Youth Ideathon, the premier festival for entrepreneurship and innovation in schools, unveiled trailblazing School Principals shaping innovation in Indian education.
Principal of Innovation Award at Youth Ideathon 2023
Sanjeeva Shivesh, Cofounder of Youth Ideathon, declared the Principal of Innovation award national and regional winners at the Grand Finale of Youth Ideathon at the Dogra Hall, IIT Delhi. He emphasized the significance of the award, stating, “This award not only provides well-deserved recognition to innovation leaders in the school system but also serves as an inspiration to school leadership by showcasing best practices and success stories that can be emulated by schools nationwide.”
Supported by reputed institutions such as CBSE, MEPSC, Bajaj Allianz Life, Container Corporation of India, TIDES Business Incubator at IIT Roorkee, Centre for Teachers Accreditation (CENTA), and others, Youth Ideathon celebrates entrepreneurial creativity in school students and recognises school principals who have transformed their institutions into hubs of creativity and ingenuity.
The National Winner of the “Principal of Innovation Award” is Mrs. Asha Prabhakar, Principal of Bal Bharati Public School, Noida. Recognizing the imperative of innovation in the realm of education, Mrs. Asha Prabhakar, Principal of Bal Bharati Public School, Noida and National Winner of the Principal of Innovation Honour said, “The culture of innovation within schools is not an isolated endeavour. At Bal Bharati, Noida, we have embraced a proactive approach encapsulated in our “catch the students young’ policy. To actualize this philosophy, we have introduced subjects like AI and Coding from as early as Class III. This strategic initiative is aimed at instilling an early appreciation for innovation and technology, laying the groundwork for a future ready generation.”
Other National Awardees include Dr Anuja Kaushal, Principal of BCM Arya Model School, Ludhiana; Dr Mala Sinha, Principal of Springdales School, Pusa Road; and Mrs. Bhuvaneshwari Subramaniam, Principal of SRM Public School, Chennai.
The Zonal Winners recognized for their innovative contributions with “Principal of Innovation” are Ms. Shalini Nambiar, Seth Anandram Jaipuria School, Ghaziabad; Mrs. Sonal Rawat, Bluebells School International, New Delhi; Dr Indu Dubey, Neerja Modi School, Jaipur; Dr Deepti Chaturvedi, Birla Open Minds International School, Bengaluru; Ms. G. Arpitha, Sadhu Vaswani International School, Hyderabad; Dr Suchitra Bandyopadhyay, Army Public School Kolkata, Kolkata and Mr. Vivek Tiwari, DAV Public School, Patiala.
Prof. PVM Rao, Dean at IIT Delhi, and Head of the Design Department, commended the winners, stating, “Your exemplary work and the well-crafted action plan for the future have truly set you apart and serve as a role model for peers. We believe that by recognizing and celebrating innovative leadership at the school level, we can inspire positive change throughout the education system.”
Shivani Kapoor, Co-founder of ThinkStartup, highlighted the crucial role of school principals, stating, “School Principals are the critical drivers of change in any society. ThinkStartup has created this award to honour the work of forward-thinking school leaders who are fostering entrepreneurial thinking and creativity in young minds.”