What is the ideology and vision of MPower for Youth?
As the name suggests, MPower for Youth focusses on youth empowerment. I define youth empowerment as preparing young individuals for the future, by maximising their ability and potential. In the past, we raised funds to support less privileged people, mainly orphans, by providing technological resources for better education. We are also working on providing monetary assistance and resources to children to embrace computer science as a subject. We have also collaborated with a small start-up to provide free resources for anyone to start learning computer science. Summing up, we aim for people to find their passion and be skilled masters.
What inspired you to start such an initiative?
It all started when I saw young kids working with their parents at construction sites. I wondered why child labour still existed. I finally arrived at the conclusion that firstly, their families cannot afford education, and secondly, students are not exposed to various paths in their future. Taking this into consideration, I thought of making kids aware of the various paths in their life instead of following the age-old tradition. This would help them contribute to society. This was the basic idea behind MPower for Youth.
What is your work as a research scholar and student advisor at Lumiere Education?
Lumiere Research Scholar Program is a selective international research program where high-schoolers and college-goers gain experience. After an interview, the selected students are matched with a mentor who will allow them to work on a specified research program. I was interested in computer science, and was connected with a mentor from the University of Pennsylvania (The Wharton School), in the U.S. I researched machine learning, which is a specific part of computer science. While I learnt a lot about machine learning and upped my research skills. I also improved my patience and perseverance, because it took a lot of time for me to get tuned to it.
Please share your experience of being an ambassador for a MUN program.
Model United Nations, commonly known as MUN, is held among children who act as delegates, chairs, and co-chairs. The organisation that held my MUN conference, conducted one every month. As an ambassador, my work is to influence people to join the MUN as a delegate of a conference. I recruited people from my school to join the MUN program, which created an impact on youth empowerment, and subsequently made me proud of myself.
Tell us about some of your projects and accolades.
My first project was the one I did for the Lumiere Program, which culminated in the research paper I wrote. Since then, I have improved my machine learning skills. Currently, I’m working on a personal research project named EduML In this project. I am analysing the current literacy rate across districts in India. With this, I’m looking for economical ways to improve literacy rates in India. Coming to my awards, I received the third place in the ambassador award for MUN. I bagged the first place in a debate. Besides this, I’m also a swimmer, with the first place in 50-mt backstroke at a Cambridge school meet in Hyderabad.
As a teen entrepreneur, how do you manage time?
Time management, in general, depends upon the person. According to me, setting priorities is important. I make sure I focus the majority of my time on academics as I’m in Class XII right now. With this, I can make sure that my academic performance doesn’t decline. I also make sure that my initiative works without any friction and that the content produced is sensible.
What is the one difference you want to create as a social entrepreneur? Do you think children must pursue entrepreneurship?
As a teen entrepreneur, my goal is to enable the current generation of youth to accomplish whatever they set their mind to. I would also help them figure out the right path for their future. I would like them to break their personal and social barriers to speak out for themselves. This is what constitutes the idea of youth empowerment. Entrepreneurship must definitely be pursued by students.
What are your hobbies and interests? Who inspires you?
I’m good at gardening and love to spend time in our garden. I also love to watch movies in various languages. I also cook food and like savouring Indian flavours. My inspiration comes from my work. It also comes from observing my community and people whose potential is not being realised completely. My role model APJ Abdul Kalam essentially came from an economically weak background and went on to achieve great things. I aspire to do at least a small portion of what he achieved. I think being able to contribute to the country is the biggest privilege one can experience.
What is one thing you would like to say to society?
Take the time to explore your interests. If you mess up, take that as a learning of life because life teaches you something productive.
Picture Credit : Google
