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Writer's pictureK12 News
May 26, 20216 min read

My K12 Story, Journey So Far : Mr. Siddharth P. Gundecha, Founder of Uprise Education, Pune

SHARING AN INSPIRING AND EVENTFUL JOURNEY OF MR. SIDDHARTH P. GUNDECHA - A PASSIONATE EDUCATIONIST, A YOUNG EDUPRENEUR, AN EDULEADER AND FOUNDER OF UPRISE EDUCATION, PUNE.




Mr. Siddharth P. Gundecha

Founder at Uprise Education

International Certified Career Counselor, Educator, Electrical Engineer, PG in import export management, Certified Automation Engineer.

On a mission to guide, counsel, and thus empower 25,000 students by 2025.

I help K-12 to graduation students, in choosing the right career by engaging and interacting with them.


My Adventurous Journey

Well, born in a Jain family I grew up in Pune in a joint family. I completed all my education, from schooling till graduation in Pune. After 10th I took science and post 12th I decided to pursue Electrical Engineering.

Until then no one from my family had pursued a career in Science, I was the first one to get into this field. My journey is no short of an adventure. I was a very happy kid, a very happy kid indeed, until 2009 when I encountered my first failure. And there after I have failed multiple times at different things. It took almost nine years for me to realize which career is right for me. You know, I have struggled for almost 9 years changing careers. I have hopped careers the way people change their social media profiles every day. After completing my engineering I took 4 chances on clearing the UPSC. There after I went for interviews for technical roles. I have failed at 4 attempts of UPSC and also been rejected by more than 10 companies. Then I completed certain certifications and short term courses on the recommendation of some people with the only hope that I get a job. But much to my disappointment it didn’t worked. From selling flooring products to selling diamonds, I have done all the odd jobs. One fine day, thinking about what to do next, I decided to get my personal analysis done, which helped me to know myself, my strengths, skills, abilities and my personality. This gave me an opportunity to work as an Assistant Training and Placement officer in one of the esteemed Engineering and Management College in Pune. My role was to help students with campus drives and trainings. During my stint, I noticed that it was not only me but around 75% of the students had no idea about their career and future. A few years ago after being confused with my career, I started obsessing about what actually makes people feel good in life. After almost 5 years of self-experience and thorough research, I realized Career accounts for 80% of our life. Starting with what is a career, I unfolded all the myths and facts related to a career. This led me to become a career counsellor who specializes in helping students choose the right career. I have found that nothing satisfies me more than meeting students, solving their career issues and contributing to the overall development of students. Many times my dreams were shattered and my efforts were baffled, but the spark inside me was alive and is still alive which has kept me going. Failures didn’t stop me (& will never stop) from experimenting and trying new things.


Currently, I run my own Career Counseling venture – UPRISE EDUCATION, in Pune. It was my own experience that inspired me to start this enterprise. I know the pain a student has to go through due to wrong career choices, because I have personally gone through that stage. And, so I don’t want the students to reinvent that wheel which I have already invented. I don’t want the students to face the same problems which I have faced in my career. This was the reason, cause or belief I decided to start my enterprise to help students.

Today I have delivered over 20 career counselling talks in schools and colleges as well as online events within a short span of 1 year. I know, if I had got the right guidance while starting my career, I would have been a career counsellor for more than 7 years now. But yes the experience has taught me more than a degree could have. Through speaking and career counselling, I have cultivated successful careers and build amazing characters. And this defines my happiness. My practice is informed by my work with over 1000+ students from varied background and 3 years of experience in the education industry. The quote I live by is, "Only a life lived for others is a life worthwhile."





My Entrepreneurial Journey

Being an entrepreneur I wear a lot of hats and hence perform multiple tasks including, but not limited to business development, marketing meetings, products development, client interaction, replying to emails and texts, counseling and research. Also I try to ensure that I learn something new every day and lookout for more opportunities to grow the business. This has been my rough schedule for the past year, although what I actually get to focus on day to day varies widely according to what’s served on the platter. During my entrepreneurial journey what I realized is that we can always have a plan to start the day but don’t know when it will end. Over the years I have made sure to give time for self development, which helps me to start my day with motivation and end with a sense of satisfaction.


Entrepreneurship is all about adventure. It will challenge you every day and if doesn’t then we need to rethink the idea. If it’s not challenging then we are not growing. Starting a company or any enterprise is very easy but surviving the initial days is tough. We need to have the courage to start a company and patience, resilience, perseverance to run it successfully. There will be days when everything will go against, no sales, no income, no one to support, at that time self-doubt creeps in, we feel de-motivated, but at that time we just need to remind ourselves why we started, the purpose of our venture and this will give hope.


My personal take on Education

Education shouldn’t be treated as the deciding factor of anyone’s capability. There are many examples of successful personalities who have no formal education but are doing way better than a person with a formal degree. But again we know, same size doesn’t fit’s all. This can be true for some people and can’t be generalized. I would like to mention Albert Einstein here; he said “Education is not the filling of a vessel but the igniting of a spark.” A degree helps students not only to understand facts and concepts but it is a foundation that teaches life skills, helps in holistic development and beyond that teaches them to live a life. With the changing scenarios, educational institutes in collaboration with businesses should come up with immersive, interactive and experiential programs which will make students employable. It’s a matter of fact that we need a blended or hybrid learning models throughout our education system, which will give students the freedom to learn and get the best out of them. And I hope this to happen with the implementation of NEP 2020. To be honest, what I believe is that Education or learning must have a purpose.



Message : We know things are pretty hard lately. Classes are now online; you can't go to school campus with your friends, meet up with colleagues for lunch or fun. We know you are feeling distressed sitting at home whole day. But remember; this is all temporary but necessary. And remember: this is temporary. We will soon see each other in class, as student and teacher, again. But for the time being get yourself engaged in different activities, have fun, talk with your parents, grandparents, other family members. Share stories with your friends over phone. Take care of all your near & dear ones and last but not the least Spread awareness and support those in need. This is the time to build your character.




Mr. Siddharth P. Gundecha

Founder

Uprise Education

A-2, Kalpkalyan Society, Bibvewadi, Pune-411037, Maharashtra


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