Final File - The Powerful Women Leaders in Indian Education, 2023.pdf
1. www.theknowledgereview.com
Vol. 01 | Issue 05 | 2023
Vol. 01 | Issue 05 | 2023
Vol. 01 | Issue 05 | 2023
India
The Powerful
Women
Leaders
in Indian
Education,
2023
Dr Bhuvana Saravanan
Founder and Chairperson,
Sri Ashiyana Public School
Mansi Thakkar
Director,
Windplus Pvt. Ltd.,
Podcaster and
Leadership Coach
Neeru Sood
Founder and Proprietor,
Prep4Success
Keerthi Purnima
IInfluencial Leader and
Founder, Little Star and
Surepalli Ramulamma
YouTube Channels
5. equality. As one might look behind, the
instances where women were praised
particularly for their dedication were
limited due to the fact that they were
provided fewer instances to showcase
themselves.
But now, the times have changed to the
extent that not only women are
walking head-to-head with others but
also blazing a trail for themselves that
is marked by their talents. This propels
them to the pinnacle of achievement
and positions them to lead others.
It is important to celebrate and
acknowledge these women leaders'
contributions and to support and
encourage more women to take on
leadership roles. Their resilience,
determination, and unwavering
Note
commitment to their causes serve as an
inspiration to us all.
In its newest edition, The Powerful
Women Leaders in Indian
Education, 2023, The Knowledge
Review highlights the contributions of
powerful women leaders in India and
recognises their accomplishments so
that others can be inspired and learn
from their experiences. Through this
edition, you will gain insight into the
lives of these remarkable women and
be motivated to strive for your own
goals and ambitions.
Have an inspiring read!
As an integrated society, we all
are collectively witnessing a
time period where women are
being cherished for their pivotal
contributions in every jargon, catering
to any industry.
Today, working their way up, women
from every walk of life account for an
essential part of a system that
contributes to the development of
humankind as a whole. The term
'Taking up Space' has never looked so
powerful and inspiring!
The collective effort of women in the
past and that of the present has paved
the way for other women and made it
possible for women in the future to
relish the gift of sovereignty and
7. 12
Articles
How Women are Changing
the Work Landscape
24
Reformations by Women in the
Labyrinth of Leadership
The Powerful
Women
Leaders
in Indian
Education,
2023
C
O
N
T
E
N
T
S
9. Hiral Chavda
Rashi Rohatgi
Sonal Kathuria
Keerthi Purnima
Hiral Chavda is an esteemed professor at C.U
Shah University. She elevates the dynamism of
the education sector with her vast knowledge
and talent.
Keerthi Purnima is an influential leader who
addresses the problem in her region regarding
the lack of awareness about music, dance,
painting, and literature education.
Neeru Sood
Mansi Thakkar
A coach, consultant, and strategist, Neeru Sood has
over 19 years of experience in consultation and
marketing. She also has ten years of corporate
experience in the brand management domain w.r.t.
healthcare and pharmaceutical industry.
Bindu Pramod Unni serves as a distinguished
teacher at The Village International School. With
her experience, she leverages excellent
pedagogical methodologies for student's benefit.
Mansi Thakkar is a Leadership Trainer and a
Professional speaker with nine years of
experience in the training and development
industry. She is a dynamic young professional
with training as a focal endeavour.
Swati Dwivedi
Swati Dwivedi is an associate professor who is
responsible for the academic success of students
in the SR Group of Institutions College of
Engineering, Management and Technology.
Bindu Pramod Unni
Dr S. Bhuvaneshwari
(Bhuvana Saravanan)
Sonal Kathuria has a decade of experience in the
education sector. She has been serving as a Junior
School Headmistress for GD Goenka Signature
School for the last four years.
Pinky Jain
Brief
Person in Focus
Dr Bhuvana Saravanan focuses on providing quality
education to students who are economically
deprived and physically disabled. She has more than
two decades of experience in the education sector.
Rashi Rohatgi's expertise is in world literature, with a
particular focus on the literature of the Indian Ocean
region, translation, and cross-cultural communication.
She has further interests in religion and poetry,
comparative pedagogy, and creative writing.
Pinky Jain is a Head of Teacher Education, who
has research interests in trainee teachers,
exploring how they can be developed and
supported to attain criticality, be reflective and
become research-informed practitioners.
Influencial Leader and Founder,
Little Star and Surepalli
Ramulamma Youtube Channels
Professor,
C.U. Shah University
Founder and Proprietor,
Prep4Success
Director,
WindPlus Pvt. Ltd.
Associate Professor,
SR Group of Institutions
College of Engineering,
Management and Technology
Teacher,
The Village
International School
Founder and Chairperson,
Sri Ashiyana Public School
Head of Teacher Education,
Leeds Beckett University
The
Powerful
Women
Leaders
in Indian Education,
2023
Junior School Headmistress,
GD Goenka Signature
School
Associate Professor,
Nord University
Organisation /
Social Media Handles
10. Dr Bhuvana
Saravanan
A Compassionate Women Leader
Ateacher is a person who
generates curiosity and
imbibes knowledge and
wisdom in students. In our life, there is
always a teacher who motivates and
inspires us to move towards the bracket
of ever-changing success in life!
We all face many professional and
personal challenges, and there are
times when we don't understand what
to do in that particular situation. A
teacher in the form of a guide always
tends to guide us to the right path at
any stage of life, and there is always
one teacher from our school and
college whom we fascinate and look
upon for their guidance in every
situation.
