Many young and talented women are vying to make successful careers to stay at the top, but most of them don’t succeed. The Vedica Scholars programme is designed in such a manner that it builds a cadre of women professionals who set an example in society. Till now, about 350 women have graduated from the Vedica programme and have carved out a successful career for themselves. Anuradha Das Mathur, founder and Dean, of the Vedica Scholars programme for women talks about the vision and mission behind the women-centric career initiative with Rahul Mehra.
How is the Vedica Scholars Programme Preparing Young Women to Build Successful Careers?
Many young and talented women are vying to make successful careers to stay at the top, but most of them don’t succeed. The Vedica Scholars programme is designed in such a manner that it builds a cader of women professionals who set an example in society. Till now, about 350 women have graduated from the Vedica programme and have carved out a successful career for themselves. Anuradha Das Mathur, founder and Dean, of the Vedica Scholars programme for women talks about the vision and mission behind the women-centric career initiative with the HE reporter. We now have more than 350 women who have graduated from the programme and are carving out a successful career for themselves. Bit by bit, we are building a cadre of women professionals who set an example At Vedica, our promise to the world is to bring more women into the workforce and equip them to pursue successful, break-free careers. At the very start, we encourage more women to pursue our programme in management and leadership through our highly inclusive admissions process. We don’t eliminate based on past performance – quite to the contrary, we admit based on potential and aspiration. In addition to strong management competencies, we prioritise personal growth and ensure that women are taught how to stay in the workforce instead of dropping out. We prompt our women to think of work as a ‘must have’ as opposed to a ‘nice to have. They emerge confident, committed, and determined to succeed.
We develop their communication and critical thinking skills so that they stand tall when employers look for these much-needed 21st-century workplace attributes.
We give them an early solid footing into the world of work through our assured placements policy, i.e. a fitting role for every graduating Scholar – as we all know, well begun is half-done!
And finally, we offer life-long career support to our Scholars as they navigate challenging decision points in their journeys. To bring alive our commitment to break-free careers, we hand-hold our Scholars whenever they are tempted to quit.
We now have more than 350 women who have graduated from the programme and are carving out a successful career for themselves. Bit by bit, we are building a cadre of women professionals who set an example. Everywhere. Everyday.
How did you first raise your funding?
Since year one, we have had a revenue stream and didn’t actively seek funding. Friends helped with the loss-funding in the early years since we subsidised our Scholars. We started generating a surplus after the initial 3-4 years.
What is the one thing that has always kept you going?
We are witnessing the transformation in our Scholars’ lives – and how it affects their futures. Every year, at least a handful of Scholars have such compelling stories of change that they refer to a ‘before and after Vedica’ life.
Every such story gives us renewed energy and commitment to continue to do what we do.
Knowing what and where you are at this point, is there anything you would have done differently when you first started?
I have always believed that one’s work speaks for itself. And so, we never did much marketing and profile-raising activities in our early years. But as we have grown – I realise that visibility is essential – students want to study in an institution whose name is known, recruiters come when they hear good things about a programme, and funders want to support well-known institutions and causes. If I had to start over, I would put tremendous effort into making our good work visible sooner.
How do you manage your professional career, and what would be your advice to the new-age generations?
What has helped my career the most is seizing every opportunity that came my way to learn and do new things – especially in the early days. Youngsters today say no to opportunities too often! So I would tell them to grab every chance they get – especially in the early years. Secondly, I would ask them to compete against their previous self instead of competing against someone else. I would also tell them to lead an integrated life – don’t differentiate between personal and professional – you’re one person that goes to work and comes back home. Try and live that way – it is a recipe for less conflict and stress in your life. And finally, I would tell them always to have fun – humour and lightheartedness are highly underrated – making everything more bearable.
