ting the opportunity to get training here. Same thing
is happening to other sports too. So, we are shar- - Navya Singal
ing that infrastructure for betterment of athletes,” swimmer at SAI-
explains Partha Pratim Manjumder, Head Coach, Glenmark National
SAI-Glenmark Aquatic Foundation National Centre Swimming Academy
of Excellence (see interview on pg 128).
has participated in over 40 tournaments and won
The Centre of Excellence in New Delhi has best several medals. “I tried all the sports and developed
hostel facilities for boys and girls. Under the Khelo the love for table-tennis. It was a struggle when my
India Scheme, the training and costume expenses of parents used to play. I have had it easier, as they
the swimmers are taken care of by the government. provide me everything, including equipment, shoes
Their schooling is free of charge with an under- and good accommodation,” she acknowledges.
standing of the Bal Bharti Public School’s branch
located nearby. Their training, nutrition and even The support is being extended by parents also be-
private tuitions (optional if parents engage them cause they see the government (public) and private
and pay for it) are taken care of. The swimmers have (corporates) entities coming forward to take care of
easy access to a nutritionist, physiotherapist, doctor players’ needs.
and a psychologist. The aquatic complex is complete
with an Olympic-size pool, warm-up pool, diving Because of the various schemes like Khelo India,
pool and a gym besides a well-appointed hostel and or state government schemes, families too are sup-
supporting infrastructure. porting their wards to pursue their sport of choice.
Not only that, there are many corporate firms
Navya adds, “The competition is in the water, out-
side it we are a clan and the academy has played its WWW.BWEDUCATION.COM
nurturing role for this to happen. The coaches, nu-
tritionist, psychologist, physiotherapists all work as
a team to nurture each swimmer. They instil a sense
of unity in the swimmers at the academy. This pro-
gramme has benefited many children from modest
backgrounds who are among India’s top performers
today. Here, everyone is only a swimmer and that is
what is celebrated here.”
Gone are the days when there were no proper
coaches and instruments to play. Ruchika Nad-
kar, 46, a badminton player from Indore, Madhya
Pradesh, used to be a champion of her time. Sport
is in her genes. Her father was a Ranji player, her
mother was into table tennis, her husband still plays
badminton tournaments and her daughter Janvi is a
shining star of table tennis with multiple medals.
“The journey started from the housing society
court and I never turned back. I won many cham-
pionships but at that time incentives were zero or
very nominal…. We were not even paid the railway
ticket to reach the tournament. The entire team
travelled without tickets to be a part of the badmin-
ton championship in Hyderabad,” she recounts, and
adds, “Self-motivation was the only incentive we
were born with.”
PPP Support
This is not the situation now. Ruchika’s daughter
Janvi is already a force to reckon with and at 16, she
BW EDUCATION SEPTEMBER 2022 115
SPECIAL STORY / SPORTS
Jagraj Singh Sahney athletes for up to Rs 8 lakh. Since figure
skates are expensive, the association re-
Secretary General wards a cash prize of Rs 10,000 – 20,000
Ice Skating Association Of India to medal winners so that they are able to
purchase skates by putting in the remain-
How has the association been encourag- ing amount from their pocket.
ing more kids to take up the sport?
Ice skating is an expensive sport. We have What is the selection process for taking
requested Iskate by Roseate to provide us children for training?
slots for practice sessions in the morning Ice skating is a sport with very limited
hours. They sponsor 60 -70 per cent of infrastructure. We mostly convert roller
the cost for these training sessions and skaters with good potential into ice skat-
we charge a nominal fee from athletes. ers. Since September 2021, we have had a
lot of camps and championships at Iskate.
From coaches’ training camps to regular The regular camps have enabled the chil-
on-ice and off-ice sessions, we know that dren to pick up the sport very well. About
the Indian skaters have great potential 248 coaches and more than 400 skaters
and sponsor them completely. In interna- have been trained by the association in
tional championships, we have sponsored last eight months.
Other than that, we also pick up skat-
ers with great potential from regions like
Kaza, Himachal Pradesh.
Do you have tie ups with schools to pro-
mote the sport?
We have approached various schools
and have also got a good response. A few
schools sent their children to Iskate by
Roseate, but then the pandemic bought
all efforts to a halt. Now that we are head-
ing towards a recovery, the schools have
reopened and the situation has gotten
better, we will have to start again and do
the needful.
BW EDUCATION SEPTEMBER 2022 116 WWW.BWEDUCATION.COM
“Sports is being taken
seriously in India”
Janhavi Dhariwal Balan and Punit Balan of Mumbai Khiladi
Ultimate Kho-Kho League are upbeat about the prospects
of the game
Now we have different leagues in India. Ulti- Janhavi Dhariwal Balan and
mate Kho-Kho League has become one of the Punit Balan of
most watched leagues. How will you allure
more students to be a part of this game? Mumbai Khiladi Ultimate Kho-Kho League
Janhavi Dhariwal Balan: The plan is to reach towards. As far as challenges are concerned,
out and to make training facilities available we all will learn from what we face and try to
for them to participate. So it’s a great inclusive overcome those in the process.
atmosphere that is being created. It is also an
excellent platform help the talent reach where Punit Balan: I don’t think there will be challenges
they should be. because kho-kho is less popular but played by
many in the country. It is a home-grown sport.
Punit Balan: We at Mumbai Khiladis team will We have all played in school or at some point
do a campaign in urban as well as rural areas not in our younger days. The Ultimate Kho-Kho
just in Maharashtra but other states too. We will League is being organised with precision which
have one or two-day kho-kho camps in the cities will take kho-kho to next level and appeal to
where we find potential. And, by the end of next viewers from all age groups.
season, we will pick and choose players, we will
do the exact scouting process as we do in other
sports. We can choose young legs from scouting
and will try to push them for the next auction.
What are your plans for expansion since India
has only one facility which is available to prac-
tice year-round?
Janhavi Dhariwal Balan: First is to reach out
to them and make them realise that there is a
platform. They shouldn’t feel shy or feel it is only
for players from big cities, or for the people who
have access. One of our primary objectives is to
identify and groom talent from across India.
How to overcome challenges in Indian kho-
kho as a sport?
Janhavi Dhariwal Balan: Sports in general is
now being taken seriously in India. Everyone
has a vision and a mission for any sport that
they associate with. Everyone is thinking of the
Olympics. India has immense talent that needs
to be nurtured, which now everyone is working
BW EDUCATION SEPTEMBER 2022 117 WWW.BWEDUCATION.COM
SPECIAL STORY / SPORTS
yNouurntugrtianlgent
for sports
leagues
Professional Sports Leagues and most importantly, greater training. This is
taking sport in India to the next especially advantageous for young players.
level!
It all starts from school!
By Suraj Nangia
Every child’s foundation is laid in school.
Ahundred and thirtyfive years ago, Sports have exploded in India thanks to a variety
the first professional sports league of leagues, including the Premier Badminton
was established in the USA. To- League, Ultimate Kho Kho, and Pro Kabaddi
day, more than 100 profession- League. The leagues demonstrate how valuable
al leagues in various sports exist and important this profession has become in the
across the world, in India there nation as well as how seriously sport is now taken.
are 12 national professional sports leagues, each Even the younger generation is glued to the
at different levels of evolution. Current times of TV when they watch sports since the leagues
evolved technology provides widespread reach to reach every home in the nation. For instance,
professional leagues who are able to attract spon- many people now pursue the indigenous sport of
sors eager to invest in tournaments, in lieu of ad- Kabaddi, especially the younger generations.
vertising rights. Sports used to be considered a leisure topic,
which gave another subject instructor the
This flow of money from advertising rights and possibility to use the time for an extra math class.
television broadcasting means higher remunera- However, things have changed for the better with
tion for players which attracts best of the players the Indian athletes’ success in Tokyo 2020. The
from across the world to these sports leagues. This value of sport, the time and effort it requires,
also allows franchises to hire best of the coaches, and the fact that it can lead to a professional
acquire best sporting equipment and facilities, career for children have all been appreciated by
and develop scientific knowledge about sport dis- teachers, parents, and students. Schools and our
ciplines. educational system are aware of this transition,
and with the New Education Policy’s adoption,
When a company and a sports league come which highlights the importance of sports and
together, a player is given a strong platform to their expanding inclusion in the curriculum, more
demonstrate their abilities to the audience. Players positive change is imminent.
can use it as a stage to present themselves in the
best possible light and showcase their skills and - The author is Head, Nangia Andersen LLP, which
character on the playing field. A league works as provides advisory service to sports departments, sports
a steppingstone, offering prospects for the future
in terms of contests, sponsorship opportunities, bodies and associations.
BW EDUCATION SEPTEMBER 2022 118 WWW.BWEDUCATION.COM
“It was a struggle when my encouraging young talent in winter sports.
parents used to play. I have had Karan Rai, Business Head of Iskate By Roseate,
it easier, as they provide me
everything, including equip- says, “Under the tutelage of accomplished and expe-
ment, shoes and good rienced trainers, the Iskate School offers basic, in-
accommodation” termediate and advanced levels of training in winter
sports like ice hockey and ice skating. Professional
- Janvi Nadkar, training for Olympic sports like figure skating, speed
table-tennis player skating and ice hockey is also offered at the school.
The faculty at the school includes All India National
coming forward to support games like kho-kho, coaches and athletes. Training sessions and camps
ice-hockey, swimming etc. In its quest to nurture the spearheaded by international coaches visiting from
talent in Ice hockey among youth, Iskate by Roseate the US, Canada, Russia, Korea and Germany are
has collaborated with the Ice Skating Association of also hosted at the school.”
