Aditya is founder and chairman of the Alexis group. He has completed his Master of Science in International Management with Merit from the Department of Strategy and Organisation, and Gold Level Certificate in Entrepreneurship from the Hunter Centre of Enterprise, Strathclyde Business School, University of Strathclyde, Glasgow. He also served as the President of Bharat Sansthan (India Society) at the university in the year 2014-15.
He is a Bachelor of Commerce (Honours) majoring in Finance and Marketing from the University of Delhi. He has also served as a Teach for India Fellow to eliminate education inequity in India.
Aditya has also been recognised as a Global Shaper by the World Economic Forum and as a Changemaker by the Global Action on Poverty. He was selected as a Hesselbein Fellow by the University of Pittsburgh, USA in recognition of his exemplary leadership and civic engagement skills and as a Prerna Fellow by the Indian Institute of Management Lucknow, one of India’s top b-school in recognition of his exemplary leadership and entrepreneurial skills. He was also conferred the Fellow of CMS Award in recognition of his outstanding leadership and community service.
He has represented India at various International events including prestigious International Youth Forum Seliger organised by Federal Agency on Youth Affairs, Russian Federation and International Youth Forum Mauritius by Konectenu.
In this interview we speak to him about:
- Success of Alexis Group
- His experience representing India at various International Forums
- His experience as a TEDx speaker
- Being a recipient of various Fellowships
HOW WOULD YOU LIKE TO INTRODUCE YOURSELF TO OUR READERS?
I am an intuitive and inquisitive person with a blend of entrepreneurial mindset. I love to interact with people, discuss ideas, build institutions, and get things done. On professional front, I am a qualified management consultant with specialisation in strategy, marketing, and policy.
Furthermore, I adore public speaking and speak on wide range of subjects such as Education, Leadership, Civic Engagement, Development, Entrepreneurship, Excellence, Ethics & Values, Right to Information, Research Methodology, Public Accountability, Cross Cultural Communication, Youth Empowerment, Public Policy, Law, and Politics.
PLEASE TELL US SOMETHING ABOUT YOUR CHILDHOOD AND COLLEGE LIFE?
I grew up in campuses of NDUAT Kumarganj, Faizabad and IIM Lucknow as my parents are Professors. I studied at DAV Public School in Faizabad and City Montessori School, Aliganj in Lucknow. Both the schools provided me a very strong foundation of ethics and values and emphasised on the importance of human and divine education along with material education. Overall, I had a very eventful childhood filled with wonderful peers and teachers. I participated in various games, sports, activities and events both in school and campus.
I pursued Bachelor of Commerce (Honours) from Ramanujan College, University of Delhi. My undergraduate academic experience was very enriching and I have enjoyed every part of it. It enabled me to become an independent person, interact with diverse set of people, understand multiple perspectives, think out of box and widen my horizon. Alongside with my studies, I was also involved with the National Service Scheme throughout the three years of college.
Later, I pursued MSc in International Management from University of Strathclyde, UK. My postgraduate learning experience was more about reflective learning, learning from peers and putting critical thinking into action in different projects taken by me. Studying with peers from 25 nationalities was indeed a great learning experience. International Management also taught me a lot about people, culture, leadership and diversity apart from different functional areas of management such as Finance, Marketing, Human Resource Management, Entrepreneurship, and Strategy with the International component in all of them.
WHAT MOTIVATED YOU TO START THE ALEXIS GROUP? WHAT WERE THE CHALLENGES YOU FACED AND WHAT IS YET TO BE ACHIEVED?
I wanted to create a global youth empowerment platform and develop a pool of young leaders who are passionate about inclusive development, sustainability, and giving back to the society by creating new opportunities and disrupting vicious cycle of poverty.
I believe envisioning and incorporating an organisation was an easy task (though it seemed very difficult at seventeen). However, aligning my personal and organisational goals, recruiting and managing people, sustaining the organisation, staying true to the vision and creating sustainable positive impact are some challenges faced by me in past and present times too.
Our motto is Passion for Excellence and remaining true to it, our nine year journey has been a roller-coaster ride. I feel that we have made significant progress in various work areas and empowered several young leaders. However, we still have a long way to go in fulfilling our vision. The journey has just started and I look forward to collaborate with young people from around the world to fulfil this shared vision.
WHAT ARE THE WORK AREAS THAT ALEXIS GROUP FOCUSED ON?
Broadly, our work can be divided into Advocacy, Awareness, Consultancy, Education, Events, and Research.
Our focus areas include Agriculture, Economics, Education, Governance, Healthcare, Human Rights, Technology, Law, Management, Public Policy, Rural Development, Strategy, Women and Youth Empowerment.
PLEASE SHARE YOUR EXPERIENCE REPRESENTING INDIA AT VARIOUS INTERNATIONAL FORUMS.
