Skill Up: The Entrepreneurial Edge in India’s Vocational Education Landscape
Introduction
Welcome to Illuminating Education: Research, Awareness, and Meditation in the Classroom! This vital series, brought to you by Bharatversity in collaboration with Osho Fragrance, continues its journey to explore the cutting edge of educational transformation. I’m your host, Dhwani Shah.
Today, we shift our focus to the immense potential within India’s vocational education space and how an entrepreneurial mindset is key to unlocking it. We are honored to host a true visionary who has dedicated his career to both global educational reform and grassroots skill development right here in India.
Please join me in welcoming Mr. Abhijit Nimbalkar.
Mr. Nimbalkar is the founder and leader of Aradhana Skills, a social venture that has been instrumental in providing job-oriented skills training and government-certified Bachelor of Vocation degrees to bottom-of-the-pyramid students from rural and urban slum areas, in partnership with Pune’s leading hospitals. His expertise is global, having served as an international development practitioner and education researcher for over a decade with the Research Triangle Institute (RTI) in the United States, working on critical projects across thirteen countries. He also brings deep policy insight, advising the National Council for Vocational Education and Training (NCVET) on entrepreneurship skills.
A distinguished alumnus of Tufts University’s Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy, Mr. Nimbalkar is here to discuss *Skill Up: The Entrepreneurial Edge in India’s Vocational Education Landscape.* Get ready for an illuminating conversation!
Topic Covered:
- Aradhana Skills focuses on ‘bottom-of-the-pyramid’ students. What is the single biggest challenge in getting this specific group job-ready through vocational training?
- How does the entrepreneurial mindset fundamentally change the outcome for a student with a Bachelor of Vocation (B.Voc) degree?
- From your global experience with RTI, what’s one key lesson about vocational education from another country that India should immediately adopt?
- In your advisory role with NCVET, what specific policy change do you feel is most critical to foster entrepreneurship skills nationwide?
- What role do partnerships with leading hospitals play in making Aradhana Skills’ training job-oriented and government-certified?
