Anand Kumar, the founder of Super 30 and a mathematician, announced his plan to launch a new online educational platform, aimed at providing education to economically disadvantaged students across India. Speaking at the 2024 Kellogg India Business Conference, themed “Reimagining India: Shaping the Global Economic Landscape,” hosted by the Kellogg School of Management at Northwestern University, Kumar said that the time has come to embrace the available technology to reach out to more and more students.
He highlighted the transformative impact of education, citing Super 30 as an example of how it has empowered underprivileged students to pursue their aspirations and bring about positive change in their lives. Kumar mentioned to expand the Super 30 initiative by introducing an online platform that will bring education directly to the doorsteps of the economically disadvantaged, thereby continuing his mission to make quality education accessible to all.
Maintaining the disruption of the COVID-19 pandemic taught him valuable lessons. He emphasized the importance of adapting to challenges, noting that he connected with students via social media during lockdowns to keep them engaged. He said that one could learn from adversities.
He remarked that the world is full of talented people. Even in the present scenario, there are so many children hidden from the eyes of the world due to poverty. They have the ability to become Newton and Ramanujan, but due to lack of opportunity their talents get lost. The online initiative aims to provide them with the platform through which they can excel.
Kumar expressed that it has always been his aspiration to witness every underprivileged student receive an education. He emphasized on the accessibility of quality education to the poorest. He mentioned that time has come to move out of the labs to truly understand poverty in rural areas and nations, where basic necessities like electricity, clean water, and adequate food are lacking. Kumar highlighted the present opportunity, with technology enabling connections with the underprivileged regardless of their location.
He also mentioned that the best use of technology would be to ensure opportunities are extended to those in need. Kumar emphasized that it is society’s responsibility to facilitate this, to increase the talent pool for global prosperity and the overall well-being of humanity.
Kumar stated that he may not be a big personality, merely an ordinary teacher. Yet, from his sincere feelings and personal experiences, if anyone has a keen desire for a certain goal and continues to work hard, they will achieve it. It might require more time than anticipated, but success will come definitely.