Teachers act as the engine that takes
the education system forward; they
play a vital role in nurturing and
preparing the future generation to
become capable leaders. They are the
greatest influencer in the education
space and helps in shaping the child's
future.
All teacher are the powerhouse of
abundant knowledge and wishes to see
their students grow in every phase of
life. Catering to that need for leading a
stable holistic life, Dr Bhuvana
Saravanan established Sri Ashiyana
Public School, in which she focuses
more on providing quality education to
the students who are economically
deprived and are physically disabled.
Being one of the most influential and
powerful women educators in the
country, Dr Bhuvana always believed
that education is the fundamental right
of every child, despite any
uncertainties. She aims to establish
various branches all over Tamil Nadu
and in the rural areas where education
facilities are the need of the hour.
While interacting with The Knowledge
Review, Dr Bhuvana Saravanan, the
Founder, and Chairperson of the Sri
Ashiyana Public School shares her
opinions and experiences and asserts
her vision for the school's future
The Background Story
Dr Bhuvana Saravanan and Mr. S.R.
Saravanan founded Sri Ashiyana
Public School in 2015. The school is
under the flagship of 'Guru
Raghavendra Trust', and the founder
and chairperson of the trust is Dr
Bhuvana Saravanan.
The school was incepted with a vision
to ensure that the underprivileged,
especially-abled children and women
from the backward community, get the
proper education and employment
opportunity to achieve their career
goals.
Through Sri Ashiyana School, Dr
Bhuvana Saravanam aims to provide
the ultimate result in the education
sector and also focuses on the freedom
of learning, which generates interest
and makes the learning process more
accessible to students.
Dr Bhuvana Saravanan: A
Benevolence Personality
Dr Bhuvana started her career in 1996
Creating a society
where every individual
is treated equally
without any bias or
religion or cast.
January 2023 | 8 | www.theknowledgereview.com
11. as a nursery teacher after working in
several schools and learned new
teaching methods such as Montessori,
play way, vehicle, and many more.
While working, she felt that something
was missing, and many teachers
couldn't understand the psychological
aspect of individual students. Due to
lack of attention, some students could
not perform well and labeled as slow
learners.
Most schools want their yearly
performance to be the best. However,
in the race to achieve their success,
sometimes they fail to focus on an
individual student's interest in
education, and in order to cater to the
best school accreditation, they avoid
the student's interest and treat students
like a robot.
Dr Bhuvana acknowledged the issue
and established the Sri Ashiyana
School, which focused on providing
education to the underprivileged,
physically disabled students and
women from backward communities.
Her role model is the late Chief
Minister of Tamil Nadu, J. Jayalalitha.
Dr Bhuvana always felt that she was a
single woman who handled every
situation positively when male leaders
headed the country.
Insights, Reliability, and Ideologies
After sharing the pedagogical journey,
Dr Bhuvana also sighted the vision,
beliefs, and core values of the school.
Insights-
"To create a society where every
individual is treated equally without
any bias or religion or cast."
Sliding her beliefs or reliability, she
mentioned, "We as a mentor can guide
and show them the correct method of
learning which will help them to
become an independent individual."
The school is achieving great success
because of its belief in its core values,
which is to create a society where
everyone, irrespective of their
shortcoming, should be treated equally.
Other than providing quality education
to its students, the school also sees that
through its charitable work for
community development and welfare,
it benefits the underprivileged through
social, educational, economic, and
medical activities.
Appreciating Pupil Aptitude
Dr Bhuvana's priority is to provide the
fundamental right to education and
bring out the students' hidden talents
from rural areas of the country.
Due to poor economic conditions, few
students don't get a chance to explore
their intelligence and talent. Similarly,
the school provides education to such
www.theknowledgereview.com | 9 | January 2023
12. Education is
considered a toolof
empowerment, we
make sure that
children from
underprivileged are
also given the same
education as the other
children.
students, educates them individually,
respects them, and prioritizes their
feelings.
Every child has unique talents and can
shine if they get the proper platform
and inspiration to achieve their goals.
The school has made it a primary
objective, which helped them to create
a different education method, that is
very significant for differently abled
and economically deprived students.
Adopting Modern Educational
Pedagogies
While talking about the modern
pedagogies, Dr Bhuvana shared her
personal opinion on the online learning
system and said, "As per my views, I
feel offline classes are better than
online classes, because in offline
classes the child will interact with the
teacher and students, which is not
possible in online classes. But during
the pandemic online classes helped the
children to be connected with their
subject and syllabus."
Challenges in Expedition
Dr Bhuvana faced many challenges
and struggled a lot while establishing
the school, and the major challenges
she came across were implementing
new techniques in education, as parents
and people didn't believe in the new
methods of education.
Highlighting some of the challenges Dr
Bhuvana encountered in her
educational venture, she highlighted,
"Sometimes the parents do compare
other pedagogical schools and try to
find the flaws, which demotivates her to
bring new techniques to the school.
Also, the parents are more concerned
about the academic performances of
their children than their interest in
learning."
Empowering Education
Concerning education, Dr Bhuvana
shared her experience of how she has
been empowering education in society.