India for over a decade to provide the necessary in-
frastructure and support in order to provide a strong “Such games were dependent on Shimla and Gul-
platform for winter games in India. As the only true marg where the weather was always unpredictable
ice sports facility in India which is available through and the venue was unapproachable for the common
the year, Iskate takes upon itself the responsibility of athlete. Skaters had to face disappointment when-
ever a championship would get cancelled due to bad
weather. Ever since ISKATE by Roseate has come
up, we have been able to have regular camps and
championships. Earlier, we used to receive 15-20
enrolments, which is now above 100. The overall
response has been great,” says Jagraj Singh Sahney,
Secretary General, Ice Skating Association of India.
He further explains, “In a year, we have one All
India National championship, multiple Challenge
Cups and Open National Championships – for figure
and speed skating individually. In ice skating we do
not have leagues – we organise camps and champi-
onships individually.”
At least 12 national professional sports leagues
have already started in India, and each has a differ-
ence scale of development. Hockey League is one
of the most loved and watched games of India. The
Hockey Federation of India conceived the league in
2005, three years before the IPL took place in 2008.
However, the league was wrapped-up in 2008 due
to some corruption allegations on federation. It was
officially launched in 2013.
“Leagues give us exposure of the games at interna-
tional level. In the leagues, we try to involve interna-
tional players so our players can learn from them,”
says Sriprakash, hockey coach at the Sports Authori-
ty of India (SAI).
The momentum being created across sports is
bound to create more podium finishes.
BW EDUCATION SEPTEMBER 2022 119 WWW.BWEDUCATION.COM
SPECIAL STORY / SPORTS / INTERVIEW
“We Are on the
Right Track”
Ace footballer and captain of both the national team and ISL, Sunil Chhetri
describes the transformation in sports, and what we need to continue doing
By Poonam Singh
BW EDUCATION SEPTEMBER 2022 120 Photographs by DAYKUNG
WWW.BWEDUCATION.COM
Football has become one of the “If you are a player, talent at the right age is also vital.
most watched leagues. How do try to play to the If you want to do well in sports,
you plan to encourage more stu- best of your three-four years becomes a huge
dents to be a part of this game? margin going forward. Once we do
capability. If you’re that, I believe that we are going to
The Indian Super League a government do really well in sports.
(ISL) has done really well in
the last eight-nine years to personnel, try to Please give us a glimpse of your
promote football in our country. help as much as journey throughout the years.
Simultaneously, the I-League possible. If you are
2nd Division and all of the state a corporate then My journey playing football
leagues are really helping in keep doing what professionally and for the country
attracting true sportspersons you’re doing and has been outstanding. Of course,
towards the games. These leagues keep promoting I did go through the normal
give exposure of the game to our ups and downs, which generally
young kids so their dreams will football” all the players go through, who
become more achievable. The have played for a long period.
more sectors, the more states and have to keep our head down and I think, it’s a similar story for
cities we reach to play sports, keep working hard. almost all of us. But holistically
especially the premium football it’s an outstanding feeling. It’s an
leagues, the better we will be with How are schools responding to absolute honour and a privilege
each passing day. For instance, these sports leagues (excluding to have the kind of life I have
post ISL and other leagues, we IPL) and the response so far? had because of playing football
have no doubt about talent in our I don’t have the knowledge about professionally for 21 years.
nation. The more kids that we how schools are responding to
can influence, define the right age these sports leagues, but I do You know, whatever good that
and give them the necessary tools know that a lot of schools are has happened in my life, direct-
to improve, the better-off we will inculcating sports in the gym ly or indirectly, it’s all related to
be. We have done decently well in and I think it’s high time. A lot of football. But I think what stops
the last 5-10 years. But we have to emphasis is being given to sports everything is the fact that I’ve
keep doing what we’re doing and and extracurricular activities, played for my country for the
keep working hard. And in that which is very important. And last 17 years. This was something
context, having a Premier League I’m really happy about it. I think which wasn’t even in my dreams,
in our nation, having a lot of sports is the one facet which really it is something that I’ve achieved
games at the top level, really helps. helps you to develop as a human beyond my dreams.
being. So, I think it should have
What can we do to promote foot- a big part to play in our schooling I’ve always said this before that
ball in India? system. if someone gave me pen and paper
20 to 23 years back when I was
I think all of us who are integral How can sports infrastructure be just finishing school and asked
or who are part owners of football improved? me to write what kind of life do
in this nation, which is the clubs, We have a lack of infrastructure you want for the next 20 years, I
the government, the Federation, to cater to 1.3 billion people, it’s wouldn’t have been able to write
the players, the coaches, the fans, true. It’s not only true for football, the kind of absolute amazing life
the media, have to come together but for almost all the sports. As that I’ve got. I’m in a very priv-
and do our best to promote or a nation, we have to do a lot and ileged position. The least that I
nurture sports. We have levelled a make sure we work really hard, can do is to go out and give my
lot of criticism at each other. But so that we can create a decent best and to be a better version of
fortunately, we are on the right infrastructure. With a decent myself every day.
track. And the only way forward is infrastructure, we can provide the
to make sure that we do our work right path to talented kids at the Now the individual story aside,
properly. right age. And along with talking I am a huge fan of Indian foot-
about infrastructure, I also want ball. I think football in general
If you are a player, try to play to emphasise that identifying the has done well in the last 10-15
to the best of your capability. If years. But we cannot be satisfied,
you’re a government personnel, because we haven’t achieved any-
try to help as much as possible. thing massive in terms of Asian
If you are a corporate then keep Football. So, we have to keep our
doing what you’re doing and keep head down and keep working
promoting football. If you’re a fan, hard. Individually, I’ll keep trying
be passionate and come and watch to be better every day. I will give
the games. If you’re the media, my best to make the team better
make sure that you promote the and that’s the kind of target I
game, and that’s about it. We just have. Now that I am 37, I know
it’s not gonna last forever.
BW EDUCATION SEPTEMBER 2022 121
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SPECIAL STORY / SPORTS / INTERVIEW
“Our League Has
Transformed Stature of
Young Players”
Anupam Goswami, CEO, Sports League, Disney Star India, and League
Commissioner, VIVO Pro Kabaddi League, describes how the private sports
leagues have benefitted budding sportspersons, in an interview to
BW Education
By Poonam Singh
Pro Kabaddi League has become one of the most league and the overall sport of kabaddi to a totally
watched leagues all over India. How easy or diffi- new generation of kabaddi players. Since Season 5
cult is it to get players these days, considering the of PKL, we have successfully included more than 50
pressure on students to do well in academics? debutants each year. The MVPs of Season 7 and 8,
the best defender of Season 7 and the Best Débutante
The reality is that academics is hardly a serious of Season 8 were products of our FKH programme.
distraction for elite level sportsmen anywhere in This in turn has encouraged some PKL teams to
the world of sports. At the same time, at a relatively launch year-round kabaddi academy programmes to
junior level, particularly in the school-going age- engage more youth and bring them into the profes-
groups, it is good for sportspersons to strike the right sional pipeline. Players like Aslam Inamdar, Naveen
balance between studies and Kumar, Rohit Gulia, Nitesh
the playing field. A benchmark is that entry Kumar and Surinder Singh
As far as Vivo Pro Kabaddi have come out of the VIVO
is concerned, the national ka- level PKL athletes get PKL youth programmes and
baddi ecosystem acknowledges salaries very comparable to have become household heroes
that our league has completely what aspirational sectors of across the world of kabaddi.
transformed the opportunities One outcome of this is the great
as well as stature of young and mushrooming of kabaddi acad-
emerging kabaddi players. We the mainstream services emies in several states of India,
have a unique and exemplary sector such as media and such as Haryana, Himachal
programme for young kabaddi Pradesh, Maharashtra, Tamil
athletes titled Future Kabad- medicine offer. Nadu and Uttar Pradesh; along
di Heroes that opened up the with a surge in enrolment of
BW EDUCATION SEPTEMBER 2022 122 WWW.BWEDUCATION.COM
youth therein. Furthermore, recent trends show that the business of sport. This creates a value proposition
other leading kabaddi playing countries such as Iran, for individual heroes as well as the overall sport.
Bangladesh and Kenya are beginning to use PKL op-
portunities to bring their young kabaddi players to How have sponsorships in the sports evolved over
the fore. the years?
National and international players have for years More and more sponsors, both individually as well
had job security while playing for the country. as emerging classes of sport-sponsors, are engaging
with successful sports leagues and PKL is a leading
What are the incentives to be given to the league example of this. We are seeing this at the league-level
players as security? as well as with PKL Teams.
Obviously, playing for national or state teams How has Covid-19 affected the game and players?
and playing for privately funded league teams
brings respective The pandemic had a
frameworks deep impact on the
for reward and world of sport, and
compensation for some of it continues
sportspersons. This amidst all the on-
is true for sports going endeavours to
world over, although continue and resume
as an overall trend sport. Let us not
it is clear that forget that the 2022
mainstream, best- Asian Games have
in-class sport is been postponed just
linking with private a couple of months
investment and ago explicitly for
enterprise the world ongoing pandemic
over. This is the conditions in China.
direction for Indian
sports as well. In this environ-
These are still ear- ment, Mashal Sports
ly days for PKL but (organising com-
again it is absolutely pany for PKL) ap-
clear that kabaddi plauds all the suc-
players across the cess-stories of other
world see the oppor- Indian leagues as
tunity as exception- well as efforts of all
ally rewarding for the other institu-
salaries and rewards, tional stakeholders
aspirational status, including govern-
as well as for overall ment-led efforts.
career development. For the intensely
A benchmark is that physical contact
entry level PKL ath- sport of kabaddi,
letes get salaries very the safe conduct of
comparable to what PKL Season 8 a few
aspirational sectors months back in com-
of the mainstream pliance to pandemic-related guidelines is a source of
services sector such great pride.
as media and medi-
cine offer. Again, the What challenges does a sports league owner face
highest paid PKL athletes are among the highest paid in terms of infrastructure?
athletes, outside of cricket, in India.
