Muskan Valmikee joined the Indian Institute of Technology Kanpur's Prayas, a programme run by the institute's community welfare cell, in 2015. Tutored by students till 2020, she secured admission in Navgurukul, a non-profit that provides affordable technical education to underprivileged girls. Now 19, Muskan earns Rs. 30,000 a month as an intern at Netways, a tech company in Pune. She is also pursuing a BSc through distance learning.
Every year, around 45 children living near the campus join the Prayas centre, run by volunteers, most of them IIT-K students. Prayas was started as a community initiative by final-year B.Tech students in 2000 to educate underprivileged children from Classes 3-12. Slowly and steadily, more volunteers joined, and later Prayas was registered under Students Gymkhana, IIT Kanpur. Now, it teaches around 120 children at a time.
"I am from the Uttar Pradesh board and my school lessons were in Hindi. But through sessions at Prayas, my English-speaking, writing and reading skills improved a lot. My confidence was built," said Valmikee. That's what Prayas does offer academic support to improve performance in schools, build confidence.
"Many children like Valmikee, hailing from extremely underprivileged backgrounds who can't even afford coaching or proper schools, are enrolled at Prayas to ensure they get equal access and opportunities and can break the vicious circle of poverty," said Abhishek Savarnya, a former Prayas volunteer.
Over the years, students supported by Prayas have gone on to join institutions like Azim Premji University and state nursing colleges, among others.
Coaching and competition preparation
This story is from the April 2023 edition of Careers 360.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 9,000+ magazines and newspapers.
Already a subscriber ? Sign In
This story is from the April 2023 edition of Careers 360.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 9,000+ magazines and newspapers.
Already a subscriber? Sign In
100 Best Business Schools In The Country
For Careers360's 2025 B-school ranking, we ranked 100 public and private management institutions and rated over 500, dividing them into zones and city clusters
'We have a completion rate of 80-90%'
During an interaction, Mayank Kumar, co-founder and managing director of upGrad, spoke to Sheena Sachdeva about new courses in accounting and management, the profile of learners, trends in online MBA courses, and more. Edited excerpts from the conversation below
New roles and spaces
Online MBA has helped many working professionals climb up the office hierarchy or even pivot to an entirely new career. But there are challenges.
'Committed to industry-relevant learning'
International Management Institute (IMI), New Delhi, is India's first corporate-sponsored B-school. It offers three PG diplomas in management - the flagship PGDM with 300 seats, as well as human resource management and business and financial studies with 60 each. Himadri Das, director general, IMI, discussed the challenges posed by competition among private business schools, the importance of diversity, and IMI's NIRF rankings with Sanjay. Edited excerpts from the interview.
National Insurance Academy plans expansion to meet rising demand
The National Insurance Academy (NIA), now situated in Pune, was established jointly by the ministry of finance and all the major public sector undertakings (PSUs) in insurance. Originally a training institute for insurance industry professionals, it has been offering a postgraduate diploma in management (PGDM) since 2004 and has placed 100% of its students all through.
The era of MBA in sustainability
As companies are increasingly pushed to meet environmental compliances, management institutes are revamping their curricula with specialised MBA programmes in sustainability or launching new programmes
Despite good record, SRCC's PGDM faces degree hurdle
Delhi University's Shri Ram College of Commerce started its postgraduate diploma in Global Business Operations (GBO) 25 years ago. Principal Simrit Kaur spoke to Shradha Chettri on their effort to convert the diploma into a degree programme, changes required in the National Institutional Ranking Framework (NIRF) and more. Edited excerpts
Managing produce, from farm to plate
Agribusiness managers are in great demand, both on the 'input' side of agriculture - seeds, fertilizer, machinery businesses - as well as in the processing of the 'output'
Creating 'innovators with conscience'
The SP Jain Institute of Management and Research (SPJIMR), Mumbai, has been the top Indian institution in the Financial Times' (FT) Masters in Management rankings for two years in a row. Varun Nagaraj, dean of SPJIMR, spoke to Atul Krishna about what the institute does differently, its plans, the future of business education, and the FT and National Institutional Ranking Framework (NIRF) lists. Edited excerpts below
'Quality management education that is equitable': FMS Dean
The Faculty of Management Studies (FMS) at the University of Delhi (DU) is one of India's premier business schools offering MBA courses at a relatively low cost, compared to most leading business schools in India. Celebrating its 70th year, it is also one of the first university-based business schools. In an interview with Sanjay, head and dean of FMS A Venkat Raman spoke about the functioning of a business school under a central university, challenges, courses and future plans. He also spoke on the Common Admission Test (CAT) and its impact on diversity in student cohorts. Edited excerpts