While saying so, she says, "Education
is considered a tool of empowerment,
January 2023 | 10 | www.theknowledgereview.com
13. Message for Upcoming Education
Leaders
When we asked Dr Bhuvana about any
message to the upcoming education
leaders, expressing her views, she
asserts, "Education field is a very vast
field, those who want to step into these
should learn new things, should be
ready for criticism and should be ready
to take an innovative step to develop
the institute."
Envisioning the Future
Sri Ashiyana Public School was
established to provide education to
economically deprived and disabled
students, as everyone has an equal
right to education in the world. And for
the past eight years, the school has
been striving to provide quality
education at a very low cost to
underprivileged students and those
who cannot afford to pay the school
fees.
The Sri Ashiyana Public School aims
to open its branches all over Tamil
Nadu state and even in villages with
very rare schools.
we make sure that children from
underprivileged are also given the
same education as the other children.
So, during the pandemic, we visited
more than 22 villages in and around
MADURAI and provided the children
with stationery and took classes as
these children can't afford phones or
laptops to attend online classes."
Procurements of the Schools
Ensuring all the initiatives and their
challenges, Dr Bhuvana also
mentioned the school's achievements
with us, she listed out the awards-
Ÿ ISA GLOBAL AWARD 2019.
Ÿ SIWAA AWARD 2019.
Ÿ INDIAN ICONIC
EDUCATION AWARD 2021.
Ÿ INDIA INSPIRATIONAL
WOMEN AWARD 2021.
Ÿ HUNAR RATNA AWARD
2021.
Ÿ GLOBAL TEACHING
EXCELLENCE AWARD 2022.
Dr S. Bhuvaneshwari
(Dr Bhuvana Saravanan)
Founder and Chairperson,
Sri Ashiyana Public School
The Powerful Women Leaders in Indian Education, 2023
www.theknowledgereview.com | 11 | January 2023
14. How
Women
he high capabilities of women
Thave barely been part of
contemporary organizations.
Due to countless adversities, women
barely represented the corporate world,
and female leaders handling businesses
looked like a distant dream. However,
the current inclusive work environment
trends have created more opportunities
for women to be included in the
workplace.
January 2023 | 12 | www.theknowledgereview.com
Work
Landscape
are Changing
the
T
16. January 2023 | 14 | www.theknowledgereview.com
To accommodate ethical values,
businesses are also prioritized now,
which gives rise to new opportunities
for women. The wage structure is also
more uniform now. These favorable
conditions create optimism among
women, who are more open to
accepting these opportunities. Women
and their potential will reshape the
business world in the future.
Personal Branding
Personal branding has been an
excellent way for women to express
themselves. The availability of digital
opportunities allows women to share
their inspiring journey and build an
audience. The roots of these platforms
have been widely spread, and women
can communicate globally. Having a
personal brand is also an excellent idea
to enhance professional lives.
Through personal branding, women
can share their struggle stories. This
can help them connect with like-
minded people, and these people can
help each other. Social media is also a
more accessible communication tool to
personal branding. Women with their
brands are likely to get better
opportunities in the workplace.
Transparent Wage Gap
Gender equality practices in the
workplace are on the horizon. There
are equal opportunities available
irrespective of gender. It has become
possible with the inclusion of women
leaders. The wage structure in the
current times has become uniform and
transparent. It is an optimistic sight to
witness that wages are distributed
according to employees' capabilities,
not their genders. Since it is easier to
get access to the information on wage
structure, it is transparent now. To
create a positive work environment,
organizations are also keen on
supporting them emotionally in times
of distress.
Remote Working
Women in the current times are open to
accepting opportunities like remote
work. The inclusion of women leaders
has generated the need for remote
working. Traditionally, it was a grave
task for women to leave their houses to
pursue professional interests. The
availability of digital resources has
revolutionized the corporate world, and
women greatly benefited from that.
Remote working is becoming efficient
not just for the employees but for the
organizations as well. Organizations
can minimize the maintenance budget
by allowing workers to work remotely.
Homemakers can carry out their daily
work and professional work
simultaneously.
Remote working is also vital in saving
expenses since these women will not
have to travel to pursue their dreams.
Considering these benefits, remote
working will likely be a mainstream
way of business operations, and
women are about to grab the perks of
it.
Role Models
Successful women are often considered
role models in society. These women
can inspire others to follow their
professional dreams. Having women as
leaders will also initiate ethical
changes for women's empowerment. It
will include a transparent wage gap
and better gender equality practices. In
the future, likely, women will broadly
represent every sector irrespective of
its nature. So, it is time for women to
welcome the opportunities available in
the current times and follow the path
paved by digital resources.
Female Entrepreneurs
Along with being integral parts of
already established businesses, the
number of female entrepreneurs has
also increased. With their innovative
ideas, many employment opportunities
have been created. More women will
likely be open to working at
organizations developed by women.
Seeing women at the top of the
workplace, irrespective of the nature of
the business, it has become a familiar
and pleasant sight. Traditionally, it
wasn't the same. This revolution
occurred majorly after the
unprecedented time of COVID-19
pandemic. Women have crossed all the
hurdles and are now ruling the
corporate world with passion,
determination, and resilience. But
along with these qualities, global
gender equality awareness has also
worked as a catalyst to enhance female
growth.
Organizations provide emotional and
monetary assistance to women and
welcome them to pursue their
professional goals. The wage structure
is transparent and uniform, and the
conditions are more favorable for
women. The collaboration of
technological advancement and ethical
awareness about women's
empowerment results in these changes.
