SHAPING EDUCATION.
UNLEASHING POTENTIAL.
BUILDING BETTER SCHOOLS.
Welcome to the Shikha Institute.
We use a systems-based approach rooted in first principles to redesign school models from the ground up. Our team works on curriculum development, pedagogical models, assessment frameworks, teacher training programs, and cutting-edge educational technology.
We are committed to crafting school models that are not only future ready but also scalable, ensuring that every child has access to a world-class education.
ABOUT US
The Shikha Institute focuses on educational research and development across all aspects of a school to create a systemic and scalable impact on quality of education.
The Problem
We believe that small, incremental interventions such as “bolted on” curricula, innovative after school programs or teacher training workshops have limited impact on systemic change, because the underlying school structures are not affected. Schools are still driven to show success:
- through the wrong assessments: high-stakes, badly designed board exams that measure outdated skills,
- wasting precious student time and effort on irrelevant, bloated curricula, and
- a lecture-based, teacher centered pedagogy that, apart from killing motivation, does nothing to develop what is truly worth learning: life and workplace skills.
Our Goal
We work on all aspects of the school, aligning them for the common goal of creating students that are highly qualified in the right knowledge, skills and attitudes, necessary for future success. Rather than copying or catching up with an existing international school model, the institute creates an India centered model to leapfrog the educational system directly into the 21st Century.
A great model is not system-changing if it cannot scale effectively. The institute strategically uses structures, templates, scaffolds and cutting-edge technology to make sure our products are scalable across a vast majority of schools in India.
OUR WORK
CURRICULUM
Rigorous project based curriculum developed across grades spanning five subject areas.
ASSESSMENTS
Competency and skill based assessments using portfolios and evidence of high quality work.
TEACHER DIPLOMA
Two year CAIE certified, self paced diploma for full time teachers at Shikha Academy.
THE SHIKHA FAMILY
The Shikha ecosystem works on the problem of high quality education through an interdisciplinary, systems based approach across three organizations.
Our experimental lab school following the IGCSE (Cambridge) board for grades K to 12.
Research and development institute focused on pioneering a new school model
Technology company developing cutting edge AI products for schools, teachers and students.
OUR TEAM
KARISHMA SHANGHVI
Founder and Director
SNEHAL JOSHI
Principal, Shikha Academy
Dr. TG LAKSHMI
Head of Research
JONATHAN MENDONCA
Head of Scale
Dr. MADHURI MAVINKURVE
Head of Teacher Training
PRARTHANA PATIL
Head of Curriculum Design
PRATIK RAJURKAR
Co-Founder, Shikha Labs
TANMAY DHOTE
Co-Founder, Shikha Labs
KARISHMA SHANGHVI
Founder and Director
Karishma Shanghvi is the founder and director of Shikha Academy.
Shikha Academy is a high quality, innovative and scalable school model, following the IGCSE board, providing transformational education through essential 21st century skills to exclusively disadvantaged students.
Shikha Institute of Education is a research driven organization that creates engaging, rigorous, relevant and technology supported school curricula and training programs.
Shikha Labs is an AI technology company creating cutting edge educational products for students, teachers and schools to leapfrog learning and teaching for the future.
Karishma is currently pursuing a Ph.D. in Educational Technology from the Indian Institute of Technology, Bombay. She holds a master’s degree in education (Ed.M.) from the Harvard Graduate School of Education. She graduated from the Jerome Fisher Program in Management and Technology with a B.S. in Economics from the Wharton School, a B.A.S. in Bioengineering, an M.S. in Biotechnology and a minor in South Asian Studies, all from the University of Pennsylvania.
Karishma is a member of the Board of Trustees and Board of Management at Ashoka University. She has previously worked with Dasra and is actively involved with the Shantilal Shanghvi Foundation.
SNEHAL JOSHI
Principal, Shikha Academy
As Founding Principal of Shikha Academy, Snehal comes with an experience of more than three decades of teaching and leading international curricula. Snehal holds a Masters degree in Physics and a Post Graduate Advanced Diploma in Educational technology.
She strongly believes that there is no end to learning and is on a mission to inspire children to become life-long learners. True to this belief, Snehal obtained a Certificate in School Management and Leadership by the Harvard Graduate School of Education.
