JagranJosh.com presents Season 1 of Education Awards (25th March, 2021). These awards are intended to acknowledge and applaud the efforts of Educational Leaders and Teachers who displayed excellence in education during the COVID-19 induced lockdown.
These awards will also recognize and award meritorious Students who rose against the odds to showcase exceptional academic or extracurricular work during the schools closure. The awards are therefore aimed at felicitating both the stakeholders - Students and Educators – in the education ecosystem who set a personal example of dedication and innovation in the face of adverse circumstances.
Mr Anand Kumar is an iconic Indian Mathematics educator whose efforts in the field of education are considered "pioneering". He is the founder of the globally celebrated Super 30 programme which coaches underprivileged students for the prestigious IIT-JEE entrance examination. Super 30 received praise from United States President Barack Obama's special envoy, Rashad Hussain, who termed it the "best" institute in the country.
Newsweek Magazine has recognized Mr. Kumar’s initiative and included Super 30 in the list of four most innovative schools in the world. He has spoken about his experiences at global institutions of eminence such as a number of IITs, IIM Ahmedabad, MIT, Stanford and Harvard.
Mr Kumar is a living example of genius, excellence in education and natural connect with the grassroots. His life and work have been portrayed in the 2019 film, Super 30, where Mr Kumar’s story was brought alive on the celluloid by the film star, Hrithik Roshan. He was awarded the "Rashtriya Bal Kalyan Award" by president of India, Ram Nath Kovind.
Ms Hari Chandana Dasari, IAS, is the Collector of Narayanpet, Telangana. She is a Model Bureaucrat and a Social Innovator, who has been shortlisted for the prestigious Prime Minister’s Award for Excellence in Public Administration, 2020. She is the only officer from Telangana to be shortlisted for the award under the ‘Innovation in Governance’ category.
An environmentalist and a crusader, she figured in the top ten bureaucrats of Better India Magazine – 2018. She has been known for blending hard work with a creative touch since her days as GHMC Zonal Commissioner and has spearheaded many innovative projects.
She is known for effectively cracking illegal sand mining and working fearlessly despite naxal threat.
Ms Dasari is the recipient of several prestigious awards, including the National Tourism Award 2017. A Collector ‘for the people’, she is the quintessential people-friendly Civil Services officer who endeavors to ensure that government benefits reach people at the grassroots level.
CEO Dexterity Global, Social Entrepreneur & Expert at KBC
The youngest Jury Panelist of JagranJosh Education Awards 2021, Sharad Vivek Sagar is an internationally awarded social entrepreneur whose innovative and inspirational leadership has transformed many lives and received global recognition. He has also featured regularly as Expert at Kaun Banega Crorepati (KBC). His organization, Dexterity Global, connects over 6.5 million students with educational opportunities.
Dexterity to College fellows have received over 488 million INR in scholarships from top colleges around the world. With Dexterity’s pioneering financial aid model, more than 80% of these children come from low-income families. The Telegraph observed Dexterity is “building the future of India” while Forbes noted it is “equipping young people with the mentality to solve 21st century problems."
Sagar’s work is redefining education and leadership for millions of young Indians. President Barack Obama invited him to the White House, Forbes listed him on its global 30 Under 30 list, Rockefeller Foundation inducted him in the list of 100 Next Century Innovators, Nobel Peace Center invited him to the Nobel Peace Prize Ceremony, the Queen of England included him in “Queen’s Young Leaders” and the media house Divya Bhaskar called him “the Vivekananda of 21st Century”, however, Sagar considers himself a dedicated worker of Swami Vivekananda committed to building servant leaders for India through education.
Sagar has been invited globally to speak on education and leadership and is the youngest Indian to deliver a Convocation Address. His speeches have been watched over a million times on the internet.
Dean Resources & Alumni Affairs, IIT Roorkee
Dr. Bhola Ram Gurjar is a Professor in Civil (Environmental Engineering) and Dean of Resources & Alumni Affairs at India’s premier technological institution, Indian Institute of Technology – IIT Roorkee. He holds a PhD in the area of Environmental Risk Analysis from India's premier technological institution IIT Delhi followed by Postdoctoral research at the Max Planck Institute in Mainz (Germany). He has 30 years’ progressive professional experience in industry, teaching, training, research, and consultancy. Prof Gurjar has (co)authored/(co)edited eleven books and more than 200 publications.
He has received several awards and fellowships including the prestigious Advanced Postdoctoral Research Fellowship of the Max Planck Society (Germany) and START Young Scientist Award from Scientific Steering Committee of the global change SysTem for Analysis, Research and Training (START), Washington, D.C., USA.
Dr. Gurjar is among the leading academics and researchers who have worked extensively in the area of environmental science and engineering with a specific focus on global change, sustainable development and risk governance perspectives. His personal interests include various art forms including music and dramatics, literature, and philosophy.
Dean New Initiatives & External Relations, IIM Calcutta
Prof Prashant Mishra has 20 years of experience as an educator, researcher, trainer, consultant and institution builder (not necessarily in the same order) in both finest Public and Private Educational Institution in India. He is currently Dean (New Initiative & External Relations) at IIM Calcutta.
