Bihar teen who faced financial hurdles on IIT-JEE dream wins international Diana Award for helping 25,000 students

Adarsh Kumar, from Bihar, has won the Diana Award for advancing education and career opportunities for students across India. The award, presented to people in the 9-25 age group, was among the honours received by 49 Indians on this year’s Roll of Honour.

Established in memory of Diana, Princess of Wales, the award is considered the “highest accolade” a young person can achieve for social action or humanitarian efforts.

Kumar, who faced financial hardships from a very young age, always wanted to help students access better career and learning opportunities. Financial difficulties did not even allow him to take coaching for the IIT entrance examination.

It was then that he realised that students like him lacked proper guidance and mentoring. He wanted to make a positive impact on society by helping those in need.

Kumar was only 16 when he started Skillzo, an educational platform aimed at providing mentorship, entrepreneurship training and career guidance to students across India.

According to a November 9 announcement by Georgetown University in Qatar, where Kumar is currently pursuing his studies, Skillzo has helped more than 25,000 students access educational resources, mentorship and career opportunities. He has been honoured for his efforts to make mentorship, entrepreneurship training and career guidance accessible to students across India.

A difficult journey from Champaran to Kota

At the age of 14, Kumar left Champaran for ₹1,000″>Kota with just ₹1,000 and dreams of pursuing engineering. However, financial constraints became a hurdle, preventing him from enrolling at a coaching institute.

Kumar turned to public libraries, Wi-Fi facilities and the internet to continue learning.

At the age of 13, Kumar also co-founded Mission Badlao, a community initiative focused on addressing issues related to education, healthcare and the environment.

He went on to launch Skillzo in 2023, with the aim of making mentorship and career opportunities more accessible to students from underserved communities.

However, building an organisation at such a young age was not without challenges. One of his biggest hurdles was convincing people to trust his abilities and take his ideas seriously.

“How can I convince, being 16 years old or 17 years old, someone to believe in me?” Kumar told Georgetown University.

Reflecting on how he dealt with setbacks, he said, “Those are the challenges. But you do work, you keep failing, you fail fast.”

What is Skillzo?

Founded by Kumar at the age of 16, Skillzo is an education and mentorship platform designed to help high-school students access learning and career opportunities.

It offers students various programmes, workshops, mentorship sessions and a community where they can interact with and learn from their peers. The platform particularly aims to reach students who live outside major educational centres.