Osheen Chavhan: Empowering Youth By Bridging The Gap Between Academia & Industry
Osheen Chavhan
Founder & CEO
A BITS-Pilani alumnus, Osheen is working on bridging the academic industry gap to shape India for the next wave of technological developments. Osheen engages in a one-on-one interaction with the CEO Insights Magazine, and below is a snippet from the interview.
Tell us about your professional background and experiences. What factors influenced you to establish Infispark?
I belong to a humble and modest family wherein I was always encouraged and motivated to get all A's in academics. During my engineering days, I was mostly preparing to bag a job in MANG as a software engineer, and that's why I used to participate in multiple coding challenges. However, a key pivot point in my life occurred when an incubator sponsored me to visit Silicon Valley and explore the startup ecosystem. I was fortunate to be the only female selected for the program, along with 28 other same-age boys. The learnings I gathered there sort of rewired my brain into thinking I was just 23 years old and could do much more than chasing the highest package in an MNC. So, primarily I am an engineer turned into an Edupreneur. I am blessed that, thereafter, my first
job involved being the Founder and CEO at Infispark. Indian education system still focuses on an outdated curriculum and most institutions can't produce industry ready talent. Considering these factors and exploration inspired me to visualize and conceptualize my brainchild and finally led me to envisage Infispark.
Could you talk about the learnings and experiences you acquired from BITS and how you apply them in your current role?
It's not about the prestigious stature of the institute but the respect that I have for my alma mater and a feeling of gratitude towards all our mentors and teachers who put their hearts into the development of students. You are also surrounded by incredibly talented individuals. BITS is filled with students who like to learn and achieve more in less time. This tendency makes you a fast learner and a good executioner of plans.
How would you define Infispark as an organization and its position in the market?
Over the years, we have grown as a reliable services organization providing consultancy and training for education and corporate customers. We focus on the latest tools and technologies while engaging with communities to build strategic engagement. We are focusing on the latest 21st-century skills like digital literacy, financial literacy, and nano entrepreneurship, as well as technologies like cyber security, cloud computing, machine learning, and more. Infispark excels in expanding outreach and advancing broad and depth focused CSR activities. We have skilled 500,000+ students and employees in 200+ colleges and universities, collaborated with 10+ brands and 8+ state skill missions and government offices to empower youth. We have also recently launched She Loves Code-India's first coding boot camp for women and girls.
What are some unforgettable challenges you have experienced in
You must consciously choose not to let anyone else's perception of your ability hamper how you lead or your decisions. Charge forward, armed with self-belief and a goal
Could you talk about the learnings and experiences you acquired from BITS and how you apply them in your current role?
It's not about the prestigious stature of the institute but the respect that I have for my alma mater and a feeling of gratitude towards all our mentors and teachers who put their hearts into the development of students. You are also surrounded by incredibly talented individuals. BITS is filled with students who like to learn and achieve more in less time. This tendency makes you a fast learner and a good executioner of plans.
How would you define Infispark as an organization and its position in the market?
Over the years, we have grown as a reliable services organization providing consultancy and training for education and corporate customers. We focus on the latest tools and technologies while engaging with communities to build strategic engagement. We are focusing on the latest 21st-century skills like digital literacy, financial literacy, and nano entrepreneurship, as well as technologies like cyber security, cloud computing, machine learning, and more. Infispark excels in expanding outreach and advancing broad and depth focused CSR activities. We have skilled 500,000+ students and employees in 200+ colleges and universities, collaborated with 10+ brands and 8+ state skill missions and government offices to empower youth. We have also recently launched She Loves Code-India's first coding boot camp for women and girls.
What are some unforgettable challenges you have experienced in
your professional journey so far? How did you overcome them and what did you learn from them?
Starting a business young and fresh out of college isn't easy, especially when your business demands you to travel across India for establishment during the initial years of setup. The challenges were around hiring when we were smaller, finding the right leadership, and coaching the team for the next level of growth. Building a capable and passionate team that believes in my vision and is willing to work hard for it was a challenge. This is further amplified if you are a woman, as unconscious biases often don't allow people to imagine women in leadership roles. I have developed mechanisms to deal with such prejudices, which must be dealt with internally and externally. Internally, I have always accepted that the world is not fair, and started focusing on the solution rather than the problem. This lets you deal with the problem externally by focusing on how you can break these biases and lead by example.
What is the success mantra that constantly helps you arrive at positive outcomes?
Fast success builds the ego, slow success builds character.
This ideology has resulted in our long-standing relationships with brands, our successful track record in enabling digital transformations, and our ability to attract the best local talent. Our commitment to making the innovation hub for businesses across India and our philosophy of giving back to the community have made Infispark what it is today.
Osheen Chavhan, Founder & CEO,
Infispark
Osheen is a BITS Pilani Alumnus and completed her Bachelor's in Engineering in Computer Science. She is a serial entrepreneur and angel investor to EdTech and Web3 Startups. She is a crypto enthusiast and takes a keen interest in teaching people about finances, especially women.
Quick Facts:
·Favorite Cuisine: Italian
·Favorite Book: Atomic Habits
·Favorite Travel Destination: Venice
Awards & recognition:
·Youngest worldwide finalist and India winner of 'Imagine Cup' by Microsoft Worldwide.
·Certificate of Excellence from Microsoft for outstanding efforts during the Hour of Code campaign.
Starting a business young and fresh out of college isn't easy, especially when your business demands you to travel across India for establishment during the initial years of setup. The challenges were around hiring when we were smaller, finding the right leadership, and coaching the team for the next level of growth. Building a capable and passionate team that believes in my vision and is willing to work hard for it was a challenge. This is further amplified if you are a woman, as unconscious biases often don't allow people to imagine women in leadership roles. I have developed mechanisms to deal with such prejudices, which must be dealt with internally and externally. Internally, I have always accepted that the world is not fair, and started focusing on the solution rather than the problem. This lets you deal with the problem externally by focusing on how you can break these biases and lead by example.
What is the success mantra that constantly helps you arrive at positive outcomes?
Fast success builds the ego, slow success builds character.
This ideology has resulted in our long-standing relationships with brands, our successful track record in enabling digital transformations, and our ability to attract the best local talent. Our commitment to making the innovation hub for businesses across India and our philosophy of giving back to the community have made Infispark what it is today.
Osheen Chavhan, Founder & CEO,
Infispark
Osheen is a BITS Pilani Alumnus and completed her Bachelor's in Engineering in Computer Science. She is a serial entrepreneur and angel investor to EdTech and Web3 Startups. She is a crypto enthusiast and takes a keen interest in teaching people about finances, especially women.
Quick Facts:
·Favorite Cuisine: Italian
·Favorite Book: Atomic Habits
·Favorite Travel Destination: Venice
Awards & recognition:
·Youngest worldwide finalist and India winner of 'Imagine Cup' by Microsoft Worldwide.
·Certificate of Excellence from Microsoft for outstanding efforts during the Hour of Code campaign.