Bihar teenager who faced financial hurdles to IIT-JEE dream wins International Diana Award for helping 25,000 students | Today’s news
Adarsh Kumar from Bihar won the Diana Award for developing educational and career opportunities for students across India. The award, given to people in the 9-25 age group, was among the honors received by 49 Indians in this year’s honor roll.
The award, founded in memory of Diana, Princess of Wales, is considered the “highest honour” a young person can achieve for social work or humanitarian endeavours.
Facing financial difficulties from a very young age, Kumar always wanted to help students get better career and educational opportunities. Financial difficulties did not even allow him to undergo coaching for the IIT entrance exam.
It was then that he realized that students like him lacked proper guidance and mentoring. He wanted to make a positive impact on society by helping those in need.
Kumar was just 16 years old when he founded Skillzo, an education platform focused on providing mentorship, entrepreneurship training and career guidance to students across India.
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According to a Nov. 9 announcement from Georgetown University in Qatar, where Kumar currently studies, Skillzo has helped more than 25,000 students access educational resources, mentorship and career opportunities. He was recognized for his efforts to make mentoring, entrepreneurship training and career guidance available to students across India.
Difficult journey from Champaran to Kota
At the age of 14, Kumar left Champaran for ₹1,000″>Kota for just ₹1,000 and dreams of pursuing engineering. However, financial constraints became an obstacle that prevented him from enrolling in a coaching institute.
Kumar turned to public libraries, Wi-Fi facilities and the Internet to continue his education.
At the age of 13, Kumar also co-founded Mission Badlao, a community-based initiative to address issues related to education, health and the environment.
In 2023, he launched Skillzo to make mentoring and career opportunities available to students from underserved communities.
However, building an organization at such a young age was not without challenges. One of his biggest obstacles was convincing people to trust his abilities and take his ideas seriously.
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“How do I get a 16 or 17 year old to believe in me?” Kumar told Georgetown University.
Reflecting on how he dealt with setbacks, he said, “Those are the challenges. But you work, you keep failing, you fail fast.”
What is Skillzo?
Founded by Kumar at the age of 16, Skillzo is an education and mentoring platform designed to help high school students access education and career opportunities.
It offers students a variety of programs, workshops, mentoring sessions and a community where they can interact with and learn from their peers. The platform focuses especially on students who live outside the main educational centers.