Interestingly, playing the PKL is the surest route All indoor sports, including kabaddi, will benefit
for Indian kabaddi athletes to get a government or greatly from the improvement of event and
public sector job. competition related infrastructure. We have seen
huge improvement in the infrastructure across the
Why has glamourising the sport become necessary country and are happy to continue our partnership
to make the league famous and allure sponsors? with custodians of kabaddi across the country.
Glamourising the sport is part of making it aspirational WWW.BWEDUCATION.COM
for the younger generations, and to create large fan
bases. This in turn creates a conducive environment
for sponsors as well as well as other stakeholders in
BW EDUCATION SEPTEMBER 2022 123
SPECIAL STORY / SPORTS
“We Are Paying Players
Decent Money”
Joy Bhattacharjya, CEO of Pro Volleyball League, on the prospects of
volleyball, football, kabaddi and hockey leagues at the moment.
- By Poonam Singh
Joy Bhattacharjya, CEO of Pro Volleyball League WWW.BWEDUCATION.COM
BW EDUCATION SEPTEMBER 2022 124
oy Bhattacharjya, a leyball team is playing brilliantly “To create
man of many hats, is and that is having a positive im- enthusiasm, we
a renowned quizzer, pact on other players. As you see,
orator and writer Kerala is all ready, there’s a lot of need a moral
and sports producer. impact in Tamil Nadu as well. character. Sport
He is the CEO of depends on heroes
Pro Volleyball League, former What is the role of media in
team director of the IPL franchise making some of these sports and heroines.
Kolkata Knight Riders and has popular? Neeraj Chopra’s has
also served as the director for Stories have been created via
the FIFA U-17 World Cup. In an broadcast media. The more people inspired many
interview with BW Education, watch the game, the more it athletes, which
Bhattacharjya talks about the becomes a series of successes. We means there are a
challenges of starting a sports partnered with the Sony channel. lot of Javelin
league. Excerpts: They are helping us in building throwers in the
a product. We put it on Sony’s making for coming
How are volleyball and football five channels, including English, championships.”
coming up in India and what is Hindi, Malayalam, Tamil and
the infrastructure being created? Telugu. Plus, it’s on SonyLiv. look at the league last year, we had
The two are different types of almost 112 sponsors. The problem
games. Both are doing extremely To make it a success, we have is that a lot of leagues start with
well. However, Kabbadi is doing a different strategy. We keep two a lot of hope. But if you can’t get
well because Star TV has invested top international players in every enough sponsorship, then the
in it. The players are now getting team. We have players like David league is not financially viable.
Rs 1.5 crore whereas they started Lee, who is a double Olympian
from Rs five lakh to Rs 10 lakh. and gold medallist. At least four or If we talk about incentives, we
Because it’s an established game five Olympians have played in our are paying players decent money,
with good TRPs. league, which is fantastic for the but not over-the-top like cricket.
league. We are keeping our expenses in
In volleyball, we have done one control so that we know that we
season well. Our top players get Rs What are some of the challenges have viability. And that is really
18-20 lakh during auctions, which of these leagues, and what are important for us. We’re investing in
is still far away from what cricket the solutions? making the product very strong.
league players are getting, but If you look at our league, we have
it’s a substantial sum of money. started with a legal dispute with WWW.BWEDUCATION.COM
More importantly, I think it’s a the Volleyball Federation of India.
profitable league. If we talk about Today, we have more sponsors than
infrastructure, volleyball has some any other league in India. If you
great advantages. It doesn’t need
too much money to play. Secondly,
it’s an urban-cum rural sport and
a lot of rural people play volley-
ball.
Are youngsters enthused by vol-
leyball? Currently, where do our
players stand?
To create enthusiasm, we need a
moral character. Sport depends
on heroes and heroines. Neeraj
Chopra’s has inspired many
athletes, which means there
are a lot of Javelin throwers
in the making for coming
championships.
The rise of world boxing cham-
pion Nikhat Zareen will give a
boost to boxing. Similarly, our vol-
BW EDUCATION SEPTEMBER 2022 125
SPECIAL STORY / SPORTS / INTERVIEW
“The SportIsSeeing
A Huge Groundswell”
Pro Panja League is a professional Arm Wrestling Tournament, founded by
Swen Entertainment in 2020. Parvin Dabas, Co-Founder, Pro Panja League,
sheds light on the success they have achieved so far in popularising the game.
- By Poonam Singh
How is the Pro Panja League WWW.BWEDUCATION.COM
coming up in India and what is
the infrastructure being created?
Pro Panja League is coming across
in India in a huge way. We just had
our huge Ranking Tournament
finale at the Gwalior Fort. Before
this, we had our first Pro Panja
League Ranking Tournament in
February 29th, 2020, three weeks
before the first lockdown, where
Kiren Rijiju (Then Minister of
Youth Affairs and Sports, now
Minister of Law and Justice, GOI),
and Virender Singh (wrestler)
came and launched it in New
Delhi.
We have just finished our Gwal-
ior Ranking Tournament, where
700 players came from 25 states
across the country. The prelimi-
nary rounds had been organised
at Lakshmibai National Institute
of Physical Education (LNIPE),
where we had five tables and a
huge number of matches across 10
weight categories.
What we are doing to develop
infrastructure at grassroot level
is creating arm-wrestling acad-
emies across the country. We
have just started with Gwalior in
BW EDUCATION SEPTEMBER 2022 126
April, where we inaugurated an very, very aggressive but non-vio- stories?
Arm-Wrestling Academy, in asso- lent sport. It’s one of those places We have quite a few success
ciation with Gwalior Arm-Wres- where you can prove your strength stories in our midst in the Pro
tling Federation on a local level. without getting punched in the Panja League.
We have donated a table to them face. I think because of this the • Chetna Sharma who is our 65kg
as well. sport is seeing a huge ground-
swell. Champion, who also works with
We also donated a table at the CBI in the cyberdivision.
LNIPE. Table is a part of the Our players do have to get better There is a huge following that
infrastructure. What we are trying in terms of competition at the she has already developed.
to do is to donate very high- qual- international level. That is what • Karaj Virk from Haryana. He
ity tables, of international quality Pro Panja League is trying to do - was our last 80kg champion.
standards, across the country, to raise the level of the players. We This time, he played in 90kg
where a large number of our play- just invited the Master Referee, category, but he came in second.
ers reside and train. Sergey Sokolov, from Kazakhstan • Tawheed Shaikh from Aurang-
Are youngsters enthused by Pro to teach the referees the rules abad, who beat Karaj in the 90
Panja League? Currently where much better than we did. We also kg category.
do our players stand? invited the legendary Michael • Superstar of the tournament
The youngsters are very enthused ‘The Monster’ Todd from the USA was Asker Ali, who beat the lo-
with Pro Panja League. There are to inspire the athletes. He did a cal (Gwalior) boy Sachin Goyal.
already stars and heroes being workshop with the kids as well. He has the mettle to became a
developed and these youngsters The kids were also able to ask top star and that was why gave
look up to their local heroes. They him about training, nutrition and him the ‘Lt. Sunil Kumar Player
want to be like them. Some of the training. We plan to call foreign of the Tournament’ award.
stars are being asked for photos coaches to train them better train- • Mazahir Saidu from Kerala and
and autographs. ing techniques and habits, and a CA. He was on cusp of win-
continue this growth. ning very close matches.
We have to remember Panja is a What are some of the success • Yogesh Chaudhary, who is our
65+Kg champion;
BW EDUCATION SEPTEMBER 2022 127 • and Jagdish Baruah from As-
sam, who came out of nowhere
to beat Sameer VT for 100kg
title.
How can Indian families, and
schools nurture sports talent?
Studies are very important but
we need to create fields and
sporting infrastructure. We are
very fortunate that there are lot
of schools and lot of young people
who manage schools who now
know the importance of sports
and who are sportspersons as
well. One person I would like to
mention myself is Sujai Jai Raj
of Jamnabai Narsee School and
he is creating a strong string of
schools across the Western region
and across the country. Though
they are academic, but have a very
strong leaning towards sports
and are creating international
infrastructure in terms of tracks.
People like him are doing a strong
job.
And parents as well. For ex-
ample, boxing champion Nikhat
Zareen’s father stood by her really
strongly. Kudos to such parents
who don’t care what society would
say and just let their kids go out
there and prove themselves.
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SPECIAL STORY / SPORTS / INTERVIEW
“Sportspersons Want
Podium Finish”
Partha Pratim Manjumder, Head Coach, Sports Authority of India-Glenmark
Aquatic Foundation, National Centre of Excellence, on the shifting priorities
in sports
By Meha Mathur
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What changes have come in the last two decades in Sports needs investment and financial support. All
sports in India? sports are expensive, be it terms of equipment or buy-
Now, because of international exposure, and ing coaching service. Now, Khelo India and state gov-
media showing international events in all sports, ernment schemes are supporting the sportsperson to
the mindset of sports persons in underprivileged pursue their sport. There is a financial breakup which
sports, ie sports which were not very popular, has is helping them. This wasn’t the case in my time. I
changed. They have understood the sport in terms of was a national champion in swimming – a back-stro-
international standards and because of this exposure ker – and I joined the Railways in 1994. I worked
the target barrier is now different. Earlier, the target there for four years, then worked with Income Tax,
was to play at the national level. If someone managed before taking up coaching as full-time career.
to break the national record, they would go to
international meet. Now, sportspersons want podium The aspiration in those times was to be a national
finish internationally and many more people are keen champion to get a job. Once you got a job, there was
to break records. We can see that many records are no further scope of excellence. Because of the new
changing. schemes, there is a new vision. If you want to pursue
excellence, you will have that support.
