Halcyon Pittsburgh Sharpens Our Founder's Edge

Next Skills 360 founder Suraj Meiyur completed the Pittsburgh leg of the Halcyon accelerator program, joining fellow entrepreneurs from around the world for hands-on sessions covering pitching, AI, storytelling, and company culture — visible in the photo as a focused cohort gathered around a long workshop table, laptops and handwritten notes open side by side. A tour of a historic steel factory offered an unexpected masterclass in resilience, putting the challenges of social entrepreneurship in sharp perspective. Suraj returns with fresh frameworks and a stronger global founder network to keep building meaningful education impact.

Unplugged Coding Program Wins Global Social Impact Award

Cognizant's volunteer-led 'Code Without Computers & AI' initiative has won the Global Social Impact Award 2026, bringing screen-free, hands-on STEM learning to students across 20+ urban and rural schools — proof that tech literacy is about building logic and problem-solving mindsets, not expensive hardware. The winning team, many wearing Cognizant lanyards, gathered in front of a presentation screen reading 'Thank you to the Global Selection Committee' to mark the milestone. For every school that lacks a computer lab, this recognition affirms that physical, tangible teaching methods can still deliver high-quality, 21st-century skills to the 500+ young learners the program has reached so far.

Chitram Helps Students Learn Words Through Drawing

Chitram is an AI-powered platform that lets children build vocabulary by sketching doodles, replacing rote memorisation with hands-on, creative expression. The multilingual tool uses large language model technology to deliver personalised feedback to each student. By connecting words to drawings rather than drills, Chitram opens up more engaging and interactive pathways to language learning.