Dr Sridhar G is the managing director of Bangalore-based Ace Creative Learning Pvt. Ltd. (ACL, estb. 2008), a company offering test preparatory — including online and pre-university — services to 7,500 class VII-XII students across the city. During the past four years, ACL has established learning centres in Mumbai, Pune, and Nagpur, apart from Mysore, Tumkur, Hubli and Dharwad in Karnataka.

Within the short period since ACL began test prep operations, it has built itself a formidable reputation with 62 of its mentored students clearing the IIT-JEE and over 80 students ranked among the top 500 in the AIEEE 2012-13. On average, 25-30 Ace students are admitted into the IITs every year.

Newspeg. Ace Creative recently celebrated the second anniversary of Teachers’ Quest, an initiative to encourage youth to take to teaching as a career. Currently, 35 science postgraduates with outstanding academic records are undergoing a 180-day training programme as a prelude to placements in the company’s coaching centres. Next month, a team from the US-based Flippen Group will conduct the Capture Kids’ Hearts programme to help the Super 35 develop teacher-student bonding skills.

History. Fourteen years ago, Sridhar began conducting evening classes on premises of partner schools to prepare students to write competitive examinations such as the IIT-JEE, AIEEE, AIPMT etc. “Since then ACL has grown into one of Bangalore’s leading test prep institutes running 17 centres offering tutorials for a wide range of entrance exams,” says Sridhar, an alumnus of IIT-Kharagpur, and Johns Hopkins University, USA. After working as a research engineer at Sieena Biotech, USA for three years, he switched tracks to become a social entrepreneur and returned to India in 1998.

In 2004, Sridhar together with his wife Lalit, a qualified chartered accountant, and family friend Dr. B.S. Jaiprakash, former professor at the Bangalore Institute of Technology, joined up to promote the Deeksha Centre of Learning PU College in suburban Bangalore. The college follows an integrated curriculum which eliminates the need for supplementary tuition, leaving ample time to pursue extra-curricular activities.

Direct talk. “We started the Teachers Quest initiative in 2010, and over the years developed the Deeksha Integrated programme which integrates academics, technology and life skills education, exposing students to science fairs, adventure sports, literary fests, inter-college sports and public speaking,” says Sridhar.

Future plans. To roll out ACL’s Deeksha  programme countrywide, ensure academic and corporate connectivity to all ACL centres, and provide quality teaching environments to students, Sridhar has charted ambitious plans. “My objective is to reach out to 50,000 students over the next few years with the intent to transform them into confident, articulate and responsible workers,” he enthuses.

Way to go bro!

Paromita Sengupta (Bangalore)