Gunjan Tripathi

Care taker, Concerned citizen, Connector, Educator/Teacher, Event planner, Global soul, Idea generator, Life mentor, Marketer, Parent, Writer/Editor

With nearly two decades spent in classrooms and corridors across Delhi and the NCR, I have never stopped asking what school could look like if it truly prepared young people for the world ahead. As Head of the English Department at Shiv Nadar School, Noida, I build language learning journeys that stretch from a child's earliest years all the way through to graduation — weaving together interdisciplinary thinking, immersive practice, and a deep belief that literacy is the foundation of everything. One of my greatest passions has been putting young voices on big stages. I have organized three TEDx events, serving as a speaker curator each time — an experience that sharpened my conviction that students and teachers alike have ideas worth spreading. This spirit of intellectual curiosity also drove a decade of building vibrant Model UN societies at two of the NCR's distinguished institutions: Ahlcon International School, Delhi, and Khaitan Public School, Sahibabad, where I conducted specialized workshops that helped both students and teachers find their voice in debate and diplomacy. I see education not as an industry, but as a calling. My central conviction is simple: schools exist to build the skills, the courage, and the imagination students will need long after the last exam is over.

I'm passionate about the magic that happens when the right idea meets the right person at the right moment — which is probably why TEDx feels like home to me. After two decades in education, what still gets me out of bed every morning is watching a student find their voice, a teacher rediscover their purpose, or an idea spark a conversation that refuses to end. I care deeply about language, leadership, and the kind of learning that doesn't stop when the bell rings. If I'm not in a classroom or curating a stage, I'm probably debating big ideas, building something new, or convincing someone that education — done right — can genuinely change the world.

Growing up, I took pride in having near-flawless English grammar and pronunciation. I later realised that this pride possibly bordered on arrogance. Over the years, my relationship with the language has matured. I still love it deeply — its literature, its nuance, its delightful eccentricities. But I’ve also come to understand that English, like any language, is fundamentally a tool for communication. Language lives at the heart of culture. It's how knowledge, stories, and values travel from one generation to the next. As Indians, we celebrate the fact that our dialects shift every few kilometres. That linguistic diversity is something we wear as a badge of cultural richness. Why, then, do we turn around and police one another's English accents and pronunciation? We've long taken pride in preserving the Queen's English - arguably better than England itself. Perhaps it's time now to move beyond that colonial benchmark. English belongs to us just as much as it belongs to anyone else in the world. We've earned that ownership. Let’s not turn it into a status symbol. Let it do its real job of connecting people, not creating chauvinistic rifts. Bring on the accents. Bring on the dialects. Let's stop making this beautiful rich and ever-evolving language a gatekeeper.

Education, English Literature and lanugage, Leadership, Student Agency

Between 2018 and 2021, I had the privilege of organising three TEDx events that became some of the most defining experiences of my career. As both organiser and speaker curator, I was driven by one conviction — that the most powerful ideas come from the most unexpected places. Across three stages, I brought together robotic surgeons and ten-year-olds, economists and classical dancers, veterans and environmental activists, architects and grassroots changemakers. I curated voices that spanned generations, disciplines, and lived experiences, because I believe a truly meaningful stage reflects the full spectrum of human potential. With each event, I pushed myself to be more intentional — to look beyond the obvious, to find the story that needed to be told, and to create a space where every idea could land with impact. Organising these events didn't just sharpen my eye for compelling narratives; it deepened my belief that when you put the right idea in front of the right audience, something shifts — in the room and beyond it.

Digital design