These changes indicate a bright future
for women.
17. CORPORATE OFFICE
Check should be drawn in favor of : INSIGHTS SUCCESS MEDIA AND TECH PVT. LTD.
SUBSCRIBE TO SUCCESS
READ IT FIRST
www.theknowledgereview.com
Follow Us :
Off. No. 22, Rainbow Plaza, Shivar Chowk,
Pimple Saudagar, Pune, Maharashtra 411017
Phone - India: +91 7410079881/ 82/ 83/ 84/ 85
Email: info@knowledgereview.com
For Subscription: www.theknowledgereview.com
The Knowledge Review
18. A Torchbearer of Future Women Leaders
Purnima
Apart from this, she has a keen interest
in literature and writes poems, articles,
and stories. Some of her stories are
published in anthologies and edited by
renowned writers of Telangana.
While searching for The Powerful
Women Leaders in Indian
Education, 2023, we encounter
Keerthi Purnima to know her
contribution to the Indian education
space.
Let's dive into knowing insightful
information about trailblazing women
leader Keerthi Purnima.
A Zestful Spirited Woman
Keerthi Purnima has loved literature
and related services since her
childhood. Still, due to some
adversities in her region, she didn't get
proper guidance and facilities in the
literature field, yet she decided to move
forward and clinched the opportunities.
Keerthi's zeal for literature drove her to
choose a nobel profession: teaching.
Since childhood, she learnt that
humans are blessed with a brain where
However, the women of today's era are
able enough to claim their powers, and
in just a few generations, women stand
equal to men.
While trailblazing women's power,
Amy Tenney says, "The World needs
strong women. Women who will lift and
build others, who will love and be
loved, women who live bravely, both
tender and fierce, women of
indomitable will."
Presently, women are strong and lifting
others through organizing groups and
addressing the issues. Similarly, among
the other powerful women, Keerthi
Purnima is the influential leader who
addresses the problem in her region,
Telangana, where there is a lack of
awareness about music, dance,
painting, and literature education.
Thus, she started teaching music,
dance and painting at 23. During her
second year post-graduation, she
started a YouTube Channel called
'Little Star' and 'Surepalli
Ramulamma'; she emphasizes children
through this channel.
What a miraculous time has
arrived! A time when
women are indigenous yet
powerful to face any challenges that
stop them from becoming successful
leaders.
Every woman is born with leadership
qualities, yet they never realize their
innate skills and sometimes hide their
abilities because sometimes they get
punished for being powerful women in
subtle and not-so-subtle ways.
W
Culture is the
widening of the
mind and of
the spirit.
“
- Jawaharlal
Nehru
“
January 2023 | 16 | www.theknowledgereview.com
19. A Good Intension Requires the
Support of a Good Action!
Keerthi emphasizes hiring excellent
teachers in music, dance, painting,
crafting, and fashion designing and can
teach students for free and make it
accessible all across the country. The
motive behind this channel is to
provide accurate information through
social media, as it is the fastest way to
spread awareness and information
rather than a newspaper.
Apart from making videos, she writes
articles and poems and is placed in a
popular magazine, 'Bala Parmalam',
for running a summer resort for
children. Keerthi also wrote prize-
winning stories that were published in
anthologies.
Without charging any fees, she
encourages her viewers and everyone.
Keerthi also organizes several
competitions, so students can
participate online and show their
talents to the world.
Keerthi has two YouTube channels,
and the primary aim of these channels
is to encourage people to participate in
competitions. The channel caters to
children worldwide, 'Little Stars', and
the other is 'Surepalli Ramulamma',
which is associated with Women
welfare Charitable Trust. As the
children are the citizens of tomorrow
and women play an important role, if
they are educated, they can upbring
their children with a competitive spirit.
they can store abundant knowledge and
that knowing all the art requires huge
potential and talent. However, she
keeps on learning and teaching all the
art forms like dancing, music, painting
and many other skills.
She has completed her education in
B.Ed., M.A in Telugu language. In her
second year, she analyzed the need for
this art education in her region, yet she
decided to provide education in these
fun arts to students.
Encouraging Artistic Skills
Apart from teaching, she is a YouTuber
and beautician; she also likes painting
and crafting. All these arts keep
encouraging her to learn and indulge in
various skills in herself. When we
discussed encouragement, Keerthi
asserts, "Encouragement can be given
to those who want to learn at any cost
and introduce their talent to the world.
It should be given to those who think
about achieving success in life."
"Very few teachers want to learn
various artistic skills in their careers.
And those with innate unique talents
could not present them in the world.
Because of this, many talents prevail
hidden; due to a lack of understanding,
students and teachers couldn't explore
their innate skills. Education helps
people to know their hidden talents and
look for opportunities to upscale and
encourage themselves to work hard to
enhance their skills," she further adds.
Making Education Accessible
She has always been enthusiastic and
wanted to help as many people as
possible. When she thought about
educating people across the country;
she came across with an idea and
started a YouTube channel and taught
by making videos on various topics.
Keerthi Purnima
Influencial Leader
and Founder,
Little Star and Surepalli
Ramulamma YouTube
Channels
The Powerful Women Leaders in Indian Education, 2023
www.theknowledgereview.com | 17 | January 2023
20. Education is the
most powerful
weapon we can
use to change
the world.
