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NEST – Nurturing Excellence, Strengthening Talent
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A desire to bring about change, a dream to make the world a better place to live in and a hope to enlighten the hearts of young souls with faith and belief in themselves; Abhishek Gupta had his vision clear. With Rishabh Verma at his side and an idea that had the potential to shape the youth of the country, he laid the foundations of NavGurukul. The academy that emphasizes on skill development of kids belonging to rural areas, it is designed to rekindle the desire to study, to dream and build the foundations of their ability to stand on their feet.
We live in a country where the employability rate of graduates stands as low as 47% (as stated by the stats of 2019-20). In better words, more than half of the young generation, graduating out of college every year is not skilled enough to be employed. Addressing this fact, the initiative NavGurukul aims to bridge this unfathomable gap between employers and graduates. The idea, simple, idiosyncratic, is to identify talented individuals belonging to backward classes and societies and empower them with education.
Started with an objective to uplift underprivileged students from diverse communities, NavGurukul offers a one-year residential course in Diploma in Software Programming. The Diploma awarded is issued by DGT, Government of India. After the completion of the said course, the institute guarantees placement of all its enrolled students. Apart from this, NavGurukul also lays emphasis on personality development, honing the communication skills of students.
Moreover, this organization has walked a step ahead of the others and is taking the responsibility of translating books into Hindi, making it comprehensible for students who aren’t well-versed in English. Having stepped out of the confines of societal norms, Abhishek and Rishabh have set forth on the path of making higher education easily attainable to all.
It is saddening to know that in India, only 2% of students belonging to rural areas have access to higher education. NavGurukul has given voice to the youth of the underserved communities, the ones who earlier had their future written in loading/ unloading of materials on trucks. And so, the students who earlier couldn’t dream of pursuing higher education, now can lay their hands on laptops, computer screens and learn to code.
In a matter of mere two months, the students who didn’t know how to copy a file have been able to learn the basic nuances of coding in various languages, also learning the art of website building. In about four months, the students get well-versed in creating websites in Javascript, CSS and HTML.
Offering two setups, NavGurukul functions in Bengaluru, for women and in Dharamshala, for men. Funded by Capgemini and Microsoft, they are in the process of setting up another facility in Pune. Other sponsors of NavGurukul include Social Alpha and Accenture.
The model of this venture is unique which does not run on teachers and exams. Students living on the campus manage their learning with a little help from the team. The catch here is that students graduate only after they are placed. To quote recent stats, out of the total 115 students who have been a part of NavGurukul, 70 have been employed.
To cater to the demands of the underprivileged students, Abhishek and Rishabh have opened the gates of their institutes for transgenders as well as students with HIV. NavGurukul aims to launch another section, specially designed for children who were abused and trafficked. The said course will help them crack entrance exams of law, journalism and police.
A non-profit organisation, NavGurukul currently runs on donations for its operations. The start-up that initially was funded by Abhishek Gupta and Rishabh Verma, the co-founders, is now raising funds on a public platform. They have also curated a pay-it-forward model where the students who get placed will pay for future students.
The men behind the mask, Abhishek Gupta and Rishabh Verma, the building blocks of the start-up that’s destined to change the way the system works, belong to fairly diverse backgrounds. While Abhishek is an IIT Delhi alumnus, Rishabh dropped out after class 10.
A founder of two start-ups, Zumbl.com and FranklyMe, Abhishek has also worked with the Education Department of the Delhi Government. Where Zumbl.com got acquired, he raised about 2.6M$ from FranklyMe. Rishabh, on the other hand, is a self-learnt coder/ programmer. After dropping out of school, merely at the age of 16, he started a venture of his own. And while others his age were busy looking for well-paying jobs, he became a founding member of the Airwoot team, later acquired by Freshworks.
In the year 2016, the two met, gave the idea a thought, came up with a game plan. They decided to set sail on the journey of curating an IT skill-based employability program that had the power to transform the lives of students who couldn’t afford quality education. Thus started the journey of creating a platform that could inspire young souls to step out of the mess they’ve been brought up in and live the dream they’ve always dreamt.
