Siddharth Roy is a 23-year-old lad from Nagpur; he has been awarded National Youth Award for his contributions to the student community. He is currently leading Impact and Public Relations at myelin, a Pune-based Edtech startup aiming to enable affordable private schools to deliver learning excellence with equity through Teacher Centricity.
Initial Phase and Education
Siddharth is an alumnus of Tata Institute of Social Sciences (Whistling Woods International). He wrote his second book -- Rise in Love, in the 1st year of his BBA degree. Post-release, critics and readers acknowledged and enjoyed his writing piece. As a result, he got the Best Manuscript of the Year award by Lit O Fest Mumbai. His decision to donate the profits of his first book -- The Special Fish, to drought-hit farmers in Maharashtra earned him praises from the then Chief Minister of Maharashtra, Mr Devendra Fadnavis. Roy was always inclined to work for social causes and volunteered for numerous NGOs. But, he was unaware of his interest in Public Policy and Impact Sector until he started interacting with students of diverse age groups. In 3 years, he was invited to over 50 events, including the prestigious London School of Economics and Political Science; he interacted with over 17,000 young minds.
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He says, "When I go to an event, I aim to speak less and let the audience shape the discussion. While interacting with the youngsters, I find everyone has a spark and a dream; the real question is, how can we create an ecosystem to harness motivation and fulfil their dreams?" To solve the same, he did extensive research on the Education System and collaborated with multiple stakeholders - Private organisations, Government Companies, NGOs and Like-minded individuals to create micro-projects in various institutions.
The Covid Pandemic and Impact Sector
While Roy was pursuing his graduation, the Covid Pandemic took the world by storm and locked humanity behind closed doors. Since the Educational Institutes were shut down, Roy decided to do in-depth research on Education and related sectors. Then, he learned about the term Public Policy and Impact Sector. Roy understood that one could not analyse a particular sector with an isolated lens; one needs a holistic and interlinked approach. To get hands-on experience, he started working with the then Member of Parliament, Dr Vikas Mahatme. He assisted him with his Legislative Affairs and implemented numerous community projects. In his tenure with Dr Mahatme, Roy implemented two Public Health and one Educational Project; apart from this, he actively engaged with diverse communities to identify problem statements and collaborated with organisations to solve the same. Working with Dr Mahatme helped Roy understand the Macro Policies, Policy Systems and Mechanisms. He credits Dr Mahatme for giving him an opportunity and trusting him to work on critical areas and projects. Roy says, "Good Public Policy needs to be coupled with Creative Outreach Programs. While implementing certain projects, there is hesitance or resistance to accepting something new. First, we should engage in numerous community outreach campaigns to build trust and gradually implement the project. When coupled with Public Relations, Public Policy does not create mass acceptance but helps in user adaption and enhanced results."
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Myelin and Dreams
After a fruitful tenure with the Member of Parliament, Roy joined Zenworks Solutions Private Limited (myelin). He was impressed by Mr Manoj Deshpande's (CEO & Co-Founder) vision and action plan to enable the right to Quality Education and the accessibility of technology to Government, Aided and Affordable Private Schools. Myelin aims to allow schools to deliver learning excellence with equity; it utilises an android app with a machine-learning engine to support teachers in differentiated learning. It creates actionable insights that help each student improve progressively. Roy has actively worked to implement myelin in Nagpur Municipal Corporation Schools and other institutions in the Vidharbha Region. He travels to interior parts of Maharastra to train teachers, parents and school management about myelin and actively monitors the implementation. The startup currently has a presence in over 50 schools; over 50,000 students and over 1600 teachers use myelin. Roy says, "Working in the impact sector enables you to interact with the end user and help you work on the core problem statements. Getting parents involved in the learning process at school continued to be a big behaviour change challenge, but awareness and outreach are helping. He adds, "No single Company, Individual, NGO, Startup can solve every problem statement; we need to synergise and collaborate to understand the community's needs and design our solutions accordingly. Partnership is the key to sustainable progress; there cannot be only a selfish attitude; we need to work as a team to create Positivity; Positivity is contagious. We should aim to be the drivers of Positivity."
Roy is currently pursuing his Project Management Certification from IIM Indore. He continues to work on numerous projects to promote Individualism and Holistic Growth. He has delivered four TEDx Talks and interacts with students frequently. He is a blogger with Times of India, his blog -- Unheard Echos of Young Minds, focuses on more Public Policy issues. Roy's journey of making a sustainable career out of his passion and, in turn, being the go-to 'Bhaiya' for youngsters is inspiring and gives hope to many students who are willing to build something of their choice. His Vision, Hardwork and Passion stand tall and is the key behind his success at a tender age.