Not only that, because of the challenging environ-
ment, coaches are also trying to learn and implement The second thing is, there were many people in
modern techniques. Thanks to Facebook and other sports, whose vision was not to be in government ser-
platforms, these techniques are also becoming acces- vice and after 18 there would be a hollow as there was
sible. This is pushing the coaches to push the targets no aim. But now there is a vision to pursue sports for
for their trainees to ensure that they stay in tune with a longer duration, thanks to the support available.
the modern world.
A lot of families invest their time in nurturing
How is it that even sports like luge player or ice hockey their children’s dreams. What happens if their
are becoming pretty popular? How is it that not only kids don’t achieve their dreams?
awareness but also opportunities and infrastructure Sports has many aims. In corporate world, they give
in these sports are improving? priority to sportspersons. The reason is, they can
This is thanks to the initiative by the Government of handle multiple tasks without getting hassled - what
India. Earlier, we used to build top infrastructure for you call sportsperson’s spirit. A sportsperson is one
a major event, but after the event, that infrastructure who has the art to win, the courage to accept failure,
used to remain idle. But after the Commonwealth and still has the art to win again. Yes, it’s a pyramid
Games of 2010, they converted Talkatora Stadium and only a few people will be at the top. But you gain
into National Swimming Association and now into a lot. So, in the short-term the parents would be upset
SAI Glenmark National Centre of Excellence. So, at the failure but in the long run they realise that the
the best swimmers are getting the opportunity to get effort was worth it.
training here. The same thing is happening to other
sports too. So, we are sharing that infrastructure for How has Khelo India changed the whole scenario?
betterment of athletes. A lot. For example, we have about 40 kids, out of
which 28 are boarders, and they are from different
But what would you say about infrastructure in financial backgrounds. Their boarding, lodging,
large parts of the country, besides big cities? costume, everything is supported by the scheme.
It is going up. In Haryana, I did not see a temperature Since the funding is equal, there is parity among all
controlled 50m swimming pool earlier, but because the kids. Apart from that, if you do well, you get a
of Khelo India, an Olympic size pool has been built scholarship, so parents are also buying that.
there.
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Besides the genuine interest, what is now the biggest
incentive amongst youngsters to join a particular
sport. Earlier it was about a government job, whereas
now, that is not the priority.
The aspiration in those times was
to be a national champion to get
a job. Once you got a job, there
was no further scope of
excellence. Because of the new
schemes, there is a new vision
BW EDUCATION SEPTEMBER 2022 129
AWARDS
EYMouPtOhWEYRoINuGth
Education is taking a new form each day. BW Education finds the most
prominent changemakers leading this transformation and bringing education
into the 21st century
In the search for the bright- have found new audiences in the
est minds in the education of the National Education Policy Indian and global market. Catering
industry today in India, in 2020 and the subsequent Cov- to all stakeholders, ranging from
BW Education presents id-19 pandemic, the education in- students, teacher and even B2B
40 Under 40. This unique dustry has witnessed significant companies, these young risk-tak-
initiative sets out to recog- changes and the gaps in the in- ers have expanded their outreach.
nise innovation, creativity, leader- dustry became clearer. This time This list, awards and summit are
ship and success that goes beyond also witnessed the huge potential BW Education’s attempt to recog-
profit and valuations. India is one the Indian youth had in finding nise the work and felicitate these
of the youngest countries in the unique solutions to existing and young leaders and disruptors.
world with the highest percentage never-before-seen- challenges. Be
of youths. With the introduction it primary education, profession- Education is the cornerstone
al courses or auxiliary services, all to building a strong foundation
BW EDUCATION SEPTEMBER 2022 130 WWW.BWEDUCATION.COM
of knowledge, development and things, solving the small problems Sudhanshu Pant, Head of Human
growth. For any change to occur, it in unique ways. We came up with Resources, The British School,
must begin with education. These this list and it was an enjoyable New Delhi; and Vinesh Menon,
past two years have seen a lot of process going through all and CEO - Human Development &
commotion in our social, cul- seeing the shape which these Social Impact , Ampersand Group.
tural and personal welfare. New initiatives are taking.” He added,
learning gaps were formed while “We found 26 people who were A total of 180 nominations were
older ones got widened. Edtech suitable and many others, who we received. These were screened
took on a new responsibility, while hope will come back next year. In and shortened to 90 by the BW
institutes learned the importance some cases there was information Businessworld team. With the
of classroom environment, peer- that was missing or we needed help of the jury the list was further
to-peer learning and unity among more evidence of their work. I did brought down to 59 candidates
staff and students. This year’s find the representation that came that were presented to the jury.
list is especially important as the out of this was a good sign.” While many candidates showed
leaders recognised have surpassed immense promise and potential,
expectations by not just surviving Jury members included An- the jury, through careful screening
the pandemic, but growing despite nurag Batra, Chairman & Edi- and deliberation the jury finalised
it. Candidates were hand selected tor-in-Chief, BW Businessworld & 26 names for the 40 Under 40 list
by the eminent jury who sought to Founder, Exchange4Media; Anup this year.
find, not just the brightest minds Singh, Director General, Nirma
of today, but those who showed University; CP Shrimali, Former Unveiling the Power Club
promise for years to come. Director, Management Devel- This year, the power list includes
opment Institute (MDI); Divya a range of thought leaders across
The Jury Process Lal, Founder & CEO, Fliplearn the education industry, including
Leading the Jury, Padma Bhushan Education; Harivansh Chaturvedi, CEOs, founders, academics and
Awardee Rajendra Pawar, Director, Birla Institute of Man- disruptors. Some have built their
Chairman, NIIT, and Founder, agement Technology (BIMTECH) venture from the ground up,
NIIT University, presided over the Noida; Harsh Wardhan, CEO, while others are revolutionising
process, commenting, “Passion CSC India; Rishikesha Krishnan, an existing structure to meet
is the key. There is a very large Director, IIM Bangalore; SS Man- the demands of the 21st century
number of people trying new tha, Former Chairman, AICTE & students, teacher and other
Former Chancellor, KL University; stakeholders in the industry.
WINNER DESIGNATION ORGNISATION
Abhishek Ballabh Co-Founder ExtraaEdge Technology Solutions
Abhishek Mohan Gupta Pro Chancellor Jagran Lakecity University
Abishek Kumar Yadav Founder Chairman Griffins International School
Ajitesh Basani Secretary &Executive Director Acharya Bangalore B-School
Aman Mittal Vice President Lovely Professional University
Anshu Dhanuka Co-founder and CPO Paper Boat Apps
Arjun Mohan CEO – India upGrad
Arpit Badjatya CEO & MD Serosoft
Bhavishya Chaurasia Co-Founder Education10x
Charu Noheria Co-Founder and COO Practically
Gyan Tiwari Founder Education10x
Harsh Bharwani Director Jetking
Khushboo Awasthi Cofounder & Director Mantra4Change
Kunal Vora Founder Director & CEO SHRM Biotechnologies
Mahalakshmi Satish Senior Director - India, Prodigy Prodigy Math Game India
Mayank Batheja Founder Credenc
Moitreyee Goswami CEO Zucate
Nishant Patni Co-Founder Hello English
Nitin Golani Business head Byjus
Pallavi Rao Chaturvedi Executive Vice President Get Set Parent (AISECT)
Pankaj Agarwal CEO TagHive Inc
Prateek Bhargava Founder & CEO Mindler Education
Saurabh Arora Founder & CEO University Living
Shashank Shwet Founder & CEO IMAGINXP
Siddharth Shahani Executive President & Co-Founder ATLAS SkillTech University
Vishal Gada Co-founder Financial Planning Academy, Ambition Learning Solutions
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BW EDUNEXT SUMMIT 2022
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The Many Dimensions of
Post-Covid Education
Educationists and edu-entrepreneurs came together at BW Edunext Summit 2022 to discuss
the opportunities and challenges that have emerged in the new normal world, each defining
‘hybrid’ in their own way
Indian economy and Vishal Talwar, Director, IMT a need for experimentation in each
industry is undergoing a Ghaziabad, talked about the institute.
complete transformation, aspects of creating institutions,
necessitating not just new which he called the ‘hardware’, and The panellists also discussed
learning but new skills, the quality of education being im- the relative merits of physical and
and this was the theme of parted. One transformation that he online classes and felt that while
discussion in the first session of pointed out was increasing focus students do like the touch and feel
the day, titled Transformation of on research in institutions. of physical classes but at the same
Indian Education System. time there is much to learn from
Ajitesh Basani, Executive Direc- edtech too.