“
- Nelson
Mandela
“
Awards are like Applause!
Ÿ She received a cash prize of one
thousand rupees in the Momspresso
competition for writing the best
story, 'Atta Oka Nati Kodale.' Also,
she won five hundred rupees for
creating an excellent vlog for their
app.
Ÿ She received an encouragement gift
for the 'Darpanam' drama, which
was included in the M.S.R. story
collection in 2020.
Ÿ She also wrote a story called Stri
Svecha (nannies),
which Dr Pellakuru Jayaprada later
edited in 2021.
Ÿ She wrote 'Shikhandi Story' for it;
she won her second cash prize, i.e.,
two thousand rupees. And later, in
2022, the story was modified in the
Katha Logili anthology under the
editorship of Dr Vairagyam
Prabhakar.
Ÿ Apart from these gifts, Keerthi won
first prize in an essay writing
competition organized by TUTF
2014 in the Adilabad district.
Ÿ She also received the second prize
of two thousand rupees in
Karimnagar's state-level consumer
law painting competition in 2015.
The same year, she won another
one thousand rupees as the first
prize in an essay writing
competition on the same topic.
Ÿ In World Telugu Cultural Fest
2021, Keerthi was listed in the top
ten candidates.
Ÿ IIFL and Story Mirror organized a
poetry competition in 2020, where
she won first prize for her story. In
2021, she received the award in the
first story category in another
competition organized by the same
organizations.
Ÿ In 2021, she also received a special
prize in 'Akhil Bhartiya Sahitya
Parishad's' poetry competition.
Since the second year of her post-
graduation till now, she has won up to
twenty prizes in various competitions
at the school and college levels; at that
time, she used to write articles and
interviews in some newspapers.
January 2023 | 18 | www.theknowledgereview.com
22. "If I hadn't had mentors, I wouldn't be
here today. I'm a product of great
mentoring, great coaching... Coaches
or mentors are very important. They
could be anyone—your husband, other
family members, or your boss,"
- Indra Nooyi
Ms. Mansi admires Indra
Nooyi when it comes to
women in leadership
positions. Mansi has had the great
fortune to come across the ideal
mentors who have helped her career
take off.
To implement these teachings, one
must be able to analyse and
comprehend them, which can only be
done through education. Because
education provides people perspective,
diligence, and awareness of other
points of view, it is a fundamental
human right.
Despite the fact that people are aware
of how powerful education is, some
parts of the world haven't yet seen its
light. Several pioneers have emerged in
an effort to address everyone's needs
and inform the world about it.
Director of WindPlus Pvt. Ltd. Ms.
Mansi Thakkar is one such industry
pioneer. She is a capable and
honourable woman who thinks that
leadership development and education
can empower people everywhere.
Young and successful in her job, she
has established herself as a capable
leader and citizen of the globe.
Saga Story: Ms. Mansi Thakkar
Ms. Thakkar holds a diploma from
Shah and Anchor Polytechnic College.
She received her BE.IT degree from
Pillai College of Engineering in New
Panvel, University of Mumbai. As a
result of her interest in enhancing
people's personal growth through
motivational speaking, she upskilled,
took public speaking and train the
trainer courses in 2010 and 2011.
In addition, she continued to conduct
training sessions. This enabled her
to advance in her information
technology career at Pillai College of
Engineering.
"A mentor is someone who sees more
talent and ability in you than you see in
yourself and helps bring it out of you."
- Bob Proctor
She perceives meeting her mentor to be
one of the most significant events in
her life. Dr Radhakrishnan Pillai,
India's No. 1 business author, met Ms.
Thakkar. Dr Radhakrishnan Pillai
mentored her during her postgraduate
academic career, guiding her on the
path to becoming a leadership coach
and working for youth and women's
leadership development.
She earned her MA in Leadership
Science from the Chanakya
International Institute of Leadership
Studies, University of Mumbai, thanks
to his invaluable guidance.
Ms. Thakkar was invited to guide,
direct, and disseminate knowledge to
members of leading educational
institutions, pioneering industries, the
community through development
programmes, the youth through skill
development programmes, service
organisations, start-ups, and much
more, using all of her learning skills,
practical experience, and expertise.
Past and Future Stepping Stones
Her ambition is to cultivate one
million female and young leaders in
India, where she was born. Integrity,
passion, humanism, devotion, and
consistency are a few key
characteristics that Ms. Thakkar
possesses as a person who is aware of
and understands the significance of
values. These values will help her on
her future journey.
Personalized Education
According to Ms. Thakkar,
personalization imparts knowledge and
Mansi Thakkar
A Woman of Substance
January 2023 | 20 | www.theknowledgereview.com
23. improves people's skills so they can
sharpen their viewpoints in new
dimensions. She sets goals for herself
and pursues them relentlessly in order
to benefit her clients.
In order to craft and hone her delivery
and effectively reach and guide the
learning community, she has made an
effort to understand the psychology of
its members.
She delivers in several languages,
taking into account audience members'
needs, carefully selecting the time slot,
and committed to her audience,
regardless of size, because she is aware
of the linguistic hurdles. She states her
wish to be accessible for upskilling
programmes that are extremely
innovative and given in a customised
way, even on weekends.
Challenging the Challenges
Failures and difficulties have both been
components of success, and Ms.
Thakkar explained both from a very
personal perspective. It was difficult to
learn new initiatives after failing in her
two years of engineering. But
throughout those two years, she
underwent training, developing a more
resilient attitude.
