Meet the NARA Education Board Members: Azhar
MEET THE NARA Education
BOARD MEMBER: Azhar
In our efforts to use education to end poverty, we at NARA Education would like to tell you why we’re in it in the first place, and why education, especially using technology for education, means so much to us.
What better way to connect with our organization than to get you up close and personal with the NARA Education board? Last month we started a monthly series highlighting our board members to give you an opportunity to get to know the people leading our organization.
We are continuing our Meet the Board Series with Azhar Sindhu, our Founder, Chairman, and Managing Director. He is the driving force behind everything NARA Education is so far and everything it is yet to become! You can get to know his personal story of why he started the organization in a previous blog post, but we are going to ask him a few questions of our own here.
Azhar is a seasoned business executive who has had a successful career blending business and tech strategy for both startups and large corporations. He is the founder and CEO of Zilon International, a software company specializing in online retail and business growth. He founded NARA Education in an effort to help use education to end poverty when he realized that not much was being done to help children in the poverty stricken areas of Pakistan. With his extensive technology background and specific knowledge of the need, he developed NARA Education’s technology platform, focusing on using technology for education.
What is Your Motivation to be a Board Member?
When I started NARA Education, I knew that having a board that brings diverse backgrounds to bear will be the key to determining the success of the organization. The core mission of NARA is to develop a complete education delivery system using technology. It would require a deep understanding of learning management systems, modern content delivery mechanisms and AI based adaptive technology. Just a general technology system that treats every child will not be sufficiently effective. It must detect individual learning differences and adapt to each child’s needs. Based on my technology education and work experience, I have a very strong vision of how to use AI based technology to scale out education, and using my technology knowledge to guide the program was the key motivation behind joining the board.
What Is Your Education Background?
I have a Bachelor of Science with a focus on computer science and engineering from Iowa State University. After standing up a technology startup, I obtained an MBA in management from the University of Houston. This enabled me to get schooled in management consulting with companies like Ernst and Young and Gemini Consulting. To advance my business education, I joined INSEAD in France to get an advanced management diploma. However, in addition to my formal education, I consider myself to be a student of theoretical philosophy.
Where Would You Like to See NARA Education in Five Years?
In 5 years, I would like to see over 100 virtual/hybrid schools with our technology system fully deployed and managed by 2 central model schools for Kindergarten through grade 8. However, the success of our model will be measured more in terms of the maturity and completion of the technology driven educational model. Maturing the technology model to the level of sophistication where it works seamlessly for all grades, children, and school types is an arduous journey.
In addition to 100+ schools, I would like to see the technical capabilities of the system to be at a level where children can learn basic English in KG and grade 1. Once they reach a level where they can read, write, hear, and speak basic sentences they will be on their way to connect with the rest of the world to learn from. Additionally, completion of the teaching content (videos, activities,..) for the entire curriculum is another one of our key goals. Each topic in every lesson, in every course, in every grade must have content to teach it, practice it, and test it. We hope that within 5 years, we will have a complete set of content for the entire curriculum.
If NARA Education Was Invited to the Rose Bowl Parade of Roses, How Would You Design Our Float?
An opportunity to participate in the Parade of Roses is an opportunity to showcase to the world the philosophy that drives NARA. Education is a cause that embodies the philosophy of enabling people to see how to prepare for a life that is well lived and acquire skills enabling a prosperous life. It is the light of education that dispels the darkness of ignorance and poverty. As a center piece to the float, I would place a child holding a candle in one hand and a book in the other to symbolize that knowledge obliterates darkness.
Anything Else You’d Like to Share?
Transforming the education system of a country where 22 million elementary-aged kids don’t go to school every day is like changing the mind of a nation. The desire to change must come from within the families of these children. The only way to accomplish that is if somehow that desire can be tied to and awakened using the symbols, mythologies, and traditions of the culture, history, and religion. So how do we do it? We must engage the cultural influencers like entertainers, poets, clergy, and business leaders. We will be approaching these influencers to carry this message of change.
We must simultaneously reach the children directly and deliver a positive motivational message. I want every child to understand that “if they think they can do it, they are right; if they think they can’t do it, they are right.” I want to provide children with an educational experience that they have the knowledge to believe that “they can.”
Thank You, Azhar!
The reason we are all here is Azhar. He is the backbone of the NARA Education board, and hopefully these answers and his story make his motivation shine through.
Follow his example to help our mission now! Donate to NARA Education and you can be a part of using education to end poverty.
Ilona Sindhu
Ilona is a writer focused on Old Norse mythology, drawing from her Hungarian, Pakistani, and American roots. She holds a BA in Dramaturgy and Theatre History from NYU and a Master’s in Religion and Literature from the University of Edinburgh. Her work blends myth, culture, and storytelling across borders.