Kounal Gupta, Founder & CEO, tor, Acharya Bangalore B-school,
Henry Harvin Education, said that said pointed out that India is very Minal Anand, Founder & CEO,
the focus should not be only on different from other countries and GuruQ, said that during Covid,
present skill requirement but skills while learning from best practices, students and teachers were forced
that will stand us in good stead for one size does not fit all. And what to accept online education offer-
times ahead and on entrepreneur- suits one institute also does not ings. But at this juncture, edtech
ship and self employment. suit another, which is why there is players will have to rethink their
offerings and these will have to be
BW EDUCATION SEPTEMBER 2022 132
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lasting solutions. possible now due to edtech, which Kashif Iqbal Siddiqui, Assistant
The panellists also discussed the were earlier not possible. Aman Professor, School of Business,
Bharadwaj, Director-Strategy & Galgotias University, also shared
issue of academia-industry dis- Planning, Aakash BYJU’s Digital, learnings from the Covid period
connect and the need to bridge the added a note of caution that quality and how to draw lessons for hybrid
chasm. Talwar pointed to the triple is defined by result and satisfaction mode.
helix model of government-indus- of learner, not by online or offline.
try-academia connect in the US In the session titled Change in
which helps skills to be relevant. Padmanabha Ramanujam, Dean Paradigm of Primary Education:
of Academic Governance, OP Shaping Correctly for Life’s Excur-
The need for team work, inter- Jindal Global University, explained sion, the panel pointed out that
personal skills and problem solving the benefits of online learning in kids now are born ‘digital natives’,
was also taken up, and Basani terms of reduced costs, especially and so, for educators, there is no
shared that at his institute, ‘theatre living costs. He gave a different choice but to adapt.
in management’ helps build confi- dimension to ‘new normal’ wherein
dence of students. institutes will offer the course that Abhishek Kumar Yadav, Founder
they run in offline mode in online Chairman and Academic Director
In the session on Technology & mode too. He informed that the of Griffins International School,
Education: Developing a Hybrid LLM programme that had 100 stu- pointed out that the role of parents
Framework for the New Normal, dents pre-Covid has 1,400 students is paramount and their attitude
Manoj Chawla, Chief Business due to online offer, which lifts bar- is mirrored in classroom. Teach-
Officer, TriByte Technologies, riers like travel and living costs. ers and parents need to work in
compared the inertia among tandem.
stakeholders regarding use of On the challenge front, Chaw-
technology being broken by Covid la pointed to the fact that many On the question of online or
and lockdown to Newton’s Law. teachers didn’t know how to teach offline learning, Yadav said online
Rita Chhikara, Head CSE, The online, and the fact that the major- schools will not work as we are
NorthCap University, added that a ity of India is in rural bandwidth. hardwired to be social and much
lot of collaborations have become learning happens outside class-
room. Something as simple as
BW EDUCATION SEPTEMBER 2022 133 how to have fun, how to deal with
failure is what is learnt while in
school.
The other speakers in the session
were Dr Pallavi Rao Chaturvedi,
Executive Vice President, Get Set
Parent (AISECT) and Supreetha
Gonsalves, AVP Growth, Ex-
traaEdge.
Partha Chatterjee, Professor&
HoD, Shiv Nadar Institution of
Eminence – Deemed University,
speaking during the session titled
Using Perfect Mix of Ingredients
for Tertiary Education, emphasised
that if we separate skills and edu-
cation, we will lose out. We need
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BW EDUNEXT SUMMIT 2022
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to take them in integrated manner. He added that one
fundamental skill that we need is ability to ask ques-
tions and identify problems.
Nitin Arora, Professor, Proctor & head, Centre for
Happiness, Amity University – Noida, pointed out that
students are scared of failure. This is because we are
shunned if we fail, even at junior level.
Arindam Chakraborty, Assistant Vice President –
Research & Academic Development, Ashoka Univer-
sity, said we don’t know what will be the right skills
for future. But he emphasised the need for multidis-
ciplinary approach to solve present-day problems like
environment crisis and geopolitical tensions. He gave
the example of a student from Ashoka University who
was interested in philosophy as well as physics and he
got a dual degree. Another point he raised was the need
for diversity in student body and faculty in terms of
income, social backgrounds and geography.
The panellists pointed out that while universities
like Ashoka and Shiv Nadar are creating new frontiers,
there is a need to spread this quality to larger segment,
and to crate 10 more institutions of eminence.
In the session on Campus vs Cloud: Is Online Learn-
ing Pensioning Off the Traditional Classroom?, Sandeep
Hooda, Co-founder, Vega Schools, put it plainly that in
the absence of technology there would have been a huge
education loss, whereas thanks to technology, teaching
came into living rooms and parents could see for them-
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selves what was happening. and that Amazon is now opening bookstores after ren-
Sunil Kumar, Head of Operations, CCI Learning, dering scores of them obsolete.
added that earlier, use of technology was optional, but In the session titled Blueprint 2030: Policymaking for
during Covid all had to accept it. But he raised the Future India, the panellists discussed how education in
issue of how to humanise technology and AI. India is making strides, and yet we have a long way
to go. With NEP having completed two years since its
Saurabh Arora, Founder &CEO, University Living, a inception, it is a good time to note where we stand. The
technology-enabled platform, called for a balance. He participants included Vijay Kumar, Research Specialist,
said there has to be a middle ground, and if we don’t Shiv Nadar University; Abhishek Mohan Gupta, Pro-
tame technology, there will be risk of unemployment. Chancellor and Member - Governing Body, Jagran
Lakecity University; Chandrashekhar Rawandale,
Atharva Mehendale, Assistant Director-On- Director, Symbiosis Law School, Noida; and Ruhail
line Learning, OP Jindal Global University, added Amin, Senior Editor, BW Businessworld.
a cautionary note that technology can never be a
replacement. Pointing to the Covid-time experience, Gupta pointed out that one way of looking at what
he mentioned the issue of getting faculty onboard for we have achieved is that not one of our universities is in
recording lectures and the massive transformation that top 100. Some measures he suggested were bringing in
was required in university infrastructure. private universities, and making teaching position as-
pirational. Kumar also emphasised the need for higher
Arora added a positive dimension to the discussion, education institutions of international standing.
pointing that even online models are going physical,
Adding to the conversation, Gupta noted, “One of the
BW EDUCATION SEPTEMBER 2022 135 biggest milestones will be to get the policy implemented
itself.”
In the session on Evaluation in the Era of Digital
Learning, Aman Mittal, Vice President, Lovely Profes-
sional University; Sanjiv Marwah, Director, JK School
Of Business Management and RS Rai, Director - In-
ternal Quality Assurance Cell, Amity University Uttar
Pradesh, discussed the new opportunities and flexibility
that has emerged in learning ecosystem, and how the
evaluation mechanism will have to change to keep pace
with times.
In the Fireside Chat on the theme How Technology is
Transforming Education, Siddharth Shahani, Executive
President & Co-Founder, ATLAS SkilTech University,
said, “The future is going to be hybrid. Yes, there will
be opportunities to co-locate nearer to the industry. So,
campus sizes may go down. But of course, campuses are
also places for immersive learning; social learning is
also very important.”
He further said, “I don’t believe that campuses will
disappear, I think campuses will become a lot more
efficient. On a 100 acre campus - if we have 10-20,000
students, with technology 100 acres will be able to cater
to 50,000 students. Because we will have a hybrid and
off-campus locations where classes can be beamed
which are of great quality.”
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The Education
Marketing Technology
Tapping into the potential of digitisation in the admission process of institutes, Abhishek
Ballabh, Co-Founder, ExtraaEdge Technology Solutions, is finding ways to making marketing
technology in education profitable for students and his organisation alike
Aproduct-based By Vasudha Mukherjee future of ‘learnability’. Tech
SaaS startup, enablement will tremendously
ExtraaEdge is an always driven by understanding help educational institutes to work
admissions and problems, articulating them better and grow their enrolments
marketing auto- well, and solving them with your by smartly using all the different
mation Customer customers. “Customers need not tools in order to serve different
Relationship Management (CRM) be sold, they are making buying purposes. The second aspect is
software to help the education decisions and your marketing entirely based on helping students
industry increase, manage, and should help in facilitating that promote their learning outcomes
predict their admissions. Speak- decision’,” says Ballabh. Other and employability. B2B companies
ing to their core belief, Abhishek challenging aspects that can be can strengthen the technology
Ballabh states, “Our maksad (aim) daunting include funding and part, whereas a strong game in
is to bring the power of technology business relationships. B2C can boost learnability. The
to education, thereby making the Philosophy On Education tech players, government, private
processes and outcomes better. Ballabh’s philosophy of education players, and different buyers
Our lakshya (vision) is to become is based on two aspects: The within the education industry are
the globally preferred education future of technology and the the pillars of the philosophy.
marketing technology to increase
admissions and optimise mar- Post - Pandemic World
keting spend.” Ballabh adds that After the pandemic, all
digitisation in the admission pro- educational institutes understood
cess is the need of the hour in the the need to become digital-first
education sector. Having discov- and this is exactly the change that
ered numerous loopholes in the Ballabh would like to spearhead.
traditional admission process, the For businesses to reach their
venture found a way to make the consumers digitally, they need a
admissions process for the educa- strong GTM strategy. For every
tion industry run more smoothly, dollar earned by educational
which would benefit not only the institutes, 70 paise is spent by
students but also the admissions them to acquire customers,
teams. informs Ballabh. At the end of
the day, every institute wants to
Fundamentals Of reduce its customer acquisition
Entrepreneurship cost and increase its conversion
As an entrepreneur, having a great rate. This is where ExtraaEdge
idea is just the beginning. Sales will bring the change.”
and go-to-market strategies are
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A Shift ToAWARDS
Experiential
Learning
Abhishek Gupta, Pro Chancellor, Jagran Lakecity University,
and Joint Secretary & VC – Executive committee at Jagran
Social Welfare Society, shares his vision regarding education
By Vasudha Mukherjee
The Jagran Social is also granted so that students are ry framework should be loosely
Welfare Society, exposed to various opportunities controlled and only monitored by
of whose Execu- and can test and grow their skills governing bodies so as to find and
tive Committee along with interest in a given field. remove any form of malpractice.