As she continued her impressive
educational journey, this two-year
adventure also helped her realise the
significance of education, the need for
upskilling, and the necessity of
integrating strong principles like
continuous learning into the
educational system.
Exposing the Potential to the World
Windplus has adhered to 33 per cent of
women's employment reservations ever
since it was founded. Many wind
energy businesses have received the
seven business leadership pillars of
Chanakya from Windplus.
Mansi Thakkar makes sure that
aspiring youth entrepreneurs are
trained in leadership development and
family run business through keynote
speeches, entrepreneurship
conferences, content creation for social
media, and personal coaching, while at
Windplus, training is delivered on wind
energy, technical trainings, leadership
development, business psychology, and
personal growth to prepare the youth,
working professionals, and wind
energy entrepreneurs for global
exposure and the enhancement of their
industries.
The Driving Force
Ms. Thakkar is a passionate youth
speaker who inspires and encourages
young people to become extraordinary
leaders. She is now capable of
progressing because she understood the
importance of investing in her own
training and finding the right mentors
to help her reach her maximum
capabilities. She loves learning new
things, which provides her with a
unique perspective on how to
continually relearn, unlearn, and learn
new things.
Personal growth
leads to professional
growth.
The Powerful Women Leaders in Indian Education, 2023
Mansi Thakkar
Director, Windplus Pvt. Ltd.
Podcaster and Leadership Coach
www.theknowledgereview.com | 21 | January 2023
24. She quotes herself: "I have been
blessed with many mentors who have
redirected my path into a
transformative journey."
The Engagement with Students
In order to encourage students'
personal development, several highly
interactive free training sessions are
being held in colleges.
Furthermore, paid online and offline
programmes are run simultaneously.
She has conducted various online
training and coaching sessions, and she
intends to offer self-paced, prerecorded
courses in the future. Currently, her
content creation on Instagram,
LinkedIn, and Facebook is adding
value and inspiring many aspiring
leaders.
Departed Wisdom
Ms. Thakkar advises all students
around the world to "keep learning,
always be humble, find the right
mentors, become a role model for
others, don't compromise on integrity,
build your character, and push
humanity forward."
Awards and Achievements
Ms. Thakkar, a well known leader in
Indian education, has received
numerous honours and awards. She
was interviewed as a youth speaker by
Fever 104 FM and has trained over 3
lakh youth and women across India in
9 years. She received the 'National
Awards Businessmint' 30 under 30
inspiring entrepreneurs award in the
leadership training category, as well as
the 'Grand Queens Global Leadership
Award 2022' for education and
training.
She has received over 100 speaking
awards and has been featured in
several prominent Indian newspapers.
Dr Karunamoorthy designated her for
the Windplus Pvt. Ltd., Board of
Directors. He believes Ms. Mansi is a
woman of substance who can add a lot
of value. She was selected to be a
content creator at Bigbrainco. She is
currently the podcast host of Chanakya
Unscripted with Dr Radhakrishnan
Pillai.
Planning the Future Steps
Ms. Mansi is currently working on the
Windplus LinkedIn page, Dr
Karunamoorthy's personal branding,
and the future Windplus YouTube
channel to share wind energy wisdom
and experience while also providing
leadership development for aspiring
professionals.
She intends to launch her personal
branded YouTube channel, Mansi
Thakkar, in the near future, which will
feature podcasts with masterminds and
informative videos on Personal
Growth, Leadership, Entrepreneurship,
and other topics.
"It will include mastermind podcasts,
keynotes on digital leadership and
business psychology, leadership book
reviews, and research based learnings
on leadership, personal growth, and
entrepreneurship," she says. "I aspire
to publish my book on leadership and
personal development for aspiring
youth leaders in 2023."
"I want to serve society and share
authentic knowledge in a variety of
ways," she continues.
Serving for youth
leadership development
is serving my country for
the future.
Business website: www.windplus.in
Official website: https://mansithakkar.in
26. W
Reformations
by
Women
Leadership
Labyrinth
omen have proved that
Whard work and talent beat
all the hurdles and emerge
as the keys to success in any
environment. Their grit, determination
and skills are being celebrated all over
the world. The struggle for women to
succeed in their professional lives has
been a significant challenge to
overcome.
January 2023 | 24 | www.theknowledgereview.com
of
in the
28. However, the graph of female success
stories has just gone upwards; it is a
souvenir optimistic change for other
women. Women represent half of the
world's population, and using their
potential will be a great idea to achieve
a utopian future.
Recently, there have been significant
movements like female reservation and
female safety for individual job posts
to strive towards gender equality.
These steps can motivate women to
fight for their professional goals. Thus,
women, in the current times, are
creating their own brands and giving a
new meaning to women empowerment.
By making personal brands, women
have shown their capabilities and
created an environment of gender
equality for everyone. From their
efforts, it is evident that there is no
scope for biases in workplaces.
Overcoming Discrimination
Women have done exceptional work to
emerge against inequality. Today, it is a
familiar sight to see women leading
organizations and performing
significant duties. It became possible
because the women were open to
showcase their talents and strengths.
The current environment is ideal for
women like never before; they have
access to opportunities from all over
the world with countless working
facilities such as remote working.
They can share personal stories in front
of the world and inspire the world.