Setting aside all norms, NavGururkul is all set to raise the bar of social responsibility, bringing to light the sides of the coin we never bother understanding. It is designed to give wings to students who wouldn’t have thought of running wild earlier. Empowering students without discriminating on grounds of their social status, NavGurukul is a place that encourages students to grow, to learn and to run after their aspirations.
The idea behind the initiative - NavGurukul
We live in a country where the employability rate of graduates stands as low as 47% (as stated by the stats of 2019-20). In better words, more than half of the young generation, graduating out of college every year is not skilled enough to be employed. Addressing this fact, the initiative NavGurukul aims to bridge this unfathomable gap between employers and graduates. The idea, simple, idiosyncratic, is to identify talented individuals belonging to backward classes and societies and empower them with education.
Started with an objective to uplift underprivileged students from diverse communities, NavGurukul offers a one-year residential course in Diploma in Software Programming. The Diploma awarded is issued by DGT, Government of India. After the completion of the said course, the institute guarantees placement of all its enrolled students. Apart from this, NavGurukul also lays emphasis on personality development, honing the communication skills of students.
Moreover, this organization has walked a step ahead of the others and is taking the responsibility of translating books into Hindi, making it comprehensible for students who aren’t well-versed in English. Having stepped out of the confines of societal norms, Abhishek and Rishabh have set forth on the path of making higher education easily attainable to all.
Why NavGurukul?
It is saddening to know that in India, only 2% of students belonging to rural areas have access to higher education. NavGurukul has given voice to the youth of the underserved communities, the ones who earlier had their future written in loading/ unloading of materials on trucks. And so, the students who earlier couldn’t dream of pursuing higher education, now can lay their hands on laptops, computer screens and learn to code.
In a matter of mere two months, the students who didn’t know how to copy a file have been able to learn the basic nuances of coding in various languages, also learning the art of website building. In about four months, the students get well-versed in creating websites in Javascript, CSS and HTML.
How it works
Offering two setups, NavGurukul functions in Bengaluru, for women and in Dharamshala, for men. Funded by Capgemini and Microsoft, they are in the process of setting up another facility in Pune. Other sponsors of NavGurukul include Social Alpha and Accenture.
The model of this venture is unique which does not run on teachers and exams. Students living on the campus manage their learning with a little help from the team. The catch here is that students graduate only after they are placed. To quote recent stats, out of the total 115 students who have been a part of NavGurukul, 70 have been employed.
To cater to the demands of the underprivileged students, Abhishek and Rishabh have opened the gates of their institutes for transgenders as well as students with HIV. NavGurukul aims to launch another section, specially designed for children who were abused and trafficked. The said course will help them crack entrance exams of law, journalism and police.
A non-profit organisation, NavGurukul currently runs on donations for its operations. The start-up that initially was funded by Abhishek Gupta and Rishabh Verma, the co-founders, is now raising funds on a public platform. They have also curated a pay-it-forward model where the students who get placed will pay for future students.
Meet the Makers - Abhishek and Rishabh
The men behind the mask, Abhishek Gupta and Rishabh Verma, the building blocks of the start-up that’s destined to change the way the system works, belong to fairly diverse backgrounds. While Abhishek is an IIT Delhi alumnus, Rishabh dropped out after class 10.
A founder of two start-ups, Zumbl.com and FranklyMe, Abhishek has also worked with the Education Department of the Delhi Government. Where Zumbl.com got acquired, he raised about 2.6M$ from FranklyMe. Rishabh, on the other hand, is a self-learnt coder/ programmer. After dropping out of school, merely at the age of 16, he started a venture of his own. And while others his age were busy looking for well-paying jobs, he became a founding member of the Airwoot team, later acquired by Freshworks.
In the year 2016, the two met, gave the idea a thought, came up with a game plan. They decided to set sail on the journey of curating an IT skill-based employability program that had the power to transform the lives of students who couldn’t afford quality education. Thus started the journey of creating a platform that could inspire young souls to step out of the mess they’ve been brought up in and live the dream they’ve always dreamt.
Setting aside all norms, NavGururkul is all set to raise the bar of social responsibility, bringing to light the sides of the coin we never bother understanding. It is designed to give wings to students who wouldn’t have thought of running wild earlier. Empowering students without discriminating on grounds of their social status, NavGurukul is a place that encourages students to grow, to learn and to run after their aspirations.
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