Abhishek Gupta
is Joint Secretary The pandemic exposed many Future plans for Gupta, on a
and Vice Chairman, operates four weaknesses and opportunities macro level, include expansion of
franchises of Delhi Public School in the education structure. The university and the globalisation
in Madhya Pradesh and a private most immediate challenge was of schools. On a personal level,
university, Jagran Lakecity Uni- that of digitisation. Since Gupta’s Gupta wants to focus on teacher
versity in Bhopal. appointment, he had emphasised training and find the right blend
on the need for investment in a for hybrid learning. As he always
Having founded a university robust technological infrastruc- says, “Onwards and upwards
from scratch, Gupta is now focus- ture. Due to this they were able to with refuelled passion and zeal to
ing on make technology integra- switch to live classes within days achieve the next milestone.” The
tion more seamless in education of lockdown. “I think at a group path for a successful institution is
as well as continuing international level we were lucky as we always through hard work and continu-
collaborations to ensure quality believed that technology is a ous learning for all members, from
learning and changing the per- strategic component and it needs faculty to students.
ception of private universities as a planning and investment the same
whole so they are looked as being way you invest in building and WWW.BWEDUCATION.COM
at par with government institutes equipment,” comments Gupta
of higher education. He states, while adding that ensuring sys-
“A large number of students are tems are up to date at every stage
studying in private higher educa- is an ongoing process.
tion sector and the government
needs to start providing grants Gupta believes that quality
and support as they are offering to education requires continuous im-
government institutions.” provement, research, constant up-
gradation and quality staff, which
He adds that there needs to be require high investment. “This
an overall paradigm shift in edu- is a self-governing sector,” Gupta
cation, where experiential learning argues, adding that the regulato-
BW EDUCATION SEPTEMBER 2022 137
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Thinking Beyond
Classroom
Abishek Kumar Yadav, Founder Chairman & Academic Director, Griffins International School,
believes new and convenient technologies in education sector is the need of the hour. BW
Education engages with him in an insightful conversation. Excerpts
By Upasana
What is the need of the hour in strengthened my determination to What is your philosophy on
work hard.
the education sector? education?
Today, Indian economy is reaching Being patient, consistent, hav- Philosophy of education for me
to every corner of the globe and ing a positive outlook and support is thinking beyond the classroom
as a result, it is opening many job of a motivated team and having a teachings, engaging in two-way
opportunities and much scope learning attitude from the mis- interactions among students and
for New India. This makes it takes helps me to overcome the teachers and providing a suitable
imperative to renovate the existing challenges. environment where student can
curriculum to make the young use full concentration on studies.
generation more skilful rather There should be a cooperation
than only focussing on degrees. between parents and teachers for
There is also an urge to focus on students’ wellbeing as a whole.
a unique learning process, where
a child can study about the world What are your future plans for
breaking all the limitations. New
and convenient technologies in your organisation’s growth?
education will also help in this My plans are student-centric. So,
regard. I am planning for the ventures
that would provide students
There is also a need to look the platform of getting higher
at the quality of education that studies in our own country and
we are providing, as well as the providing quality education at par
education providers. Dedication, with the other developed nation
motivation and a positive attitude educational system. My focus is
of a teacher to work for a child’s not only on growth but actually on
education is what can make the human development.
difference.
What changes would you like to
Can you tell us about some of the
spearhead?
challenges you have faced and I want to break the monotony of
the curriculum and give priority
how you overcame them? to students’ understanding of the
Getting a good and approachable life. It should be a system where
location and getting teachers the skills and potentiality will
with good potential were areas be appreciated rather than only
where I faced challenges but these bundles of degrees.
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Seeking Truth
For Ajitesh Basani, Executive Director, Acharya Bangalore Business School
(ABBS), education is life and one that is limitless. Irrespective of formal or informal,
synchronous or asynchronous, education is beyond just academics. Edited excerpts
from his interaction with BW Education
By Upasana
Tell us about your current work? in focussing on a very few things beyond just academics. We as
I currently work as the Secretary and that concentration yields in humans should embrace learning,
of Samagra Shikshana Samithi greater results and makes us stand unlearning and relearning. It
Trust, which encompasses seven apart from the competition. is hard to define education as it
institutions specialised in the encompasses various facets of
areas of management, commerce, How would you define your phi- life and if I had to define it in
life sciences, paramedical sciences, the fewest of words, it is ‘seeking
nursing and law. My role primarily losophy of education? truth’. That journey of seeking
involves administration and To me, education is life and one truth never ceases to end, it
management of the Trust. that is limitless. Irrespective of constantly evolves and there
formal or informal, synchronous is always some question worth
What is the need of the hour in or asynchronous, education is pondering over.
the education sector? What changes would you like to
First is realigning ourselves as
institutions from degree granting spearhead?
entities to focussing on skill I am a big believer in
development. Reskilling of faculty implementing technology the right
and encouraging more talent way and working towards building
to enter the education sector is our digital learning resources
paramount. I believe that great that can help learners learn more
teachers build great nations. Also, effectively and conveniently. I
we need more meaningful and am also working on building a
impactful collaborations with the technology platform that could
industry. Finally, bringing in more help institutions self-regulate
institutional autonomy would help and self-assess quality, one that is
in building quality institutions aligned with NEP 2020.
across the country.
How does it feel to be a part of
What makes you stand out
the 40 Under 40 club?
among competitors in your Firstly, I would like to thank the
eminent Jury for this recognition.
sector? I feel ecstatic, honoured and
The willingness to experiment humbled on receiving this
and learn from experimentation prestigious award. It drives me
has been a game-changer. Our more towards building quality
ability to think of ourselves as institutions in the country and
a start-up gives us the zeal to helping others with the same
learn daily from others as well as unified vision.
reflect on our journey. We believe
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BW EDUCATION SEPTEMBER 2022 139
MakingAWARDS It to
Times Rankings
Lovely Professional University has reported phenomenal success within a short span of its
launch. Aman Mittal, Vice-President of the University, describes the reasons for it
For a university that started operations sional University, says this is because the university is
in 2006 to march ahead of coveted aligned to industry needs.
IITs and IIMs and secure 74th rank in
Times Higher Education Impact Rank- An engineering graduate in electronics and com-
ings-2022 is a grand achievement, and munications from Thapar Institute of Engineering
puts a stamp on its approach to educa- and Technology, and an MBA from the University
tion. Aman Mittal, Vice-President of Lovely Profes- of Southampton, Mittal worked at companies like
Mindtree and Wipro before taking up the responsibil-
BW EDUCATION SEPTEMBER 2022 140 ity of building LPU’s brand name.
With 35,000 students studying in more than 200
programmes, LPU provides quality education that is
career oriented, Mittal shares.
For a university to build up an edifice that can
breach the ramparts within 16 years has taken a lot of
hard work and Mittal describes how they took care of
key building bricks of an educational institution, es-
pecially faculty. He says, “Any good institution needs
good team members, and it all depends on how you
are able to reach out to people with right knowledge
and acumen.”
He further adds, “We have a very stringent HR
process regarding recruitment, and at the same time
we pay very well. If the candidate has right attitude,
aptitude and qualification, we pay beyond scale.”
With ears to the ground and in tandem with in-
dustry needs, the university set about to impart right
skills for various professions, like IT, fashion and
hospitality.
Equal hard work was put into establishing indus-
try connect and collaborations, and once companies
evaluated the passing out students, they too became
the brand ambassadors for the university.
Mittal is proud that the university today has stu-
dents not only from all parts of the country but from
50 other countries across the world. And while the
first decade was about working on teaching-learn-
ing method, the next decade will be about research.
Mittal says that the university has the largest number
of patents filed by educational institutes across India
and its citations have also gone up.
WWW.BWEDUCATION.COM
AWARDS
In Tune With Time
Anshu Dhanuka, Co-Founder and Chief Product Officer, Kiddopia, feels that education should
be practical and in tune with time. Excerpts
By Upasana
What has been the progress made in education and kids and not to make it competitive or to discourage
what more needs to be done? them. There is a lot of pressure on kids in our school
A lot of recent changes have helped make the system. We see a lot of kids dropping off in higher
education sector more practical and relevant. Hope standards, especially from the underprivileged
that there is continuous progress on this front. segment. I feel that education should be practical
We need many more teachers for our school and and in tune with time. Everyone should have equal
technology to equip and train them. opportunities for education and should be able to
learn in their own space. All kids should at least have
What should be the goal of education? basic knowledge of English and Maths so they can get
The purpose of education is to educate and empower decent jobs and take care of their families.
BW EDUCATION SEPTEMBER 2022 141 Can you tell us about some of your recent interven-
tions in education?
I have successfully launched a cartoon show with
Kiddopia’s mascot Captain Kidd and started a
merchandise and toy line along with the same. We
have delivered stellar growth and maintained ranks
in spite of hard-hitting regulatory changes in the apps
and gaming space.
What is your USP?
Our approach and vision have helped us stay true to
our path and it has helped us create a product which
is loved by kids and parents. We want to make screen
time constructive for kids and we also want to make
content which will be appealing to kids. This com-
bination is tough to execute but we make sure each
and every game in our app qualifies for these require-
ments.
What are your business expansion plans?
We plan to grow in the different verticals of the pre-
school kids segment. We also want to expand globally
in different geographies all over the world.
How does it feel to be a part of the 40 Under 40
club?
I am overjoyed to be a part of the 40 under 40 club. It
feels very rewarding and gratifying and encouraging
to keep on working hard. It is a great achievement
and I feel very humbled and honoured for receiving
this award.
WWW.BWEDUCATION.COM
AWARDS
Scaling Up Online
Education
A business veteran in the edtech industry, Arjun Mohan, CEO
- India, upGrad, has an enviable track record of building and
scaling multi-million dollar businesses in the online education
sector
By Vasudha Mukherjee training modules” adds Mohan. To months after clocking 1 million
address this, upGrad introduced through the LifeLongLearning
In his current role as the mentorship session with regular programme portfolio.