These inspiring stories of women
indicate that hard work and talent are
valued everywhere and can be the
solution against all odds.
As a leader, it can be a task of priority
to create a workplace that is ethical and
unbiased. It is said that the ideal leader
is one who nurtures others to be future
leaders. The job of developing future
female leaders can be done effectively
by current female leaders.
Balancing Personal and Professional
Life
Striking the right balance between
professional and personal life has been
a matter of concern for all employees.
Women who fulfil many roles, from
being homemakers to mothers, have to
perform household duties along with
being professionally available. The
remote working method has worked
miraculously for these women. These
women do not have to invest time in
travelling to offices. It minimizes stress
for working women since travelling
can be time-consuming and stressful.
Some women have also chosen to work
as freelancers to strike a balance.
Freelancing can be done according to
convenience and can be a perfect
alternative option for some women.
Female Leadership Programs
Women run multiple female leadership
development programs. The motive of
these programs is to empower women
to fight for themselves. These
programs do not just train women to be
capable of performing professional
duties but also to fight for themselves
in personal issues. Independent and
confident women do not just take
themselves to higher positions, but
they ensure the combined success of
their families. Through these programs,
trainee women also become more
aware of their rights and policies,
which are helpful for them. The
knowledge of these aspects helps in
fighting better and being independent.
Creating an Inclusive Work
Environment for Other Women
As a leader, it can be a task of priority
to create a workplace that is ethical and
unbiased. Leaders are expected to
provide a safer environment for
employees. Female leaders are the ones
to convince other women to be
included in the workplace. They ensure
other women about safety and
unbiasedness.
Workplaces are likely to be diverse.
People from all walks of life are
expected to work together. Creating an
inclusive work environment with zero
scope for discrimination can become
tricky. Hence, female leaders are a dot
between diverse employees to ensure
gender equality.
Since success makes it easier to
influence people, successful women in
each field have the capability to
enhance gender equality and female
inclusion in those respective fields. The
graph of female success is expected to
go only above in the future, thanks to
their efforts.
Women deserve to be praised for their
efforts to emerge victorious against all
the barriers. They have set a new trend
of equality which will pave a path for
other women in the future.
Opportunities in the current times are
abundant, but women have created the
most part for themselves, like branding
themselves on the internet and
empowering other women through
programs.
January 2023 | 26 | www.theknowledgereview.com
30. "Educated woman is the light of
society guiding it through the
darkness."
India has a long history of women's
struggles. Especially when it
comes to education, the struggle
has been one of the hardest. Playing
different roles in her life and being a
nurturer by nature, a woman’s
education is an important factor in
influencing the family’s overall
progress and thus society.
Excelling in the field of education,
women have made a place for
Sood has always excelled as a student
in Secondary and Sr Secondary classes.
She passed out of Birla Vidya Niketan
in 1995 and completed her B. Pharma
and MBA specialising in Marketing
and Finance from reputed Delhi
University Institutes. She has a
corporate experience of 10 years in
brand management domain w.r.t.
healthcare and pharmaceutical industry
and has later accomplished projects in
different industries which has further
led to her holistic experience in brand
management and marketing across
subjects and industries. Thus, she has a
mix of corporate experience of 10
years and an additional 10 years of
entrepreneurial experience making her
attain higher levels of success.
She is a Management Consultant and
Digital Marketing Strategist with a
team of subject matter experts. She has
been working with start-ups, SMEs and
MSMEs and has been assisting them
with their strategic marketing efforts.
From assisting these organisations in
conceptualising their digital image to
strategizing the digital efforts and
finally translating it to successful
digital implementations across social
media channels, websites, and online
forums. This ultimately leads to
achievement of result-oriented efforts.
Her business's core competency is
identifying the client company’s
themselves. One of the few names
excelling in the field of education in
the Indian educational society is Neeru
Sood, Founder and Proprietor of
Prep4Success. A coach, consultant,
and strategist, Neeru has over 19 years
of experience in consultation and
marketing.
Let's know more about Neeru, a
woman who has paved her path on her
own and understands the journey to
destination.
Journey: From the Beginning
Born and brought up in Delhi, Neeru
SOOD
Understanding the Journey to Des na on
The Powerful Women Leaders in Indian Educa on, 2023
One needs to break
through the clu er
when promo ng
yourself, and
marke ng
campaigns with
incen ves can do
that.
Neeru Sood
Founder and
Proprietor,
Prep4Success
January 2023 | 28 | www.theknowledgereview.com
31. business lifecycle stage and analysing
key growth drivers through market
research and thorough analysis.
Working on the projects all by herself,
she has paved her career path. Starting
from three personnel and projects from
Pharmaceutical and Healthcare to the
team of 15 personnel, she has
successfully executed projects in
Pharmaceutical, Healthcare, Wellness
and Lifestyle industries respectively.
She has closely networked with
women empowerment communities,
organisations, and entrepreneurship
groups and has conducted several
workshops and training sessions across
these platforms.
Keys to Success
Neeru looks forward to coaching and
consulting entrepreneurs along with
handholding and steering them through
different steps of their respective
business success journeys.
As a business consultant, she wants to
ensure accomplishment of targeted
success milestones for start-ups,
women entrepreneurs, SMEs, and
MSMEs. She consults on Strategic
Business Growth by strengthening
Digital Marketing Efforts for their
respective ventures.
