“Let youth explore it (issues) through their lens. Don’t tell them how to do it, because chances are, they will get there faster. We will just delay the process because we follow through systems. That’s been our conditioning, but this generation has huge potential.” -Fatema Agarkar, Co-Founder, Agarkar Centre of Excellence

Pirojsha Godrej Foundation is a philanthropic organisation which supports non-profit organisations working on education, climate action, biodiversity conservation and healthcare.

The trust currently works with over 43 beneficiaries and non-profits in the field of education and some who are directly involved in working with children and youth. 12^th August was celebrated worldwide as ‘National Youth Day’ and to honour that the Foundation who had only recently started building their presence on social media platforms decided to celebrate the work done in the sector, by shining a spotlight on their partners who work with the youth of the nation. The Pirojsha Godrej Foundation partnered with WWF-India to host their maiden Facebook event on the topic, ‘Preparing Our Youth for a Sustainable Tomorrow’.

The panel featured industry experts like Radhika Suri, Environmental Education Director, WWF India, Sasmita Sahani, Head of St. Judes for Life Project, St Jude’s India Childcare Centres, Ramabhadran Sundaram, Director, National Alumni Impact, Teach For India, and two representatives from Bal Ashram Trust – Kush Kumar and Lalita Duhariya, young persons whose stories of transformation and leadership are an inspiration for children and youth to chart their own destinies.

Kush Kumar, who was rescued from child labour by Bal Ashram Trust, overcame many obstacles and utilised the opportunities that came his way to realise his dream of becoming an engineer. Similarly, after going to school and realising the importance of education, Lalita has encouraged several families and children from her village in Rajasthan to enrol themselves in school.  

The engaging session was moderated by Fatema Agarkar, founder at Agarkar Centre of Excellence. Fatema is an award-winning educator who has donned many hats including defacto Principal, Trustee, Managing Director to name a few, is an avid blogger, recognised as parenting expert, shortly authoring books on educator resources & parenting.

The session focussed on several issues which the youth face today and which must be addressed to equip them to make crucial decisions for the future of the planet and the people. The session also highlighted the necessity of respecting the opinions of the youth and the significance of giving them the proverbial ‘seat at the table’ when it came to making decisions for their education.

Speaking about the importance of philanthropic organisations enabling the youth of the nation in creating a sustainable tomorrow, Phiroze D. Lam, Chairman, Pirojsha Godrej Foundation said, “Youth are the flagbearers of progress and development of the world. It is necessary to interact and encourage them to act for sustainable development. Young people today are able to voice out their opinions and connect instantly through social media. It is therefore necessary to create platforms and initiate conversations over social media where a diverse group of educators, climate and healthcare experts, and young persons can be brought together to lay roadmaps for the future.  Engagement between these stakeholders is crucial to sustain the passion of young people to learn about the issues facing the world and to create solutions for these issues.” Speaking about the need to empower youth to protect the environment, Ms. Radhika Suri, Director of Environment Education, WWF India, said, “I recently went to give a lecture on plastics at St. Stephen’s College, Delhi. I talked to these students about plastics, showed them a movie. They were touched by the cause and said that nobody had ever told them about these issues and that they needed to solve them. That struck a chord with us at WWF. We thought we needed to empower the youth to think out of the box, think freely, innovate, and come up with solutions. We work with universities across the country giving them (students) opportunities. We tell them about SDGs, we lay out a theme and tell them, ‘Come join this challenge and think out of the box!’”

Ms. Sasmita Sahani, Head of St. Jude’s For Life Project, St Jude’s India Childcare Centres said, “
“In order to create a better world for all, it is necessary to create equitable opportunities for young people. It entails understanding the unique challenges that some socio-economic groups face. At St. Judes we provide a ‘home away from home’ for underprivileged children who come with their parents to larger cities for cancer treatment. Once their treatment is over and they are termed as ‘Survivors’ they face a new set of challenges as they try to become independent and self-reliant. Our latest project, St. Judes for Life (Founded in Memory of Mrs. Rani Vicaji) supports these young people in fulfilling their aspirations. The live session hosted by Pirojsha Godrej Foundation was an opportunity to connect with young people, learn what they want, and create awareness about the recourses available to them and their peers.”  

The International Youth Day campaign is an opportunity for both the youth and those working for them to engage, and initiate conversations on how a future where the planet and its citizens thrive can be created.

NTPC Ltd has been recognized as one of the “Top Organizations with Best Workplace Practices” at the Times Ascent Presents 21st Edition of ASIA PACIFIC HRM CONGRESS held in Bengaluru. The Award is endorsed by the CHRO Asia and the certification is provided by the World Federation of HR Professionals.

The award was received by Shri Milan Kumar, GM (HR), Northern Region.

The recognition signifies NTPC’s unflinching commitment towards achieving excellence in development and management of Human Resources through continuous process improvement, increasing employee engagement, focussed learning and development, providing career and growth opportunity and employee welfare.

It is an outcome of NTPC’s “People Before PLF” approach which is the guiding philosophy behind the entire gamut of HR policies thus building an enabling and engaging progressive work.

The award is given to organizations which have embraced innovation as a part of their own ‘cult’ & built that into the fabric strategy of the business

Rabindranath Tagore University, India’s first skill-based private university introduces new courses that are aligned with the framework of the New Education Policy (NEP). To bolster skill-based learning, NEP has been a landmark move announced in 2020 with the end goal of enhancing multi-disciplinary learning. 

The courses introduced under the NEP framework are BBA, B.sc, BCA, BA, and B.COM. As per NEP the undergraduate degree will be of either 3 or 4 years duration with multiple exit options within this period with appropriate certifications. Students with a CGPA of 7.5 can opt for Research studies in the fourth year.  Students who opt for the four-year course will only have to pursue a one-year post-graduation degree.

As per the New Education Policy, students are encouraged to choose from a combination of Job oriented courses with a cross combination of programme frameworks, that will prepare students with applicable skills for the industry. In the years to come. Students will gain access to a holistic education that will revolutionise India’s talent pool.

Speaking on the courses, Mr Siddharth Chaturvedi, Director of AISECT highlights “As a frontrunner in the skill-based education space, RNTU is committed to providing quality education for students across India. With changing times, the focus of education has shifted from providing basic learning to making education more employable. The need of the hour is for Universities to align with NEP and help students become future-ready employees.

The innovative dimensions in learning as well as structural and functional changes enabled by NEP courses. This gives additional impetus to vocational education and training. On par with global standards, the courses will focus on the core pillars of inclusive, equitable access to education for all.