Dr. TG LAKSHMI
Head of Research
Dr. T. G. Lakshmi, with 18 years of experience, holds a Ph.D. from IIT Bombay’s EdTech department. Recognized with the ‘Future DigiLeader 2020’ award by Digital Futures @ Stockholm, she is an education researcher specializing in design, implementation and evaluation of edTech interventions. She has led impactful projects in the education social sector, including a large-scale edTech implementation and the conceptualization of the Foundational Literacy and Numeracy project.
JONATHAN MENDONCA
Head of Scale
Jonathan is on a mission to decentralize education by empowering leaders at the grassroots so that the voice, values, and goals of their communities shape education. As co-founder and Director of Strategy at Barefoot Edu Foundation, his non-profit builds educational leadership across three states in India. Jonathan holds a masters in International Education Policy at Harvard Graduate school of education and has been awarded the New world social innovation Fellowship from the Harvard Kennedy School. He is also an Ashoka University Young India Fellow, Saul Zaentz Fellow, Mother Teresa Fellow, and was recently awarded by Falling Falls Foundation in Berlin for shaping the future of education.
PRARTHANA PATIL
Head of Curriculum Design
With over 27 years of experience in the field of Design Education, Prarthana brings richness of all her knowledge and expertise in the form of designing curricula and mentoring faculty. Equipped with a background in science, history, culture, global research and art, she creates course plans that are culturally contextual, conceptual, and easily applicable.
She has developed and implemented innovative pedagogies that transform the foundational aspects of thinking in classroom learning and teaching, leading to students developing a curious mind set along with a sense of purpose in their educational journey. Her aim is to disrupt the traditional educational process to foster deeper understanding, critical thinking, and a more engaged learning environment for both students and teachers.
DR. MADHURI MAVINKURVE
Head of Teacher Training
Dr. Madhuri leads Teacher Training at the Shikha Institute, bringing with her nearly three decades of teaching experience at both undergraduate and postgraduate levels in Electronics Engineering.
She holds a Ph.D. in Educational Technology from IIT Bombay and is a skilled researcher and practitioner in the field. Her expertise lies in the conceptualization and design of digital learning solutions, with a focus on creating effective assessment tools to evaluate their impact.
Dr. Madhuri has served as an EdTech advisor for Mahika, a company that develops eLearning solutions to train women in the ITeS/BPM sector. She has also been a key contributor to IIT Bombay’s EdTech Tulna project, where she played a significant role in developing the Tulna Index, a tool used to evaluate the quality of EdTech products, and trained government officials in its adoption. In addition, Dr. Madhuri has extensive experience conducting faculty development programs, primarily for engineering institutions across India.
She has developed and implemented innovative pedagogies that transform the foundational aspects of thinking in classroom learning and teaching, leading to students developing a curious mind set along with a sense of purpose in their educational journey. Her aim is to disrupt the traditional educational process to foster deeper understanding, critical thinking, and a more engaged learning environment for both students and teachers.
PRATIK RAJURKAR
Co-Founder, Shikha Labs
Pratik began his career as a Fellow with Teach For India in 2015, as a middle school teacher in Pune. He then worked as a social impact consultant on engagements with NITI Aayog, the Ministry of Health & Family Welfare, and the Government of Madhya Pradesh. He also has worked with the Nashik Zilla Parishad, Pune Municipal Corporation, and the Government of Maharashtra on different engagements in education and brings in startup experience having worked on building his own AI startup.
TANMAY DHOTE
Co-Founder, Shikha Labs
Tanmay is an alumnus of Indian Institute of Technology, Madras, where he completed his B.Tech+M.Tech in Computer Science and Engineering in 2016. He worked as a Data Scientist at Microsoft for 6 years where he worked on improving the relevance of search on Bing and Microsoft Teams before working on his own startup in AI.
The Shikha Institute of Education was founded with the aim of redesigning the Indian school for the 21st Century, using a systems based, first principles approach. We work on K-12 curricula, pedagogy, assessment, teacher training and education technology to create high-quality, scalable school models.
EXPLORE
CONTACT US
OUR LOCATION
ADDRESS
60, Jain Mandir Marg,
Sumer Nagar,
Borivali West,
Mumbai, Maharashtra 400092
PHONE NUMBER
+91 9152023443