He has been at the helm of Post Graduate Programme office as Chairperson PGP for two consecutive terms at a time when the institute saw one of the largest expansion during its journey. Recently, he headed a task-force responsible for starting up IIM Bodhgaya which was being mentored by IIM Calcutta.
In Executive education, he has led, designed and delivered learning and development initiatives for Business Leaders, Mid-level Sales and Marketing leaders, Unit Heads for more than 50 organisations both in Public and Private sectors. He has also conducted Programmes for Senior Management Professionals with International learning component and has led several senior business executive delegations across the globe for interactions with the Corporate Headquarters, Policy Research Institutions, Local Nodal Ministries, Local Industry Associations and Chambers of Commerce, Manufacturing Units of Leading Firms, International multilateral institutions such as WTO, UN, ILO, EU, OPEC, etc.
His recent consulting engagements have been on building customer-centric processes, marketing audit, creating new brand and brand strategy, sales process mapping and facilitating strategy planning in leading Indian conglomerates.
Principal The Scindia School, Gwalior
Dr Madhav Deo Saraswat is currently serving as the Principal of The Scindia School, Gwalior. A responsibility he has held since April 2015. He has demonstrated enormous success in establishing an environment of excellence by building upon the strengths of its partakers at the School. The Scindia School has been adjudged as the best all boys' boarding school in India for two consecutive years.
An English, Hindi and Sanskrit alumnus of the Babasaheb Bhimrao Ambedkar University, Agra, which also awarded him a doctorate in Hindi, he has more than 31 years of experience in teaching, academic administration, team building and community development programmes. Before being appointed the CEO of the Sapkal Knowledge Hub and Founder-Principal of the Orchid International School, Nashik (Maharashtra), he served a long stint as a teacher at The Doon School, Dehradun (1989-2005), where he was profoundly engaged with several co-curricular activities.
While at Doon, he led many Service Projects wherein he raised funds, built new infrastructure and instilled ideas of a more inclusive and humane culture in students and adults alike. He is an exponent of the ideology of 'Leadership through Service' and has actively promoted it by setting the right references for all to see and imbibe.
Principal Shiv Nadar School, NOIDA
A practitioner of mindfulness, Mrs. Banerjee assigns herself the role of a curator and a craftsman engaged in helping build and nurture an environment conducive to multiple learning styles, responsive to diverse learning needs. Empowering each learner to evolve as a transformative leader is a mission she shares with the school team.
She holds Masters in Education, English Language and the Teaching of Language (through Central Institute of English and Foreign Languages), a graduate in the Indian Classical Language Sanskrit and the Indian National Language Hindi, a Masters in Indian Classical Vocal Music and Indian Classical Dance, a recipient of the prestigious National Cultural Talent Scholarship from the Government of India.
In the field of education for more than three decades Ms. Banerjee specializes in the teaching of Languages-Sanskrit, Hindi and English across all age groups and has been constantly improvising in keeping with emerging technologies in education. The paradigm shift from teaching to Learning has been a focused area of research and innovation.
During the past 15 years as a school leader she has established learning exchange programmes with institutions across Europe, Asia, Australia and America.
Associate Dean Advanced Management Programs, ISB Hyderabad
Dr Saumya Sindhwani is a faculty member in the strategy and leadership area at the Indian School of Business, where she is the Associate Dean for the Advanced Management Programs and the Executive Director for Centre for Learning and Management Practice. She is a published author of three books, several case studies and numerous papers. Her research interests are at the intersection of strategy, leadership and society. She also has keen interest in the role of women as economic change agents, including their leadership styles.
She holds a master's from London School of Economics and a PhD from Manchester Business School. Prior to joining academia, she spent considerable number of years in the Industry as a management consultant, working across geographies in Europe, Africa and Asia.
She leans towards poetry to express her inner most feelings to give expression to her free spirited nature. She also is a trained Kathak dancer.
Professor of Finance Faculty of Management Studies, New Delhi
Monica Singhania is Professor of Finance & Accounting at Faculty of Management Studies (FMS), University of Delhi, India. She is a graduate from Shri Ram College of Commerce (SRCC), post-graduate from Delhi School of Economics (DSE) and a Fellow Member (FCA) of ICAI. She has been awarded Ph.D. in the area of corporate finance and taxation from the University of Delhi. Monica has undertaken post doctoral research at Durham University, UK and Heidelberg University, Germany.
She is the author of several books on direct tax laws and several research papers published in leading international journals. With over 20 years of teaching and research experience, Prof Singhania has spoken at over 100 national and international conferences, workshops, symposiums, faculty development programs and corporate training events.
Head – Content Jagran New Media
Parikshit Bhardwaj Heads Content at JagranJosh.com. He is an educational content professional with 15+ years of rich experience in creating solutions for new-age learners. He brings transferable skills from diverse industries like Study Abroad, Academic Books and Journals Publishing, eLearning, Test Preparation for Indian competitive examinations and online media.
He has worked in content leadership roles with brands like The Princeton Review, SAGE Publishing, John Wiley & Sons, NIIT Limited, and the Manipal Group. He is an avid reader and a content marketing enthusiast and has travelled widely across Europe and America on professional assignments. At Jagran New Media, Parikshit and his team are creating educational solutions for the Next Billion Users in India.
Editorial Selection
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Winners will be decided by the jury & public online voting on weightagesPrincipals/Heads of Institutions
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