Nafeesa Ahmed

Dr. Nafeesa Ahmed is an educator, innovator, and changemaker devoted to transforming early childhood and school education. She has shaped a seamless curriculum from Early Years through High School, ensuring academic continuity and high quality. Her pioneering work includes introducing synthetic phonics, guided reading and writing, and storytelling-based learning to boost language skills and creativity. She reimagines teaching with inquiry-based, experiential learning and has built professional development frameworks that empower educators. Under her leadership, schools have adopted technology-driven classrooms, digital learning platforms, and formative assessments focused on deeper learning outcomes. She also leads curriculum audits, content creation, and teacher mentoring programs, establishing new benchmarks in excellence. Recognized for her visionary, results-driven approach, Dr Ahmed continues to drive innovation, inclusivity, and lifelong learning in education. 

Bhoomika Ananth

Dr. Bhoomika Ananth is a distinguished mural artist, medical student, and the visionary founder of Creatibeeti, an initiative dedicated to transforming community spaces through art. She is a thoughtful and passionate artist and visionary, having created multiple projects aimed at inspiring and elevating the aesthetic sensibilities of students and adults alike. Her works now adorn cafés, iconic cityscapes, and notably include the state’s largest rendition of Starry Night at Airlines. Bhoomika’s collaborations with industry giants such as Amazon, TVS, Cocoblu, and Ather have further amplified her impact, enabling her to share the therapeutic benefits of art with diverse audiences. Her pieces are meticulously crafted to resonate with their environment, narrating stories that are both contextually relevant and emotionally evocative. 

Dr. Bitasta Das

Dr. Bitasta Das is an author and educator who has been teaching and coordinating the humanities curriculum at the Indian Institute of Science (IISc), Bangalore, for over fifteen years. She is also a Visiting Faculty at Assam Downtown University, Guwahati. Her work focuses on the intersections of folk wisdom, science, and technology. Through her publications like ArtingScience and Jal, Jungle, Zameen in the Age of Science and Technology, she highlights the integration of art with scientific and technological perspectives. Dr. Das has published widelyand has delivered lectures and conducted workshops at national and international forums such as the Global Impact Conference and NASA International Space Apps Challenge.She has also been invited to speak on podcasts and at TEDxevents. At IISc, she oversees the institute’s publishing platform, IIScPress, and contributes regularly to the institute’s magazine, Connect. She is a member of the State Planning Commission, Government of Chhattisgarh. Her research interests include folk art, ethnic studies, Northeast India, and ethnography.

Ravindra Chandrashekariah

Ravindra Chandrashekariah has been in the sales and marketing operations since 2001 spanning across support education sector, integrated marketing services, gaming industry. With the development sector from 2013, he currently works for a civil society organisation / public charitable trust as a strategic partnership manager accountable for partnerships and fund raising. He has always been keen about the conversation that happens “between the ears” and has developed deep interests in human behaviour, psychology, mythology over the years. He is an NLP (Neuro-Linguistic Programming) graduate from Neoway Learning, Bangalore, and actively pursues his passion as both a student and a coach in NLP. He is a teacher, a lifelong student, a story teller, a coach, a son, a husband, a brother and a DAD to two lovely kids - all rolled into one. His 'me time' is while he drinks tea alone in the neighboring tea shop. He also loves having 'chai with his kids' on Sundays in the same neighboring tea shop. He is a game for conversations any time of the day. 

Gagan Sreekumar

Gagan Sreekumar is a 10th grade student studying in Presidency School Bangalore South. He is an avid reader, and takes interest in MUN conferences, quizzes and sports like chess and basketball. He has taken part in the 14th biennial Lake Conference hosted by IISc, where he presented ways to reduce the carbon footprint of the school. As an aspiring author and tech enthusiast, he is concerned about the rising dependence of humans on AI, and proposes solutions to preserve and strengthen one’s critical and creative thinking abilities in the age of AI.