Students Progress At Their Own Pace: Abhishek Gupta, NavGurukul Foundation

You have co-founded startups in the past. What inspired you to make a switch to the social sector?

Transitioning to the social sector from founding successful startups was a shift inspired by a lifelong passion for service and my awareness of my needs. Having established two startup ventures, one acquired and another valued at $10M, I gained financial stability and the clarity to reassess my life’s direction. This financial cushion allowed me to explore what truly brought me joy beyond monetary gains.

How does NavGurukul Foundation ensure guaranteed job prospects to women?

Unlike mainstream models, there is no set graduation date; students progress at their own pace until they are job-ready. This approach respects individual learning speeds and backgrounds, ensuring personalised support till each student secures meaningful employment. Reflecting traditional Gurukul systems, the focus is on mastery rather than time, guaranteeing not just a job but the ability to contribute positively to society. This enables us to guarantee each student that they will be supported until they get a job, whatever time they may take

Brief on the initiatives 'Learn Online with Meraki' and 'Zuvy'.

‘Meraki' is our online application to teach programming in schools. It addresses a crucial gap in the foundational education, which was observed as students transitioned into our residential programmes. Many lacked basic mathematics and English skills, which are essential for computational thinking and future careers in software programming. Responding to this need, Meraki was conceived to fortify school-level education. So far, it has impacted over 70,000 students and trained over 1,000 teachers across regions like Haryana, Maharashtra and Chhattisgarh in subjects including Computer  Science, English and programming languages like Scratch and Python.

Tell us about the ongoing industry collaborations and future plans.

Our collaborations span across industries, partnering with companies like Accenture, KPMG, Macquarie, DXC and NatWest. We are also offering services like UTaaS (Underserved Talent as a Service) to provide managed resources to bridge learning gaps. This multifaceted approach ensures not only funding and job placements but also valuable industry exposure and confidence-building for our students.

NavGurukul currently has nine campuses in different parts of the country. Any plans to introduce a new campus?

NavGurukul plans to open three to four new campuses this year, including locations in Dhule, Kishanganj and Himachal Pradesh. To accommodate diverse learning preferences and state needs, we are introducing day boarding campuses alongside our traditional residential and virtual formats. Furthermore, we're broadening our educational offerings beyond software programming to include new streams such as design, finance, business and education. This expansion aims to reach a wider student base and diversify the skills and opportunities. 

Upasana Sharan

BW Reporters The author works as a Senior Copy Editor with BW Businessworld and currently handles the education vertical. She has done her Post Graduate Diploma in English Journalism from the Indian Institute of Mass Communication (NER Campus, Aizawl).