As a professional business consultant,
helping businesses and people reach
their goals and excel, Neeru has
realised that the will to learn, improve
and adapt are the keys to success. She
strives to help individuals and
businesses seeking success to learn the
art of succeeding by handholding and
guiding them through these essential
phases to success.
Venturing into Digitalisation
Prep4Success is focused on achieving
the prime objective of coaching and
upgrading the skills of various
experience helping offshore and
onshore clients with specific business
growth and business development
objectives," Neeru highlighted
explaining some of the experiential
challenges she faced.
Growing out just after the month of
starting her business, Neeru
encountered minimum business
financial risks. The prime reason for
the same was infrastructural costs
being primarily linked to
communication and operational
working and execution initially.
However, it was tough for her to create
a team she currently has and
accounting while keeping track of
financial growth. Neeru believes that at
times it was extremely challenging for
her to keep her team motivated and at
the same time to also bring in new
clients through marketing her
previously accomplished projects.
Significant Footing
Neeru provides women entrepreneurs,
businesses, SMEs, MSMEs, and
corporates with training and
development as well as motivational
programs.
individuals and professionals. It
ensures the achievement of domestic as
well as global reach, which is by the
subsequent launch of her Web Portal
and YouTube Channel. This digital
venture by Neeru stays close to her
heart. Through this platform, she
strives to extend coaching and impart
learning to individuals and
professionals in order to help them not
just understand different stages of their
business but also get aligned to their
business requirements and accordingly
streamline their marketing efforts so as
to achieve targeted milestones while
driving the growth of their respective
business. Being a Business Coach
herself, Neeru Sood understands the
power of social media and through her
Facebook page Prep4Success
(www.facebook.com/Prep4Success123
4) and Instagram handle, she is
building a community for building a
better future.
Hurdle Puddle
"The core idea to start the business
was to use my learning from the
corporate world-brand management
experience in healthcare and
pharmaceuticals and integrate it with
knowledge process outsourcing
www.theknowledgereview.com | 29 | January 2023
32. The brand management programme
curated by Prep4success
(#Prep4Success) aims to help
individuals, company owners, business
owners and entrepreneurs to gain a
holistic view of strategic brand
management, intended to help them
through their brand's journey, whether
it is related to developing a new brand
identity, repositioning an existing
brand, ongoing control of an
established brand, or personal branding
and identity.
Neeru believes that marketing
campaigns are the perfect way to reach
customers, clients, and leads. They
could be the game-changing move that
secures meetings with customers or
prospects. Producing campaigns with a
series of touchpoints would grab
someone's attention better than a single
advertisement. One needs to break
through the clutter when promoting
oneself or one's business, and
marketing campaigns with incentives
can do that.
with the best solutions creating
credibility. Along with this, she
maintains her discipline regarding the
deadlines based on the dynamism of
the client and the energy that a project
or a business requires.
Integration of the three aspects:
'Strategic Analysis', 'Brand Building
Guidance', and 'Digital Marketing
Steering' has helped Neeru come up
with a holistic solution for her clients.
Advice for Buds
Her advice for young students is, "An
individual evolves professionally and
personally, their skills refine, and thus
they become better adapted. The only
person you are destined to become is
the one you actually decide to become,
but you must adequately prepare for
it!"
After a total of 19 years of experience,
even today, Neeru is preparing for the
next achievable milestone in her
professional career. Thus, she strongly
believes that success is definitely a
journey, not a destination.
Preparing, Improving and adapting are
the keys to success!
Awarding Neeru!
Neeru was nominated for Small
Business Award 2019 organised by
Entrepreneur. She represented Delhi
Management Association as Healthcare
Ambassador from Team Magicka.
Along with this, she has actively
participated in many summits and
conferences while being felicitated on
many occasions. She has been invited
as Key Note Speaker, Motivational
Speaker at many educational summits
and conferences and she has also
moderated and steered several panel
discussions and active discussions on
subjects related to her forte.
As suggested by Neeru Sood, the
following steps can be taken:
Ÿ Determining the need for a product
through consumer research and by
observing and quantifying sales
patterns of similar goods in the
marketplace.
Ÿ Modifying existing products or
creating new products to match
consumer wants and needs.
Ÿ Determining how best to reach
potential customers to make them
aware of your products and
persuade them to buy them.
Ÿ Creating marketing campaigns
based on your determination of the
most effective way of reaching
customers.
Ÿ Confirming customer relationships
via follow-up sales campaigns and
loyalty programs.
Neeru has noted the prowess to
understand the changing marketing
dynamics and adapt the marketing
initiatives while mentoring the
organisation in its brand-building and
digital marketing efforts.
Her venture is instrumental in devising
digital marketing plans for
organisations at various stages of their
growth path. It is measurable and
encourages cooperative and
collaborative marketing initiatives with
like-minded partners. It also has well-
articulated and timed digital
campaigns, SEO and internet
marketing activities, and social
networking opportunities. With all
these achievements, Neeru is proud of
the brand building, management, and
digital efforts of many organisations,
SMEs, MSMEs, Start-ups,
Organisations and Entrepreneurs to
fruition.
Snack For Energy
Neeru believes in providing her clients
An individual evolves
professionally and
personally; their skills
refine and thus they
become be er adapted.
The only person you are
des ned to become is
the one you actually
decide to become, but
you must adequately
prepare for it!
January 2023 | 30 | www.theknowledgereview.com