upGrad Foundation is a social initiative arm of the upGrad, an Education Technology start-up. The Vidya Shakti Initiative for Women is a programme of the upGrad Foundation was launched on March 8th, 2022. It aims to offer courses for the first-generation female university students, women with Disability, women serving in armed/police forces, women journalists in small towns and cities, and women working with NGOs under the aegis of the Vidya Shakti Scholarship. This initiative shall allow the awardees to avail of one-on-one mentorship to get career-related guidance and interaction with industry experts and women role models. The upGrad foundation will also assist these learners in placements and preparing for jobs.
As there are very few skilling opportunities available for women. With them being hit the hardest by the pandemic, the upGrad Foundation would like to extend its support to them. The two ways by which upGrad Foundation can mainstream women in the workforce are digitisation and upskilling.
Moreover, we at upGrad also want to support the government in the attainment of the Target 4.3 of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDG), 2030 by substantially increasing the number of youth and adults who have relevant skills, including technical and vocational skills, for employment, decent jobs and entrepreneurship through this initiative.
Vidya Shakti Initiative for Women is a part of upGrad’s broader social commitment to support a diverse set of learners across the country that require special attention and empathy. Focusing especially on women learners, Vidya Shakti is first among the series of scholarships that upGrad is going to launch under the banner of India First Scholarships. Currently, we have presence in 16 States &UTs and 70 districts of India.
We work with various governments, specialised agencies and grassroot NGOs who help us scout the deserving candidates.