CEO - India of Asia’s high- feedback and discussion forums
er edtech major, upGrad, that opened a dialogue between Mohan has tripled the sales
Arjun Mohan is current- learner and company. team and built an efficient work-
ly managing a team of force to deliver high-impact
more than 1,000 people In his current role, Mohan’s financial results which led to
to deliver high-impact revenue efforts have been instrumental in upGrad crossing the $210 million
results, aligned with the compa- helping the company cross the 2 Annual Revenue Run Rate in Sep-
ny’s ambition of making upGrad million mark of total registered tember 2021.
a global leader in the higher edu- learners in 2021 within just eight
cation space emerging from India. Learner success rate increased
Mohan states, “I have always been with learners making most of their
passionate about businesses that course, with career advancements
have the power to transform the ranging from 180 per cent to 450
world, and education is one such per cent, also crossing the annual
sector which has deep-rooted CTC threshold of more than Rs 1
consequences for an individual crore and many job offers during
and by extension, their families an economic slowdown.
and dependants.” Mohan wants to
work towards solving challenges Moreover, Mohan has steered
faced by society at large by making the expansion plans at upGrad,
education accessible to all. ensuring that we move to global
markets, with emphasis on best-
When upGrad began in 2015, in-class courses, leadership, and
online education was less well- acquisitions.
known and did not attract the
widespread attention and learners. upGrad has always followed
Market acceptability and finding through to their commitment of
the best acquisition channel were driving career outcomes and has
some of the major challenges observed more than 100 per cent
the edtech had to overcome. “In year-on-year growth while also
online learning, we always have to expanding the product portfolio
give attention to certain challeng- and university network.”
es that learners may face such as
being focused and maintaining WWW.BWEDUCATION.COM
self-discipline through online
BW EDUCATION SEPTEMBER 2022 142
AWARDS
Building World’s Best
Student Information
System
Honoured to be wearing the hat of the CEO & Founder of
Serosoft, Arpit Badjatya speaks about their flagship product,
Academia ERP by Serosoft
By Vasudha Mukherjee focus on a single product. “We got them over competitors owing to
multiple opportunities to make a winning combination of the fol-
Academia ERP short-term revenues which could lowing: Deep and wide functional
by Serosoft is a have diluted our product focus. coverage; high configurability of
unified, configur- We did take up some of these the product; deep analytics and
able, leading-edge, projects in the first two years but reporting: great decision aid for
award-winning very soon learned that if we must customers; better UX/UI; quality
ERP/Student build Serosoft to scale, we will service for high return on invest-
Information System that ensures have to let go of short-term gains ment and adoption; cost of owner-
digital transformation in educa- for long-term scale.” Ever since ship and a great track record.
tion. Academia today is benefiting it has been a singular focus on
700,000 learners and academics Academia which has paid off for Badjatya states that at Serosoft,
in 300 institutions across 21 coun- the company/ “we are chasing a dream of being
tries and 4 continents. the world’s number one SIS -
Another challenge was regard- Student Information System.
Owing to the massive shifts in ing the right talent acquisition, as We believe we have built a truly
the education landscape over the they are based in Indore, which world-class, leading-edge software
years which have been accelerated does not have a product ecosys- product, which is taking on the
by Covid 19, there is a requirement tem. To tackle this, the brand global majors, some of them being
for greater technological advance- constantly invested in building billion-dollar enterprises, and
ment and adoption. However, the a recruiter brand and a brilliant disrupting the space.” Having built
thing to remember is that these culture. a high-performance team, Serosoft
changes/advancements have to has become a transformative
be brought about with a humane The USP force, all while being based out
touch to make them lasting. The At Serosoft, Badjatya builds on the of a tier II city and without any
need of the hour, for Arpit Badjat- idea and belief that ‘Technology external funding.”
ya, thus, is technical advancement is the most powerful weapon that
backed by the human touch to we can use to change the world of WWW.BWEDUCATION.COM
ensure sustainable adoption and education’.
impact.
In a competitive environment
The Challenges such as education, Badjatya ex-
One of the biggest challenges plains that customers are choosing
initially for Badjatya was to keep
BW EDUCATION SEPTEMBER 2022 143
AWARDS
The Art Of Making
Smart Money Decision
Financial literacy is an important, yet much ignored area of education. Bhavishya Chaurasia,
Co-Founder, Education10x, has taken up that cause
Formal education system doesn’t take modern subjects gets outdated quickly. I definitely
into account financial literacy, a very think tech absorption and content upgrades are the
important part of adult life while pre- two most important needs of the hour when it comes
paring kids for the
future. For kids to kids’ learning.
who don’t come He also feels very strongly
from generational wealth or
traditionally powerful/wealthy that the role that education
sections of their society, lack of and learning need to play is to
financial knowledge can have teach kids how to think, not a
a particularly far-reaching im- script of what to believe, since
pact on their future prospects. we don’t know what the future
Education10x is going to plug is going to look like. This can
this learning gap to level the only be achieved when they can
playing field for kids around use what they’re learning, and
the world. when they’re learning things
that will help them navigate
Bhavishya Chaurasia, the world more confidently.
Co-founder of Education10x,
describes, “Our mission is to The road has been full of
make kids everywhere in the stumbling blocks, and the
world financially smart and biggest hurdle has been the
literate so they grow up to be cultural and personal reser-
adults who make smart money vations about conversations
decisions in the future. The around money, especially when
reason we’re doing this is that it comes to money. As Chaur-
most kids develop their money asia describes, “Many parents
habits and attitudes towards in all parts of the world still
money by the age of seven. feel they need to protect their
kids from the big, bad world by
Elaborating on the need for keeping money considerations
education to be practical and out of their childhoods.”
relevant to the times, he says, “I
don’t think traditional educa- But he shares that there is
tion systems around the world an increase in the number
are leveraging the phenomenal of schools that want Educa-
leaps made by technology or tion10x to partner with them
are upgrading their content to bring financial literacy to
as fast as they should be. The world we’re living in their kids.
is changing so rapidly, a lot of curriculum in even
Education10x has now been
acquired by BrightCHAMPS, a testimony to the im-
pact of the work they have been doing.
BW EDUCATION SEPTEMBER 2022 144 WWW.BWEDUCATION.COM
AWARDS
Dream To Put India
On World Map
Charu Noheria, Co-Founder & Chief Operating Officer, Practically, describes how her venture is
enabling innovative use of new-age tech tools in education. Excerpts:
By Upasana
How does it feel to be listed in team and I have put in till date in founders Subbarao Siddabattula,
the 40 Under 40 club? bringing our vision alive. I hope Founder & CEO, and Ilangovel
The experience has been humbling my achievement is able to open Thulasimani, Co-Founder & CTO
and I am honoured to be a part the pathway for many aspiring launched Practically app in 2020.
of this club. This is a testimony to entrepreneurs who believe their
all the efforts and hard work my vision can create a lasting impact. What according to you is the
need of the hour in the education
BW EDUCATION SEPTEMBER 2022 145 What changes would you like to ecosystem?
spearhead? Digital adoption and blended
I have always been passionate learning are the biggest trends
about tech, women empowerment in the edtech space. The edtech
and education. With Practically, sector has always been ahead of
we have already set the ball in its time. According to a report
motion to bring a lasting change by PGA Labs and IVCA, India’s
in the field of education putting education sector is poised to grow
India on the world map. I’d like from the current $117 billion to
to inspire more women to believe $225 billion by FY25. We believe
in themselves and bring their that technology adoption in the
ideas to life. For women, who education sector is yet to see its
usually shy away from living their peak and the growth trajectory
dreams, I’d like to mentor them is likely to continue beyond the
to recognise their unique talents pandemic years.
and find out how to share them
with other women who may need Can you tell us about some of the
guidance and inspiration. challenges you have faced and
how you overcame them?
Give us some insights on your While challenges such as adoption
current venture? of the blended learning model,
Practically is an outcome of outdated or absence of hardware
deep-rooted insights based on and digital infrastructure in
several man-years of study around schools and lack of IT skills
children’s learning and retention among teachers prevail in the
modes leading to the innovative industry, we are already working
use of new-age tech tools such as alongside relevant stakeholders
AR, Gamification etc. to provide to become the most unique and
an immersive learning experience comprehensive product in India
for children. I along with my Co- and across the globe.
WWW.BWEDUCATION.COM
AWARDS What is Education 10x all
‘Trying To about?
Break Fear Education10x by
Of Money’ BrightCHAMPS is on the
mission to make all kids
Gyan Tiwari, Founder, Education10x, shares around the world financially
his vision for education, with emphasis on literate today so they can
financial literacy be financially secure adults who make smart money
decisions tomorrow. Research has shown that kids
BW EDUCATION SEPTEMBER 2022 146 learn their money habits in their pre-teen years by
emulating their parents. This basically means that if
you’re not completely financially aware or are scared
of managing money (which a lot of adults are), it’s
possible that your kids might inherit this fear or
propensity to not deal with money. We’re trying to
break this chain, by teaching kids the why and how of
money management early in life.
What should be the focus of education?
I would definitely say that education needs to
cater more to the needs of the real world, and real-
life scenarios. Kids need to learn how to conduct
themselves in daily life to get to a point where
theoretical knowledge can be useful. So traditional
education systems around the world definitely need to
upgrade to cater to this need.
What makes you stand out among competitors in
your sector?
Before Education10x, financial literacy as a category
barely existed within Indian edtech. So, in some ways,
we have the unique opportunity to define the category.
But beyond the first-mover advantage, I think our
biggest strength lies in the fact that we have a very
high bar for our teachers — most are CAs or have other
finance-related postgraduate degrees they’re actively
using in the real world. So that obviously impacts the
kind of instruction and exposure to POVs that kids
get. And the second thing is our continuously evolving
curriculum. We’re constantly adding and subtracting
from our curricula so they are always relevant to the
purpose of making kids financially literate.