I have represented India at International Youth Forum Seliger Russia, International Youth Forum Mauritius, Global Business Studies Programme at School of Oriental and African Studies, University of London, Hesselbein Global Leadership Academy, University of Pittsburgh, USA and Shape South Asia Conference in Dhaka.
It has truly been an incredible experience. I have always tried to be an energetic ambassador of India by showcasing our rich Culture and Heritage around the world. Travel and experiencing diversity have really widened my thought process and horizon. This has also enabled me to become more conscious about my choices and decisions.
WHAT IS THE SCOPE OF WORK FOR A LAW STUDENT AT ALEXIS GROUP?
Historically, our leadership team has had 80% people from law background. However, now we have a diverse mix of people from management, technology and law in our leadership team.
Throughout the year, we advertise various leadership and internship opportunities in the following work areas: awareness, research, education, and events. Furthermore, around 60% of our interns come from Law schools. Over 1000+ law students have interned with us in past nine years.
HOW CAN A LAW STUDENT APPLY FOR INTERNSHIP AT ALEXIS GROUP?
A law student can fill our Common Application Form available on the Careers page of Alexis Group website: www.alexis.in
Additionally, they can send their CV to [email protected]
If they have already done some preliminary research and wish to work with a particular member organisation, they can mail their CV directly to the respective member organisation on its official email ID.
PLEASE TELL US ABOUT THE INDIAN LAW CONCLAVE. HOW CAN LAW STUDENTS PARTICIPATE IN THIS?
Indian Law Conclave is a three day National Conference organised by Adhrit Foundation, INY Foundation and Model Governance Foundation at International Youth Hostel, New Delhi from 29th June – 1st July 2018.
The Conclave will have delegates from all over India who will engage in three days of rigorous learning, reflection and sharing of knowledge, skills, experiences, and perspectives. Focus areas of the Conclave would be Alternative Dispute Resolution Mechanism, Constitutional Law, Corporate Law, Cyber Law, Intellectual Property Law, International Law, and Maritime Law.
The Conclave will have both Formal and Informal events. Formal events include Keynote Presentations, Paper Presentation Competition, and Group Discussions. Informal events include Open Forum, Cultural Night and Ethnic Fashion Show, Life Mapping Exercise, Dance and Music performances. Workshops and Mini Bootcamps on Entrepreneurship, Governance, Leadership, Public Policy, Research Methodology, Self-Management, and Social Media will be also conducted during the Conclave.
Students can participate by applying on the following website: www.indianlawconclave.com/registration.html
YOU HAVE ALSO FOUNDED INDIA LAW FORUM. PLEASE SHARE YOUR VISION FOR THIS FORUM.
India Law Forum is a community for lawyers and law students committed to empower people through legal aid, legal awareness, and legal education. A concept mind map is available on www.indialawforum.com
The forum will be formally launched on 29th June, 2018 at Indian Law Conclave in New Delhi. As of now, I am interviewing the potential candidates for leadership positions at the Forum.
YOU ARE THE RECIPIENT OF VARIOUS FELLOWSHIPS. COULD YOU SHARE SOME DETAILS FOR OUR READERS?
I have received four fellowships:
Hesselbein Fellowship (2013) – This fellowship is awarded by Hesselbein Global Academy for Student Leadership and Civic Engagement at University of Pittsburgh, USA. Every year, it selects 50 top student leaders from across the world and mentors them to be effective, ethical, and innovative leaders at its Annual Summit.
Prerna Fellowship (2013) – This fellowship is offered by IIM Lucknow to Top 20 Entrepreneurs every year. It includes an award and 3 day mentorship programme by IIML Faculty and Industry experts.
Fellow of CMS (2013) – This fellowship is awarded to distinguished alumni of City Montessori School Lucknow who have excelled in their respective fields.
GAP Changemaker (2017) – This fellowship is awarded by Global Action on Poverty to Changemakers for their ideas and initiatives to eradicate poverty.
RECENTLY YOU SPOKE AT A TEDX EVENT. WHAT WAS YOUR TALK ABOUT?
My talk was about Demystifying Collaboration. I shared my learning and experiences of working in the development sector for last ten years. Furthermore, I suggested tools and approaches for making the process of collaboration easy and impactful.
WHAT WOULD BE YOUR MESSAGE TO OUR READERS INTERESTED IN PURSUING A CAREER IN DEVELOPMENT SECTOR?
A career in the development sector is both challenging and fulfilling. It provides you an opportunity to bring social and cultural shifts, create positive impact in lives of large number of people and work for sustainable and inclusive development.
You must be both mentally and physically prepared before you take the plunge, but once you start your journey, there should be no looking back. On the journey, be comfortable with uncertainties because you will have to improvise and reinvent yourself again and again.
