Abhyudaya is a transformative experiential learning course in which participants of the full-time PGDM programme mentor school children from underprivileged backgrounds. These bright school children are called Sitara, which means a star.
SPJIMR participants visit Sitara homes throughout the academic year to conduct mentoring sessions. Based on their first-hand exposure to the challenges of low-income neighbourhoods, participants also understand the significance of sustainable business development.
For the past 15 years, the non-profit arm of Abhyudaya has been addressing UN SDG 4 of Quality Education by engaging actively with the Sitara community. It educates 550+ Sitaras and offers financial assistance, health and safety programmes, digital literacy programmes, and several holistic development activities. More than 50% of Sitaras are girls.
Abhyudaya partners with 60 schools in the K-West Ward of Mumbai, from where the Sitaras are selected. Several institutions of the Bhavan’s Trust such as the Sardar Patel Institute of Technology (SPIT), A.H. Wadia High School, Bhavan’s College Andheri, Bhavan’s Yoga Bharti, and Bhavan’s Nature and Adventure Centre offer Sitaras benefits of their teaching facilities, staff and student volunteers.
Abhyudaya has also built long-term relationships with NGOs, Corporates, SPJIMR Alumni, Donors, and Educational & Cultural institutions. Our partners provide financial support, laptops for Sitaras, medical camps, personal safety courses, counselling programs, life skills programs, scholarship assistance, etc.
Several international schools and colleges visit Abhyudaya to learn from our model. These include Think Global School, New York, USA; Rijnland Lyceum, The Netherlands; HEC Montreal, Canada; IT Bandung, Indonesia; St Thomas University, Minnesota, USA; and HWZ, Switzerland. Abhyudaya also partners with international teachers and researchers on workshops and research projects that address urban issues.
SPJIMR rated by PIR as one of the top 4 schools worldwide for positive social impact.
SPJIMR recognized as a “pioneering school” with the highest “Level 5” rating by PIR (Positive Impact Rating), a global student-led rating of business school sustainability
Award for SPJIMR for 'Excellence in Institutional Social Responsibility', at the 6th Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce & Industry (FICCI) Higher Education Excellence Awards.
Innovative Practices Award by the United Nations Global Compact Network India for the work we are doing towards furthering the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDG 4 - Quality Education)
SPJIMR selected as a Champion of the United Nations Principles for Responsible Management Education (UNPRME) in recognition of our non-classroom initiatives.
Gold award at the Indian Management Conclave under the theme of “Innovations in teaching Methodology”.
Jury award at the World Education Summit in the "Innovation by Management Institute” category.
"Big Idea to Solve Big Problem" Award from GMAC, the body which holds the GMAT examination.
Thank you for considering a donation to Abhyudaya. Your gift will support and help grow the Abhyudaya network and enable us to reach out to more students from economically disadvantaged sections.
Donations are to be made to Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan, specifying that the funds are intended for the Abhyudaya project. Donations in India are fully tax-exempt under section 80G(2)(iiif) of the Income Tax Act. Donations from overseas are also accepted since we have FCRA registration.
To know more visit our social media pages:
Facebook: Abhyudaya-SPJIMR | Mumbai | Facebook
LinkedIn: Abhyudaya-SPJIMR | LinkedIn
For donation queries, please write to:
Arati Nagaraj, Director Abhyudaya
arati.nagaraj@spjimr.org
Abhyudaya Office
abhyudaya@spjimr.org
International schools visit SPJIMR to understand the benefits of Abhyudaya’s experiential learning interventions.
Initiatives
Experiential learning programme
As part of the Abhyudaya course, participants make 12 visits to their Sitara homes for one-on-one mentoring sessions. They write reflection diaries, and under the guidance of a faculty facilitator, they discuss their learnings. Apart from mentoring, PGDM participants also learn about business sustainability. Based on their first-hand experience of the slums, they design sustainable business projects to solve social issues, which are evaluated by an industry panel. Thus, they not only develop their mentoring skills but also work towards becoming socially sensitive business leaders.
Holistic education for Sitaras
The Sitaras are able to realise and fulfil their potential through a holistic education that addresses all aspects of their personality. The year-long programme of holistic development interventions like the Sunday classes, and winter and summer camps offer Sitaras relevant inputs, including academics, sports, chess, origami, life skills, crafts, art, dance, music and much more. There is a multi-year computer course to teach digital literacy, programming and the basics of robotics. Abhyudaya also conducts aptitude tests and career counselling, assists with college admissions, and eventually helps in job placements.
Sitara community outreach programmes
As part of community outreach, Abhyudaya organises quarterly events, informative meetings and discussions with the parents of Sitaras. These sessions are conducted by experts invited from various walks of life. The Sitara parents can upskill themselves and become more aware of multiple issues related to health, gender, etc. During Covid, several additional programmes were conducted to address the economic vulnerability and mass migrations. Solutions like additional financial grants and grocery distribution were implemented to contain the dropout rate and retain our Sitaras. In addition, Abhyudaya offered medical assistance, alternative employment opportunities like producing cloth masks for livelihood, and donated mobiles and laptops to Sitaras to supplement the lack of inputs from their regular schools.
Outreach programmes for partner schools
The larger community of school teachers and principals of the 60 partner schools have opportunities to learn educational techniques and listen to inspiring speakers through the regular outreach events curated and conducted specially for them.