At BrilliantRead Media, our aim is to bring to our community some of the unique and compelling stories from the start-up ecosystem. As part of this endeavour, this weekend we invited Edupreneur Karandeep Singh for an exclusive interview with us. He is an Edupreneur, Leader, Mentor and Change Maker. Let’s learn more about his inspirational journey and his advice for our growing community!
Excerpts from our exclusive interview with Karandeep:
We are aware of your contributions to the startup ecosystem; talk us through your background and your journey as an Edupreneur, please;
My journey as an Edupreneur started way back in Oxford when I wasn’t even aware that this is what I’m set out for. Every now and then I would be involved in trailblazing projects at my college in England where I would be required to come up with innovative ideas to initiate new courses and seminars with the help of the faculty.
Very often I found myself in the centre of these things as my passion and zeal for the new and the unknown was something that was very much known throughout Oxford University. To cite an example, one of the first and a moment of pride that I experienced was the launch of a new curriculum which I had first devised as a part of my project in college.”
What followed from there was a newfound syllabus and program in that area, leading to a very specialised course at college. Truly, that was a very honourable moment for me and still is.
I always knew the future of education was in creating a holistic balance between curriculum and technology integration.”
Through the years now, being awarded Principal of the year on multiple occasions validated my theory towards the sustainable model of K-12 education.
Please share with us a unique challenge you faced in your early career?
I would say that was cultural assimilation. Trying to bring the academic standards of Ivy League Colleges and K-12 Quality in the Indian context, which was already defined in a certain way and not very amenable to changes, even for its own good.
But there’s nothing that a detailed plan and a pragmatic and visionary mindset can’t reach. So everything that I set out for, I made sure I achieved. Another unique challenge to note is the mindset that I encountered in the K-12 industry with respect to empowering young leaders.”
Being in Leadership from a young age in my late 20s, the ecosystem in the education industry would find it hard to accept ‘young leaders’, however, the good news is that this mindset is evolving and changing; more so because of the value added to the entrepreneurial journey and the Ed-tech boom.
How did you discover your passion?
My calling came pretty early in life but regretfully I kept sidelining it. But I consider myself lucky that time and again I got opportunities to bring something new to the table. Be it in my school or at the university level, or at my workplace thereafter, I was presented with situations where I seized chances to bring about revolutionary changes.
For instance, I always believed in a student-centric approach to learning and towards this end, designed curriculums across various spectrums where the focus was on student-led sustainable learning ideology. This was pragmatically interlaced with nature-driven learning and teaching. My beliefs were further pushed when I was awarded the Honorary Diploma by the University of North Carolina, United States, for my contribution in developing Global Education Parameters.
My passion was always to create a learning environment and a learning journey that has practical implications for the students, where experiential learning is actually assimilated with the most analytical manner. I suppose being a young leader, I was always keen to create youth-future leaders in the country. This effort was further validated when I was awarded the ‘Future-Ready’ award by the ED-Tech Review Foundation.
How do you start the day to keep your passion alive?
I strongly believe in converting dreams into actionable and achievable goals, therefore, I start my day with Tibetan-Buddhist principled meditation, which guides me to visualize the offerings of the day and reinforces the positive values in my passions.
I believe in the power of visualisation, and that’s how I build the energy for the rest of my day. I firmly believe that everything starts from a vision, backed by a plan to make that vision a reality.”
My end goal is to transform the educational set-up to make it more sustainable and aligned with the need of the hour, and for this, I have initiated many future-ready projects in top-ranking schools of the country. To give a further thrust to my goals, I obtained CELTA from Cambridge University and Bachelors in Education from the University of Phoenix.
In your opinion what are the keys to success?
The key to success is simple – ‘Dream big’. As Nelson Mandela’s quote that has a permanent imprint on my conscience and drive for life:
“There is no passion to be found playing small—in settling for a life that’s less than the one you’re capable of living.” But we need to remember, that dreams without goals are just dreams. I know that the key to success is to ‘fail’, for if you’re not failing then you’re not even trying.
We all need to fail to realize the value of success. We always need to not fall backwards, but fall forward, that way we know what we are going to hit. What this means is, follow your passion, do not create ‘backups and ‘what ifs’: these will kill your pathway to succeed.
We know that you are continuously engaged in helping others achieve their goals. Why do you do that?
I do that simply because I firmly believe in the power of the Indian youth. I believe that given the right context, mentoring, education and belief: our young generation is transformative and pragmatically brilliant change-makers. Therefore, we need to mentor them, share our best practices with them, give them hope and share our stories so that they believe “it can be done”.
I am a big believer in sharing knowledge and experiences, so the next generation of individuals can make wiser choices and we continue to evolve into a better society.”
Secondly, adding value to someone’s life is immensely gratifying for me. For this reason, I keep interacting with students at business schools and junior to mid-level employees in organizations, who can benefit from the marketing knowledge I have absorbed over the years.
What advice would you give students and young professionals who want to have a successful career?
I would always tell them to ‘believe’ in their vision. The balance between academic excellence and strong communication skills is imperative to a successful profile and career.
I would tell them to optimize social media to create their personal brand from an early age and “stick to it”. Self-reflection on their journey is so important, which means we should stand on the shoulders of giants and industry leaders by all means.
Yes, but have our own individual colour to add to the market. Innovation should be laced with creativity. Furthermore, do your ‘homework’, not what we traditionally define as homework in school, but research your industry, define your role for the next 5 years. Network-Network-Network! Do not be a passive spectator on platforms like Linkedin, rather engage, talk, express, showcase. These are the times where your quality can reach the masses. Use it wisely.
Make informed choices and build a professional life that empowers your lifestyle.
There is so much to be shared, but this conversation limits how much I can communicate on this platform. Students and young professionals regularly reach out to me on LinkedIn with their specific queries.
BrilliantRead is committed to bringing stories from the startup ecosystem, stories that reshape our perspective, add value to our community and be a constant source of motivation not just for our community but also for the whole ecosystem of entrepreneurs and aspiring individuals.
Note: If you have a similar story to share with our audience and would like to be featured on our online magazine, then please write to us at [email protected], we will review your story and extend an invitation to feature if it is worth publishing.
