Background
Background & Research Experience
After a Ph.D. in Physics from Cambridge University, U.K., where she qualified for three merit-based scholarships, Dr. Sunita Gandhi served a 10-year tenure as Project Manager and Economist at the Word Bank in Washington, D.C., U.S.A., where she was selected as a young professional and received award for Most Outstanding Contribution to Development. Dr. Gandhi has established Iceland’s first two charter schools and experimental schools in the Czech Republic and in India. Her research-based work in education has been piloted and implemented in the UK, Iceland, India and 14 other countries.
Dr. Gandhi is a much sought after speaker on issues of education across the world and has recently been the Keynote Presenter at Finland’s Annual Education Conference organized by the Finnish National Board of Education.
Pioneering Curriculum & Assessments Design
In India, Dr. Gandhi has been fine-tuning and implementing a transformative education, curriculum and assessments that are based on the principle of compete with yourself. Evidence suggests these not only improve children’s confidence but also their academic outcome. Her programs in education have been adopted by over 200 schools across India. With such a large scale pilot, she is incubating an education more suited to the needs of children in the 21st century.
Social Contribution
Her latest project, Global Dream, is aimed at providing functional literacy to the illiterate masses. Some 1.5 lakh students in Lucknow from just under 200 schools have taken up the campaign over the last two summer breaks. Global Dream is now available in 13 Indian languages and a free downloadable mobile app allows anyone to teach anyone and help them become reading capable. Another 60,000 students across India have joined her literacy campaign in collaboration with Rotary India Literacy Mission. The unique and innovative Global Dream curriculum allows a person to become reading capable within a month. It is also a powerful way to engage India’s children and youth in making a meaningful difference, and to inspire them to become proactive leaders of change.
Dr. Gandhi also serves as the Honorary Chief Academic Advisor of her family-run City Montessori School, Lucknow, the world’s largest school with a current enrollment of nearly 54,000 students in the 2016/17 session, a Guinness World Record Holder since 1999, and recipient of the UNESCO prize for Peace Education, 2002. Under her academic direction since her coming back to India some in 2005, CMS has become India’s number 1 school in academics. In 2016 ICSE (Class X) Board Results, 3 CMS branches came out in the top 10 ICSE schools in the country, and in 2016 ISC (Class XII), 5 CMS branches came out in the top 10 positions in the country, including the country’s Number 1 position in ISC. 1254 or 51% of its Class XII students got marks 90%+ while 21 ICSE and 67 ISC students came out in the top 10 nationwide student lists for Class X and XII.
Top Schools, All India Board Exam Result for Class XII ISC, 2016 The Learning Point (as published in Education World, August 2016)
The Learning Point (as published in Education World, August 2016)
About Dr Sunita Gandhi
PhD, Cambridge University, UK Founder and Conceptualizer, TARGETplus
Dr Sunita Gandhi is a globally recognized educator, author, innovator and researcher. She is the founder of the Council for Global Education (USA), Dignity, Education, Vision International (India), and the Education Society of Iceland (Islensku menntasamtakin ses). She has travelled to and studied education system in 38 countries.