Ei Dialogues

Employee morale was low. Programs existed on paper but not always on the ground. Salaries were uncertain. Scaling felt necessary, but credibility came first. So how do you grow a social organisation fivefold without losing trust, culture, or purpose? In this Ei Dialogues episode, Jayant Rastogi, Global CEO of Magic Bus Foundation, reflects on his journey from two decades in the corporate and techn...

Why do girls excel in school in the early years and suddenly start falling behind in High School? What will it take for India to have more women engineers? In this episode, Pranav Kothari speaks with Vandana Goyal, Co-CEO of Avanti Fellows and former CEO of The Akanksha Foundation, about the gender gap in STEM, what derails high-performing girls, and the cultural barriers shaping their futures. To...

Teacher training programs often fail. Doubling salaries produced zero learning gains in one study. So what actually works? Omar Momin, CEO of Godrej Foundation, shares evidence from experiments across Indian schools on sustained teacher training, teaching students by learning level, measuring impact with counterfactuals, identifying gifted students from disadvantaged backgrounds, and using AI to p...

How do you bring 2 million+ out-of-school girls back into classrooms and achieve 4x better learning outcomes? Gayatri Nair Lobo, CEO of Educate Girls, shares the real barriers keeping girls out of school, how to build trust with government systems, and why quality improved as they scaled to millions. Gayatri leads a decade-long mission to help 10 million learners unlock their right to education. P...

Join Pranav Kothari in conversation with Neera Nundy, Co-Founder of Dasra, as they explore what drives philanthropic giving in India. From the psychology of generosity to trust-based funding and the rising role of women in philanthropy, this episode unpacks 25 years of insights on transforming India's social sector through strategic giving. #EiDialogues #Philanthropy #SocialImpact #India #Dasr...

What does it take for philanthropy to move beyond charity and create lasting change? In this episode of Ei Dialogues, Priya Naik (Founder & CEO, Samhita) joins Pranav Kothari (CEO, Educational Initiatives) to explore how catalytic capital, blended finance, and CSR can transform livelihoods at scale. From unlocking 500–1000x resources with small grants to stories of dignity from women entrepren...

In this episode, Sridhar shares how trust, people, and partnerships can drive lasting change in education. Discover how CSR can go beyond compliance, and what it takes to balance strategy with real-world impact.

What does it really take to transform education for millions of children in India’s government schools? In this episode, we unpack Madhukar's 15 years of experience working with state governments, district leaders, and teachers to create sustainable, large-scale education reform. You’ll hear about: - Why “building government capacity” is essential for lasting education reform- How to balance urgen...

In this episode of EI Dialogues, we talk to Shikhar Malhotra, Trustee of the Shiv Nadar Foundation and CEO of HCL Healthcare, and Sribharat Mathukumilli, Member of Parliament from Visakhapatnam and President of GITAM University. Shikhar and Sribharat share their journeys in business and politics and how it was shaped by personal conviction, resilience, and a deep commitment to public good. In this...

In an engaging and honest conversation, Pranav Kothari sits down with Mr. Anurag Kundu to discuss his inspiring journey from Teach for India to the Punjab Development Commission. Discover the incredible work he has done in the field of education and gain valuable insights into the Right to Education, collaborating with stakeholders, and child protection in the age of AI. If you're involved in...

Join us for an insightful conversation between Pranav Kothari and Shailendra Sharma, Former Principal Advisor to the Director of Education, in the latest episode of Ei Dialogues! Mr. Sharma shares a firsthand account of his impactful work to enhance educational outcomes for children across India. Drawing from his extensive involvement with government initiatives, he delves into the complexities of...

In the latest episode of Ei Dialogues, Jigyasa Labroo, Co-Founder of Slam Out Loud joins Ritesh Agarwal for an insightful conversation on Social Emotional Learning. Tune into the episode to learn more about Jigyasa’s personal journey in entrepreneurship, her work with Slam Out Loud and why she considers Arts Education a mandatory need for children.

