Mitra Som Saha

About Mitra Som Saha

I am fuelled by passion - passion for education, passion for values and ethics, passion for whatever I do professionally. I am an educator by choice who believes in optimizing every chance that the Alchemist of my life throws up at me. My interests are varied, which range from reading, travelling, trekking, listening to music to watching a movie of my choice – the list is an exhaustive one, but as far as my work is concerned, in sharp contrast, there is just a singular entry in that list and that is Education. It\'s my core belief that if we wish to bring about a change in the current education scenario of our country, we need our educators and leaders to be ignited with passion for the work they do. It is this intrinsic commitment that can work wonders, can be more effective than any educational policy. I have taught Physics for 16 long years in St. Anne\'s College, Mumbai and this subject remains close to my heart although I later shifted gears and took up the current position as Principal of St. Vivekananda English Academy, a 27-year-old school of considerable repute in Guwahati. From 2017, I have the added responsibility of nurturing a new school Swami Vivekananda International School, Kolhapur, Maharashtra, as its Founding Trustee and Academic Director. Curriculum designing, reimagining assessments, reinventing the pedagogies in the classroom, teachers training, motivational sessions are my core areas of work. Whether it was being a lecturer of Physics, or it is heading a school, all of my work is perfectly in sync with the purpose of my life and that is creating a difference in the work one does. Opting for the road less travelled is perhaps hardwired in me and it is this element that always drives me to try different things or maybe the same thing in a different way. I strongly believe that Excellence stems from a passion for the work you do and passion is all about \'heart work\' instead of hard work. So for me, It’s all about being in love, deeply loving what I do. A daughter, a wife, and mother to two lovely ladies aged 19 and 17, in awe with nature, strongly drawn toward spirituality and our Vedic teachings and a Learner for Life - that pretty much summarizes the person that I am.

Experience

1. Member, Program Team, Education Program

   Kolkata Foundation

   Jun 2022 — Present

   Kolkata Foundation is a global non-profit working to improve the lives of the neediest through high-impact social interventions in education, women’s empowerment, and healthcare. It is a call to action: to unite, give, change lives, and kindle hope. As a Member of the Program Team (Education), I am entrusted with the responsibility to work with my fellow team members and help identify beneficiaries, ideate, co-create and operationalise a scalable high-impact model with a robust feedback mechanism involving independent and authentic data capture and analysis.

Education

• Indian Institute of Management Ahmedabad

  Short Duration Executive Education , Education

• Gauhati University

  M.Sc Physics (Specialisation in Theoritical Physics), Physics

  1993 — 1995

• Indian Institute of Management, Calcutta

  Short duration Executive Education, Education

• Cotton College

  B.Sc, Physics

  1989 — 1992

• Indian Institute of Management, Calcutta

  Education Leaders Programme (EdLEAP), Leadership in Education

• Academy of HRD, Ahmedabad

  Fellow and Doctoral Degree, Educational Leadership and Administration, General

• Indian Institute of Management Ahmedabad

  Short Duration Executive Education, Education

• Indian Institute of Management Ahmedabad

  Education Leadership

• St. Mary's High School & Cotton College

  HSLC, HS, General

  1977 — 1989

• Gauhati University

  B.Ed

  1995 — 1996

• Centre for Civil Society & Friedrich Numann Foundation for Freedom, South Asia

  Fellowship, Education