As part of our relentless efforts to identify and share some of the meaningful stories from India and around the world, this week we invited Passionate Leader and Entrepreneur Purvi Vora for an interview with us. She is a Strong Women Leader, Consultant, Passionate Educator and Founding Partner at Reniscience Education LLP. Let’s read more about her inspiring journey and her advice for our growing community!
Excerpts from our exclusive interview with her:
Talk us through your background and your journey as a women entrepreneur/coach, please;
I graduated from Teachers College Columbia University with a PhD in science education. After teaching for a year in NYC, my husband and I returned to India in 2007. Since then, I have had the privilege of donning many hats in the education sector. I was principal of a charter school in Mumbai with the Akanksha Foundation for three years. Post that I joined the American School of Bombay as the Community and Social Responsibility Coordinator and Middle School Science Teacher. Currently, my partner Sangita and I run Reniscience Education LLP, a boutique education consulting firm born out of a desire to make learning joyful, relevant and empowering for every learner.
Through our consulting work, we have offered professional development programs to more than 40 schools across India and trained more than 1,500 government and private school teachers across grades and subjects.
Our consulting work has taken us to tribal village schools in Pench (MP), tiny private schools in remote parts of Rajasthan, large international schools in tier-2 cities and deep into the slum communities of Mumbai, Bengaluru and Delhi.”
My work over the past 13 years has widened my perspective on education as I have met innumerable people along the way with so many different stories, challenges and successes.
One common observation across the hundreds of classrooms I visited was the huge learning gaps that exist among school children, especially when it comes to 21st-century skills like critical thinking, collaboration, innovation, problem-solving, etc. as well as the dearth of authentic and meaningful learning experiences that are relevant to students’ lives. So, in 2014 we started CIty as Lab. City as Lab (CaL) is founded with the belief that every student’s voice is important! CaL provides a platform for school children to conduct original and authentic inquiry projects about the cities they live in.
Our Vision: To develop engaged citizens by cultivating an inquiry mindset.
Our Mission: To facilitate high-quality, project-based, authentic learning experiences using cities as vibrant learning spaces in order to foster engagement with one’s immediate community.
How do you find the industry/niche that you’re in?
I find the education sector exciting. There is so much happening within the sector right now – with government, private players and academics trying to improve access and quality of education everywhere.
Especially given the unique situation we find ourselves in today with COVID-19, the pace of innovation, adaptation and professional learning has been lightning fast in educational organizations.”
What gets you out of bed in the morning i.e. what’s your source of motivation?
Every single thing I do, I love. My work is my motivation. My passion is working with teachers and supporting them in delivering high-quality learning experiences in their classrooms.
Our desire to make learning joyful, relevant and empowering extends to teachers as well. The biggest satisfaction I get is when I see a teacher change his approach to teaching, create a safe space in her classroom or engage children in deep learning that is meaningful and relevant to their lives. And to know that we made it happen through our work is very rewarding because it is very tangible.
What comes first for you – money or emotions?
I don’t think I can answer this question because I don’t think we can compare the two. Or maybe I don’t understand this question. If you are asking me how we make business decisions, the first criterion for deciding whether we take on a project or not is whether we can make a significant impact. Having said that, money IS important. We can only serve others if we are self-sustainable.
What is one strategy that you believe has helped you grow as a person?
To accept every new challenge or opportunity as a learning experience. Over the past decade, I have worked on so many different types of projects, with so many different types of people in a huge variety of contexts and scale. Each one pushed me a little bit outside my comfort zone at the time and sometimes caused insecurity and some anxiety. But I can say with 100% confidence that I have learned something from each and every project. I may not see it at the time but I have realized that at some point in the future, this experience (and all the learnings from it) WILL come in handy. This helps me tide over during stressful times.
In your opinion what are the keys to success? What advice would you give to someone starting out?
Invest in relationships. With your clients, your team, your partner, even with people who don’t give you work. Relationships last longer than projects.
Follow Reniscience Education LLP At:
Website – cityaslabindia.com
Facebook – www.facebook.com/ourlearninglab
Instagram – reniscience_education
You may also like ~ Exclusive Interview With Anu Sachdev | Social Entrepreneur | Co-Founder And Director At The Change Designers LLP
_____________________________________________________________________________
BrilliantRead is committed to bringing stories from the startup ecosystem, stories that reshape our perspective, add value to our community and be a constant source of motivation not just for our community but also for the whole ecosystem of entrepreneurs and aspiring individuals.
Note: If you have a similar story to share with our audience and would like to be featured on our online magazine, then please write to us at [email protected], we will review your story and extend an invitation to feature if it is worth publishing.
