Placing academic learning in a real-world context and empowering young minds with an ‘I can’ mindset are the two ideas on which Kiran Bir Sethi established Riverside school in the year 2001 in Ahmedabad. The realisation that education to a great extent was rewarding the students for their compliance, but not for their conversations compelled her to think of an alternate method. Cut to 2022, central to Kiran’s teaching method- a simplified Design Thinking approach is recognised and welcomed not just in India but the world over.
Born and brought up in Bangalore, Kiran Bir Sethi completed her graduation from the National Institute of Design in 1989. She started her career as a designer before stepping into the education field.
At Riverside School, the team led by Kiran Sethi works every day on developing five skills or investments in children that are essential for their development. The team works to enhance the social, emotional, cognitive, physical, and spiritual skills of children.
“These five investments are set in the program to help children learn an ‘I Can’ change attitude and have confidence in their abilities to lead their lives,” says Kiran Bir Sethi.
In 2007, aProCh (a Protagonist in every Child), a community-based initiative, was started in Ahmedabad by Kiran Sethi to create a city that supports child safety, where children have the freedom to explore, derive fun and joy, have different opportunities, and build happy memories. Currently, the initiative is spread across various cities, schools, and NGOs.
Design for Change, the world’s largest movement of change – for and by children, was launched in 2009. It uses a simple 4-step design framework – FIDS (Feel, Imagine, Do, Share) to cultivate the ‘I Can’ mindset in children. Today, Design for Change is spread across over 60 countries impacting around 22 lakh children and 65 thousand teachers.
She established the Riverside Learning Centre in 2016, where the practices and approaches in the Riverside school are used. Training programs have been designed for schools to be more user-centric by housing all the practices in 6 pillars, Curriculum, Parent Partnership, Personal and Professional Development, Community, Administration and Leadership.
Kiran, Riverside, and Design for Change have won several awards and recognitions for their innovative approaches to education. The awards include the Light of Freedom Award, the Lexus Design Award, The Earth Prize, the Rockefeller Innovation Award, and The Lego Reimagine Award.
Kiran Bir Sethi instills confidence in her students with an education that equips them
with an ‘I can’ attitude.
