Page 48 - EW July 2022

(GAIP) in data analytics and online with the top-ranked Stanford and
internship in applied deep learning. Carnegie Mellon universities. “Cur-
All programmes are designed and rently, we prepare and certify 2,000
delivered together with its partners students annually. We want to grow
— NUS, NTU and HPE. Fees range this number to 5,000 by 2023,” he
from S$1,299-3,999 (Rs.74,000-2.27 says.
lakh). Autar Nehru (Delhi)
Direct talk. “During my 11 years in VGI go-getter
the IT industry, I became aware that
graduates lacked workplace problem-
solving and knowledge application ISHWARYA RAO is the
skills. Though initially, we trained Coimbatore-based director
rural students in skills development, A(academics and adminis-
I was very keen on addressing the tration) of the Vivekalaya Group
experiential learning gap of school of Institutions (VGI, estb.1989)
and college students by providing which owns and manages the CBSE
Panda: applied learning experiences them applied learning experiences in Vivekalaya Matriculation Higher
partnership with the world’s top uni- Secondary School (estb.1989),
schools in 21 countries and 500 ter- versities and corporates. Fortunately, Akshyantra Learning Centre (1990)
tiary students from over 60 universi- we were able to convince NUS and offering the NIOS curriculum, the
ties worldwide. NTU — ranked among the Top 15 Cambridge (UK)-affiliated The
History. An alumnus of NIT, universities globally in the QS World Vivekalaya’s Prakriya International
Rourkela, and S.P. Jain Institute University Rankings — and HPE to School (2012), the NIOS-affiliated
of Management & Research, Mum- collaborate with us to develop im- Bodhi Academy (2018) and the CBSE
bai, Panda started his career with mersive experiential programmes affiliated Vivekalaya’s Vichara World
HCL Hewlett Packard in 1996 and for students,” says Panda who adds School (2020) — all in Coimbatore.
quickly climbed the corporate ladder that though CGPL students are from These K-12 private schools have
to become a core member of HCL 21 countries, India accounts for 40 1,500 students and 80 teachers on
InfiNet’s start-up team in Mumbai. percent of the company’s business. their muster rolls.
In 2002, he was transferred to HCL To date, 150,000 students have com- Newspeg. Although VGI schools
Singapore. After working with three pleted CGPL-certified programmes. are yet to recover fully from the
new-age start-ups in the island city Panda believes that CGPL pro- 82-weeks Covid pandemic lockdown,
state, he co-founded CGPL with wife grammes “greatly enhance students’ they have begun the new academic
Radhika in 2007. application portfolios” for admission year with enthusiasm with the intro-
Initially, the company conducted into globally top-ranked universities. duction of several vocational courses
employability skills assessment and “Our learning model combines inter- (beauty and wellness, housekeeping
training programmes in partner- national experiential with traditional Rao: learning-by-doing focus
ship with the government of India Indian gurukul pedagogies to ensure
in rural Odisha, Bihar, and West students develop higher order think-
Bengal. Subsequently in 2011, it ing, knowledge and skills under the
began offering short-term experien- mentorship of well-qualified faculty
tial on-campus learning programmes and professionals. These 21st century
for business management students skills are highly valued by premier
from India at NUS and NTU. Five varsities — our alumni have been ad-
years later in 2016, CGPL launched mitted in UC Berkeley, University of
its schools vertical. Southern California, NUS and UCL
CGPL’s flagship programmes for London,” says Panda, also chairper-
class VIII-XII students are its online son of the Higher Education Forum
AI (artificial intelligence) Intern- (HEF), Singapore Chapter.
ship for Young Achievers (AIYA) Future plans. With its innovative
and on-campus Global Research experiential learning model having
and Innovation Programme (GRIP). been tried and tested, the company is
To university undergraduates, the set to expand its operations to the US
company offers its on-campus Global and Africa. It is also in the process
Academic Internship Programme of finalising partnership agreements

JULY 2022 EDUCATIONWORLD 47