The annual award of $100,000 goes to one exceptional student who has made a real impact on learning, the lives of their peers and on society.
Our Bureau
Santa Clara, Calif
Five students studying in India have made it to the top 50 shortlist for the $100,000 Chegg.org Global Student Prize 2023. They were selected from 3,851 applications from across 122 countries. The annual award of $100,000 goes to one exceptional student who has made a real impact on learning, the lives of their peers and on society.
From India this year will be Namya Joshi, a 16-year-old student at Sat Paul Mittal School, Ludhiana, Punjab; Vinisha Umashankar, a 16-year-old student at SKP Vanitha International School, Tiruvannamalai, Tamil Nadu; Gladson Vaghela, a 25-year-old medical student at Gujarat Medical Education and Research Society Medical College, Gandhinagar, Gujarat; Padmaksh Khandelwal, a 17-year-old computer science student at Sir Padampat Singhania School, Kota, Rajasthan; and Ravinder Bishnoi, ..
“Chegg not only celebrates your achievements but also the endless possibilities that exist when young minds are driven by a passion for change,” said Heather Hatlo Porter, Head of Chegg.org and Chief Communications Officer of Chegg.
“The top 50 Global Student Prize finalists deserve the opportunity to have their stories told and have their voices heard. Their dreams, wisdom, and inventive spirit will illuminate a more hopeful future for everyone,” she said.
Joshi, acclaimed as the ‘Top Tech Savvy Student in India’ and a global teacher at the age of 16, got hooked on Minecraft, realizing that it can also be used as an educational tool. She went on to create a virtual library of lessons in Minecraft, now numbering around 500 which are available on her YouTube channel and website.
Umashankar is an artist, TEDx speaker, innovator, and environmentalist whose favorite subjects in school are math and science.
Vaghela is a medical student advocate for healthcare equity and accessibility for all, participating in healthcare outreach programs in underserved communities. He has helped produce a global mental healthcare service providers’ database for more than 150 countries worldwide and has also been serving as a Youth Advisor to YuWaah (Generation Unlimited) at UNICEF India.
Padmaksh Khandelwal works on student suicide prevention and is also an anti-poaching activist who launched the current homeschooling model of the Mogya Education Program for children with the support of NGO Tiger Watch.
Ravinder Bishnoi has learned robotics, electronics, design, and other engineering areas over the past decade and has created many devices, developed robots, exoskeletons, and portable water, and air filters, to help needy people.
The Varkey Foundation partnered with Chegg.org to launch the Global Student Prize in 2021, a sister award to its $1 million Global Teacher Prize. It was established to create a powerful new platform that shines a light on the efforts of extraordinary students everywhere who, together, are reshaping our world for the better. The prize is open to all students who are at least 16 years old and enrolled in an academic institution or training and skills program. Part-time students as well as students enrolled in online courses are also eligible for the prize.