Can you tell us about some of your recent
achievements?
I think our biggest achievement is our learning
outcomes and the satisfaction we see in our parents.
Our NPS is over 80 and CSAT is 4.8/5. Of course,
being recognised by BW in the 40 Under 40 List
for Edtech is an honour and a privilege. We’re also
thrilled to share that BrightCHAMPS (the company
that acquired us at the start of the year) won the Best
Emerging Edtech of the Year Award recently, and Ravi
Bhushan, the Founder and CEO of BrightCHAMPS
won the Best Edtech CEO of
the Year.
WWW.BWEDUCATION.COM
AWARDS
Business Of
Employment
Jetking Infotrain, with Harsh Bharwani as CEO & MD, aims at
providing increased employment opportunities to the youth in
India with appropriate compensation
Technology has By Vasudha Mukherjee to the institution’s account using
disrupted most cryptos.
of the industries Recovering From Covid
during pandemic Post-Covid lockdown in the Jetking has also associated
and education is education sector is rife with with National Skills Development
one of them. Digital numerous difficulties. The main Corporation (NSDC) to conduct
learning has helped students to issue is the disparity between free workshops for digital skills
sit in the comforts of their home offline and online classrooms training, the sole purpose of which
and even pursue an MBA. Over in terms of effectiveness, pace, is to equip the next generation
the last 30 years, Jetking’s core quality, and overall learning with the necessary tech skills to
focus has been IT training and experience. Everyone today needs succeed in the industry. These
skills development. Till date, it has to be aware of the technology’s workshops that are open for all,
trained more 750,000 students ability to communicate effectively cover topics like cyber security,
and professionals. Jetking offers and on a broad scale. Bharwani blockchain, cryptocurrency and
training in advanced technologies comments, “We think that we cloud computing.
of IT networking, cloud comput- can help to break down social
ing, cyber security, IoT, blockchain and geographic barriers to WWW.BWEDUCATION.COM
and digital marketing in addition learning and provide education to
to offering formal education pro- people who need it. Technology
gramme in IMS, cloud computing workshops are the best strategy to
& cyber security and digital mar- ensure that prospects are applying
keting, amongst others. Jetking because these courses will increase
trains more than 15,000 students their employability.” Adding that
yearly through its 80+ centres, it’s a terrific way to provide young
both in India and overseas. people more career opportunities.
“The youths of our nation are Jetking has recently launched
facing competition in every field a course in Non-fungible Token
giving every other entrance exams (NFT) with an education use for
to excel and get a good job. How- purchasing premium courses. This
ever, the end motive of everyone is is the first NFT launched by an In-
to get a financial freedom which is dian education institute. Students
our long-term vision” states Harsh can pay fees to the institution
Bharwani. for pursuing NFT courses either
directly or through their wallets.
BW EDUCATION SEPTEMBER 2022 147 If they use crypto wallets then
they can transfer the said amount
AWARDS Developing
Education
Edupreneur Khushboo Awasthi em- Leadership
barked upon the journey of solving
India’s education-inequity challenge Khushboo Awasthi, Co-founder &
in 2013 along with her husband Director, Mantra4Change, on the need
Santosh More. The couple started for quality equitable education, and how
Mantra4Change with a vision to trans- technology can be leveraged for this
form public education in India and its school going
children. As Awasthi says, “We believe in solving
sustainably, and hence our answer to one of the most
critical challenges in education has been — develop-
ing leaders and leadership in the education system.”
Describing the journey of Mantra4Change, she
says, “The idea and belief in development of educa-
tion leadership that inspired us to initiate our work
in Karnataka with three schools in 2014, has now
become a game changer in five states with 284,000+
education leaders who are transforming the reality of
266,000+ schools in India.”
In 2017, Awasthi also co-founded another initi-
ative, called ShikshaLokam which is an education
BW EDUCATION SEPTEMBER 2022 148 leadership platform. Describing the work being done
there, she says, “Digital infrastructure has a big role
to play in any large-scale transformation journey. At
ShikshaLokam, we develop shared and open digital
technology infrastructure that can be used to ena-
ble the leadership development among actors in the
system.”
On the issue of challenges, she points to education
inequity on three pointers:
Scale - We are a country with 250 million school-go-
ing children, 8.5 million teachers and 1.5 million
schools
Quality - 18/28 Indian states register subpar perfor-
mance on Sustainable Development Goals indicators
(Quality Education) by the United Nations.
Urgency - The percentage of children who drop out at
high school level increases to 42 per cent from 29 per
cent at primary school level. Over 200 million young
individuals learning in this manner would be out of
the education system by 2030.
She says, “Our approach at Mantra4Change is to
address these challenges systemically - at scale with
speed leveraging technology, system (actors and insti-
tutions) and ecosystem.”
Further, she emphasises the need for “an inspired,
enabled and transformed group of leaders at all levels
in the education system who can lead with vision and
drive improvements in their own context, beyond
systemic constraints.” She can take a bow, for she
qualifies to be in that grouping.
WWW.BWEDUCATION.COM
AWARDS
Industry
Resilient Youth
Kunal Vora, Founder Director & CEO, SHRM Biotechnologies, always envisioned creating
an integrated platform that would be more than a source of income, something that
would help uplift society
By Vasudha Mukherjee
SHRM Biotechnologies across India and internationally. where they can grow physically,
is a life science, bio- SHRM has conducted many re- mentally, emotionally and socially.”
tech-based educational, His desire is to create this type of
training & research search projects and filed publica- atmosphere where students can
company engaged in tions in more than 100 journals. meet their full potential.
providing technical It has tied up with many prestig-
training and skill development ious research institutes including Evolving Role Of Education
and green jobs to aspiring students Bose Institute, Maulana Abul Kal- People of different strata have
in Kolkata and Eastern India for am Azad University of Technology different expectations from
nearly two decades. (MAKAUT), West Bengal, IITs, education. Largely education is
NITs and also entered into inter- a means to employment. Vora
SHRM Biotech has also expand- national tie-ups and also provides believes that income generation
ed horizons into different verticals research work and educational programmes with the help of
like contractual manufacturing, support to clients in Malaysia, Chi- industry could solve the crisis.
high-end research, publication, na, Singapore and Australia. Only those who are interested
Bio Incubation etc, to name a few. in higher learning should go for
It has academic tie-ups with more Art of Learning higher education. The remaining
than 100 colleges and universities Kunal Vora believes that there are students should opt for skill
five essential elements that are development courses which will
BW EDUCATION SEPTEMBER 2022 149 conducive to learning: provide them with their desired
i. The teacher’s role is to act as a career. He further adds, “The
demand of the hour in education is
guide. practical-based learning approach,
ii. Students must have access to up-to-date syllabus to match global
standards, good infrastructural
hands-on activities. facility, economical education and
iii. Students should be able to have skill development.”
choices and let their curiosity SHRM also aims to provide a
direct their learning. one-stop solution for hands-on
iv. Students need the opportunity practical exposure. Students can
to practice skills in a safe envi- learn various techniques, undergo
ronment. various research-based dissertation
v. Technology must be incorporat- projects, and also publish their
ed into the school day. work in various reputed interna-
tional journals.
He states, “My philosophy of
education is that all students are WWW.BWEDUCATION.COM
unique and must have a stimu-
lating educational environment
ExcellingAWARDS at
Number Game
Mahalakshmi Satish, Senior Director- Prodigy, describes how
games created by her organisation make maths fun
Amaster of tech- cation technology is in today’s through online classes. With the
nology from IIT schools. With that grasp, she has gaming approach, both parents
Madras and a built and deployed a data-driven and schools were assured that
postgraduate in and outcome-focussed business. this product is sticky with kids
business manage- and gets them to a whole different
ment, marketing There is no denying the role level of maths practice which is
and related support services from of technology in bridging the unheard of with the pen and paper
IMT Ghaziabad, Mahalakshmi infrastructure gap in education. method.
Satish worked in the area of sem- How to make learning fun is the
iconductors and with companies key concern of Prodigy, leading WWW.BWEDUCATION.COM
like NXP Semiconductors and it to adopt ‘game-based method-
Philips in the initial phase of her ology’ as the heart of its offering.
career. Then she took the plunge As Satish describes, “For a subject
into the education and careers like maths, which is often consid-
segment and started her journey ered tough or boring, we make it
with a startup in career explora- enjoyable through an immersive
tion, training and development gaming experience. So much so
called iReboot. that children prefer practising
math as they play Prodigy, to
In 2018, she joined Prodigy playing any other casual games on
Education, an edtech venture web or mobile.” It’s not just maths,
headquartered in Canada that but other subjects like English and
has more than 150 million users. science that can be embedded into
Building the Indian business from a similar gaming format.
scratch, Satish set up sales, mar-
keting, customer success, product Based out of Bangalore, Prodigy
and content verticals for the local started with its interventions in
operation, and led the creation of Karnataka, spread to other south-
go-to-market strategy for Prodigy ern states and also has a presence
Math in India. Currently, Prodigy in Maharashtra. They are now
India team is 60+ members and looking to expand into northern
growing, with a healthy distribu- states too, with the USP of being a
tion across different functions. true gaming experience.
The switch to education, and The pandemic has accelerated
the agility with which Satish can their journey, and from gradu-
handle the multiple functions al testing of waters, they were
comes with a strong footing in catapulted into providing crucial
technology and a deep under- support in helping children prac-
standing of how pervasive edu- tise concepts at home, while their
school teachers did the teaching
BW EDUCATION SEPTEMBER 2022 150
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