Balaji Sampath

Balaji (born 17 January 1973)[1] is an Indian educationist, social activist, the founder[2] and secretary of a Non-profit Organization, Association for India's Development, India chapter,[3][4] an India-based NGO that carries out science teaching and primary school programs for children to aid their educational development.[5]

Balaji Sampath
India 4th Rank IIT
Born (1973-01-17) 17 January 1973
Chennai, India
NationalityIndian
Alma materIIT Madras,
PhD (University of Maryland, College Park, US)
OccupationFounder and Secretary, AID India & CEO of Ahaguru
Websitewww.ahaguru.com

AidIndia trains teachers in government schools with the goal of improving the quality of teaching, especially for Science and Mathematics by using innovative techniques and devising educational aids .[6] The mission of AidIndia is to empower socially disadvantaged and often forgotten sections of the society through socio-economic development programs, education, providing micro credit, and imparting training in the areas of health, human rights and utilization of resources for income generation.[7]

Balaji is also the founder and CEO of Ahaguru.[8][9] A pioneer education start-up in online coaching that engages in providing training courses on different subjects online.[10] Balaji has written many science books for primary and higher level education to explain very complex concepts in a simple and easy to understand language for students.[11]

Personal life

Balaji was born in Chennai, India on 17 January 1973 into a family where both of his parents were government workers.[1][12] Because his parents were often transferred to different locations for their government jobs, as a child Balaji was exposed to a number of schools across India. But one thing remained constant: his problem understanding scientific subjects because of ineffective teaching. Early in life, he devised his own system of analysis and arriving at solutions.[12]

Education

Balaji appeared for IIT JEE and obtained All India Rank 4 in 1990 [13] in 1990, considered one of the most competitive exams in India. He completed his B.Tech degree in Electronic Engineering from Indian Institute of Technology Madras in 1994,[14][15] and his doctorate in Electronics and communication Engineering from University of Maryland, College Park.[15][16]

Career

Balaji started his career as a volunteer for AID United States chapter from 1994 while he was doing his doctorate.[17] After completing his PhD degree, he returned to India to work full-time on social issues in 1997 and founded AID India.[1][6][18] He worked with the Centre for Ecology and Rural Development and the Peoples Science Movement on Health and Education Programs. Balaji organized Peoples Health assembly campaign in 2000 at a national level and began campaigning for better public education and access to healthcare, especially in rural areas.[1]

In 2011, Balaji started Ahaguru.com, an online education portal to enhance Science and Math learning and problem-solving skills of middle and high school students. Yahoo! News said: "This education startup, www.AhaGuru.com, a pioneer in online coaching, provides training courses completely online. From CBSE to NEET and JEE Advanced, it covers Physics, Chemistry and Math courses from class 7 to 12.Their best seller is the full year course, which is modelled like a classroom with an expert teacher explaining the key concepts and showing how to solve different types of questions."[1][19][20][21]

Awards
  • IIT Madras Distinguished Alumnus Award 2012.[15]
  • Times of India Social Impact Award for AID, 2011 from Prime Minister, Dr. Manmohan Singh in 2011.[22]
  • Ashoka Fellowship for innovative work on Science Education.[16]
  • Lemelson Inventor Certificate for Science Education.[15]
  • MIT Indus Technovator's Award 2005 for Village Libraries and Science Education.[23]
  • Rotary Distinguished Service Award by the Rotary Club of Madras South.[15]
  • Pratham USA Achievement Award 2006 for improving reading skills in Tamil Nadu.[15]
  • Association for India's Development JS Fellowship, 1998.[12]
  • All India Rank 4 in the IIT JEE, 1990.[10]

See also

References
  1. "Dr. Balaji Sampath". ahaguru.academia.edu. Retrieved 3 September 2017.
  2. Shrinidhi, Hande (15 May 2010). "Business Blooging". Retrieved 30 August 2017.
  3. "Breaking the English Barrier". The Hindu. 3 July 2017. Retrieved 28 August 2017.
  4. "Event report: Making RTE Effective: Strategies, Constraints, Outcomes (includes video)". The Hindu Centre for Politics and Public Policy. Retrieved 28 August 2017.
  5. Anjali, Puri (18 September 2006). "The E-Street Entrepreneurs". Outlook. Retrieved 31 August 2017.
  6. Tully, Mark (2011). Non Stop India. Allen Lane, India: Penguin Group. p. 156. ISBN 9780670083893.
  7. Dutta, Rita (August 2012). "Social Entrepreneurs: Transforming India". I Will Impact. 2: 16.
  8. Somu, Kumar. "AhaGuru.com: Education start-up's on-demand online coaching". Medium. Retrieved 28 August 2017.
  9. "Tamasomaa Jyotirgamaya - From Darkness to Light - NGM". www.psbbschools.ac.in. Retrieved 4 September 2017.
  10. Ani (11 April 2017). "Education start-ups on-demand online coaching: New trend among high school students". Business Standard. Retrieved 29 August 2017.
  11. "Our team | SODEWS". www.sodews.org. Archived from the original on 5 September 2017. Retrieved 4 September 2017.
  12. "Eureka Child - An AID-India Education Initiative". www.eurekachildusa.org. Retrieved 4 September 2017.
  13. ANI (11 April 2017). "Education start-ups on-demand online coaching: New trend among high school students". Business Standard India. Retrieved 11 December 2017.
  14. "Eureka School - Where Every Child Matters". www.eurekaschool.org. Retrieved 4 September 2017.
  15. "Citations: 2012 Distinguished Alumnus Awards Recipients | Office Of Alumni Relations". alumni.iitm.ac.in. Retrieved 4 September 2017.
  16. "Effective Education Initiatives for rural India - A talk by Dr. Balaji Sampath". allevents.in. Retrieved 4 September 2017.
  17. Umachandran, Shalini. "They live, work & prosper in foreign lands but sweat it out for India". Retrieved 3 September 2017.
  18. Rao, T.V (18 December 2015). Effective People. India: Random House India. ISBN 978-8184005837.
  19. Ramya|, M (6 May 2014). "Only 2.5% of students in IIT race from TN". Retrieved 30 August 2017.
  20. "It's Payback Time". The Hindu. 9 May 2009. Retrieved 2 September 2017.
  21. Ani (11 April 2017). "Education start-ups on-demand online coaching: New trend among high school students". Yahoo News. Retrieved 4 September 2017.
  22. "Social Impact Awards 2012-2013 - The Times of India". timessocialawards.timesofindia.indiatimes.com. Retrieved 4 September 2017.
  23. "Global Indus Technovator Awards". web.mit.edu. Retrieved 4 September 2017.
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