A connoisseur of knowledge, Reekrit Serai, Managing Director, Satluj Group of Schools (Punjab, Haryana, and J&K) believes teaching to be a therapeutic process for him. With a never-ending quench for knowledge in his mind, he gets his love for education from his grandfather and his father. Over a conversation with Nikita Agarwal, he talks about his journey, the education sector in the city, and more.
What makes Satluj Group of Schools a trailblazer in innovative educational pedagogies?
We’ve been the first to introduce and adopt new educational technologies in not only the Chandigarh region but pan-India, such as 3D smart-classes in the early 2000s, 3D-printing, artificial intelligence (AI), virtual reality/ augmented reality/ mixed reality (VR/AR/MR) and now blockchain. Furthermore, we’ve been developing our own educational apps and partnering with EdTech startups and companies for more than a decade—something which is unusual for school groups as most of the innovation in education happens in higher education. In 2012, we developed our first educational app called ‘the Satluj App’, an AI platform for CBSE content, which was based on gamification and showed the strengths and weaknesses of children in real-time. It was a massive hit as children and parents all over the world enrolled themselves, also leading us to be honored at the World Education Summit for ‘Innovation in Education.
What inspired you to choose the education sector?
I’ve worked in multiple sectors before joining education, namely IT, pharmaceuticals, media and journalism, and publishing. But I always found something lacking, as if I wasn’t able to contribute my bit to society. I’ve always had the urge to teach, like teaching for me is a therapeutic process—it doesn’t necessarily have to be delivering a lecture, but acquiring knowledge, imbibing it, and then disseminating. Furthermore, I’ve always considered teachers to be superhuman—their superpower is ‘shaping the future. It’s difficult to find another vocation that parallels the necessity of being an educator. My love for education is also passed on to me over two generations.
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