Welcome to Episode 6 of Ei Dialogues Season 5! In this enlightening installment, join us as Ritesh Agarwal, Vice President of Ei Shiksha, engages in a thought-provoking conversation with Tarun Cherukuri, Founder CEO at Indus Action. Together, they delve into the genesis of Indus Action and its proud identity as a Do-Tank. Discover the intricacies of policy implementation as Tarun navigates through...

In the latest episode of Ei Dialogues, Pranav Kothari, CEO of Ei, sits down with Azeez Gupta and Siddhant Sachdeva, Co-Founders, Rocket Learning. Together, they explore the crucial realm of Early Childhood Education (ECE), delving into its importance and offering valuable insights into their experiences and challenges. From collaborating with Anganwadi workers, parents, teachers, to engaging with...

In this captivating episode fourth episode of Ei Dialogues season five, we dive into an enriching conversation with Ms. Puja Marwaha, CEO of Child Rights and You (CRY), an Indian NGO advocating for children's rights for more than four decades. In a dialogue with Pranav Kothari, CEO, Ei, Ms. Marwaha candidly shares how CRY tackles challenges within the donation landscape, offering practical str...

In this latest episode,  Sridhar Rajagopalan  dives into a fascinating conversation with Dr.  Bror Saxberg , Founder of LearningForge LLC and former Chief Learning Officer at  Kaplan  Inc. Dr. Saxberg shares valuable insights on student motivation, the future of AI in education, and the transformative impact of well-designed learning opportunities. Discover how every child, regardless of their bac...

In this episode of Ei Dialogues, we chat with Mr Aakash Sethi, the founder and CEO of Quest Alliance, a non-profit working on scalable solutions for quality education and skills training. Aakash shares his personal journey, his passion for fostering 21st-century skills, and insights on organizational development and government engagement for impactful solutions.

In episode 5 of Ei Dialogues, Alejandro Caballero and Pranav Kothari discuss the growing power of digitisation, especially in higher education across the globe. Mr. Caballero speaks in depth about IFC's D4TEP initiative, which supports universities as they adapt to an increasingly online education ecosystem. 

In this conversation, Rebecca Winthrop and Pranav Kothari discuss the need to build a trusting relationship between families, teachers and schools to improve learning outcomes among students. Dr. Winthrop also discusses the potential of harnessing innovation to rapidly accelerate educational progress.

In this conversation, Pranav Kothari and Dr. Mahnaz R Charania discuss the idea of social capital and its impact on student learning and well being. They also speak about bottom-up paths to scaling interventions, and how best to evaluate the impact of educational interventions as they grow.

In this conversation, Pranav Kothari and Mark Sparvell think through the role of technology in education as systems emerge from the COVID-19 pandemic, highlighting key advances that will shape learning moving forward. They also discuss the challenges of identifying and scaling impactful interventions, and how educators and parents can choose effective solutions to help students learn.

In this conversation, Dr Langworthy discusses the power of deep learning in affecting change in the real world and the need to prioritise student well being to create an enabling environment for children to learn. She also discusses her thoughts on the future of learning and how data sourced through Edtech software can be leveraged to bring in systemic reform.

In this conversation, Pranav and Emma speak about the drivers of success in education, and learnings from high-performing education systems that can be scaled. They discuss the need for cultivating student mindsets, teacher directed learning, and implementing EdTech with high-fidelity to improve educational outcomes.

In this episode, we speak to Abhijeet Singh. Abhijeet is an Associate Professor at the Stockholm School  of Economics. He is also a Principal Investigator on the RISE Programme's India Team and is affiliated with the Abdul Lateef Jamal Poverty Action Lab. His research focuses on topics in development and labour economics, especially relating to education, child nutrition and public service de...

In this episode, Sridhar Rajagopalan speaks to Andreas Schleicher. Andreas is the Director for Education and Skills, and Special Advisor on Education Policy to the Secretary-General at the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) in Paris. Andreas spearheaded the Programme for International Student Assessment, or PISA, in this role. He has also written the book World Class: Ho...