The ONE thing that binds us together at ISDM is that each one of us wants to bring a positive change to the world, however, varied our personalities and approaches are! And our Alumni are the trailblazers of bringing that change to the world through love, equity, compassion and courage. Our Alumni are the ‘Doers’, making this world a better place to live, one day at a time.
ISDM Alumni are working across a range of unique and diverse career opportunities in the for-profit and not-for-profit space, with regional, national and international organisations, in thematic areas ranging from health and education to water, sanitation and gender, and in research and advocacy.
Making Education Accessible
Adarsh Rai
CLASS OF 2018-19
Udhyam Learning Foundation, M&E Specialist
The literacy rate of Urban regions in India is 87.7% whereas in rural India it is only 73.5%. Among many other reasons behind it, one key reason is lack of availability of resources.
When I talk about the life of a child in a village of Darjeeling, the first thought that comes to me is do they have access to quality education? Do they have the means to get into a college and be able to live a life of potential? Do they then have the basic facilities to get a job and earn a living?
Adarsh Rai, an advocate of love and full potential for everyone and an alumni of ISDM Class of 2018-20 is not just pondering over these questions but solving these problems as a Founder and Program Manager of Encompass and Hayden Hall Institutions, Darjeeling.
Adarsh with his team, is on a mission to make education accessible for the children of remotest villages of Darjeeling with ‘After School Study Program’ for 1300+ children on a daily basis. With a focused objective to improve literacy in rural West Bengal, recently Adarsh and his team has started an initiative to establish 48 libraries across 110 villages in 3 Districts. 3 of these libraries are already functional with books crowdsourced all across India.
Supporting Thalassemia patients
Krishna Vamshi Rajalingu
CLASS OF 2020-21
CARE India as Assistant Manager - Design and Program Innovation Center
I always believe that I have a limited time on this planet, which technically means I can only do limited things in life. If I am lazy and don't do anything in this limited time, I am cutting down on my experience of doing things. This keeps me going.
Krishna, an ISDM alumni of the Class of 2020-21 had started Blood warriors to support Thalassemia patients who need blood every twenty days. Thalassemia is an inherited blood disorder characterised by less oxygen-carrying protein (haemoglobin) and fewer red blood cells in the body than normal In India,.Over 10,000 children are born with the condition every year in the country. Of these, 50 per cent do not survive till the age of 20 due to poverty and lack of treatment. Over four million Indians are thalassemia carriers. (source: The Economic Times: https://bit.ly/3jpO0Ig)
Apart from working with Blood Warriors, Krishna supports multiple organisations and individuals who are working full-time in Delhi, Uttar Pradesh and Hyderabad. He has been volunteering to fill gaps in information, resources and mobilisation. He has launched fundraisers with the community to raise more than 10 Lakhs to support patients who do not have the means to afford emergency treatment. Together with his team, he has raised funds to get oxygen concentrators, PPE kits and Pulse Oximeters for communities in need.
From Artisans' doorsteps to yours
Tanushree Rai
CLASS OF 2017-18
IPAC, Political Consultant
An entrepreneur is born out of a lack, a necessity, and not just interest.
Tanushree Jain, an ISDM alum of the founding batch, moved to Delhi NCR in 2017 and soon her health started deteriorating due to the increasing level of pollution in the national capital. However, the impact of pollution on Tanushree’s health, couldn’t let her spirit down and rather, it made Tanushree reflect on the unhealthy and toxic products of our modern day lives and ponder on solutions to lower the damages of such lifestyles.
Eventually it led to the creation of Nushaura. Nushaura, Tanushree's brain child, is a social enterprise that is working on socio- economic development of rural Indian communities with an environmentally conscious business model delivering high quality, sustainable everyday products and merchandise to a market saturated with harmful products. Nushaura by far has created livelihood opportunities for over 275+ artisans from marginalised communities from rural and remote villages in India.
Tanushree and Nushaura have been nationally recognized multiple times.Most recently, Tanushree has been recognized as ‘India’s 100 Emerging Women Leaders’ by Yourstory Media.
Nushaura is backed by Project Her and Now, Startup Oasis, Supported by Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) GmbH GIZ India and Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development & Ministry of Skill Development and Entrepreneurship, India.
PGP DM, Batch 2019
PGP DM, Batch 2022
PGP DM, Batch 2018
PGP DM, Batch 2020