The Story

Hi. I'm Abhishek. I love learning.

What is learning? Why do we learn? How do we learn?  These questions fascinate me.

I am passionately curious about Education and Learning. I am fortunate to pursue these interests through my position as a Research Associate at Consilience.

In 2013, I took a year off from my university education to undertake a research project titled, ‘Education from a Student Perspective in India’. The objective was to visit and study innovative learning spaces and educational institutions across the country and to collect answers from students and teachers, to this question, ‘How do you make Learning Beautiful?’ I was fortunate to interact with over 20,000 students in 120 schools in 15 cities during the year. I decided to document my observations on a blog titled, ‘Learning is Beautiful’ @www.abhishekshetty.me. 

In 2014, I shared these findings with 800 teachers at the National Teachers Parliament in Nagpur. In the past few years, I was fortunate to work with inspiring educators like Dr. Shabbi Luthra, Scot Hoffman, Kamlesh Chandra, Pushpalatha Jha, Vikramjeet Sinha, Farooq Fazli who have deeply influenced and transformed my thinking about learning and teaching. 

Let us get to know each other. I would love to hear your story. What is learning for you? How do you make learning beautiful? We can connect via Twitter @AbhishekShetty_  or Email at abhishekshetty26993@gmail.com

What is this blog about? 

The posts on this blog are based on the idea of a 'Lifeschool', where every individual you meet can be a teacher, every experience can have a lesson, and everything around you can become a learning tool.

Abhishek Shetty?

I am trying my best to add value as a learning researcher. I am passionate about creating learning environments and spaces where individuals can explore the things they are truly passionate about and understand why Learning truly is beautiful. I study Developmental Psychology and English Literature at an unknown college in the suburbs of Mumbai.

Inspired by?

After 16 years in the Traditional Education System, I realized I had never thought about what I really loved doing. I never thought about how I could add value to the world.

I was lost. I did not know what I was doing with my life. So....

In 2013, I decided to do something about this. I took a gap year from college. I spent six months doing a full India tour (Mumbai- Kanyakumari- Guwahati -Chandigarh) and the remaining six months learning how to learn at home through a series of learning experiments. I also wanted to explore other interests during the year with a special focus on studying the The History and Evolution of the idea of Learning all around the world.

I wanted to fall in love with learning again and decided to attend every conference I could, meet as many new interesting people as possible and read everything I could. 

I visited 120 schools in 20 cities across India during the year. I was really fortunate to interact with over 20,000 students and teachers from public and private school across the country. I was curious, I asked them this question, 'How do you make Learning Beautiful for yourself/at your school?' This blog documents some of the answers and ideas I noted down, during those conversations. These interactions were easily the highlight of the year. Beyond that, I was mostly wandering around, curious about learning in all its different forms. It was a learning adventure like no other and these were some of the other highlights of the year:-

1) During this year I would wake up in the morning and read books, watch films, listen to music and make art. Then I went to sleep at night to get up the next day to repeat the same process again. I just wanted to give myself the space to explore everything I always wanted to explore. I learned more in this one year than all of my life combined before this. I amassed a collection of 500 books (fiction + nonfiction) and 500 films that I would love to share and discuss with you when we meet.
2) Spent one week working with the educators at an innovative alternative school in Bikaner, Rajasthan. Pictures
3) Took train and bus rides to 20 different Indian Cities. Spend 150 hours on train rides across the country.
4) Attended over 80 conferences, talks, meet-ups on diverse fields like education, science, finance, cooking
5) Formed a weekly learning group of passionate young people in Mumbai. Pictures
6) Read 500 books and consumed 1000+ hours of video content online
7) Was caught in an angry mob in Rajasthan and was almost robbed in Chandigarh
8) Got lost in a hike around Chail, Himachal Pradesh
9) Walked the 6 kilometer stretch of ghats in Varanasi. Pictures
10) Spent one week at a reforestation and volunteer community in Auroville called Sadhana Forest. Pictures
11) Hitch hiked 100 kilometers from Karmali to Palolem in Goa
12) Explored two big Indian rivers - Brahmaputra and Ganga
13) Ate local food in 12 different Indian States
14) Stayed for a week each, with two families in villages in Karnataka and Kerala. Pictures
15) Designed a learning program with a government training organization in Bahrain
16) Made a list of 100 Oscar and Cannes winning documentaries and feature films and saw them through the year.
17) Explored the Kerala Backwaters through the eight hour boat ride from Kollam to Alapuzha
18) Was part of the Mumbai International Films Festival, India Non Fiction Festival, Kala Ghoda Arts Festival, Asian Summit on Education and Skills, TEDXGateway and IIT Entrepreneurship Festival and the Jaipur International Literature Festival in the year 2013. Pictures
19) Road Trip around North East India - Guwahati, Shillong, Cherranpunjee. Pictures
20)Welcomed the New Year at the Golden Temple in Amritsar. Pictures
21) Explored Cultural Kolkata, Nawabi Lucknow, Old Delhi, Musical Chennai, Religious Madurai, End of India Kanyakumari, French Pondicherry on foot and got lost in each city. Pictures Delhi and Kolkata
22) I was fortunate to meet students who took up similar paths. Madhur on a Gap Year at  Swaraj University (Udaipur), Aditi who studied at the Rishi Valley School (Chitoor, Andhra Pradesh) and the renowned social entrepreneur and educator, Sanjit Bunker Roy who started the Barefoot College. (Tilonia, Rajasthan)
23) Got an invitation to the Writer's Ball at the Jaipur Literature Festival. Pictures

Most importantly, I finally got a chance to spend some time with myself. I got a chance to look within and reflect on some of the deeper questions of life. This blog is largely inspired by that one year on the road and research on how learning is made beautiful around the world.

I really would love to go on a new learning and life adventure with you. Look forward to getting in touch and sharing experiences.

Links to Publications and Talks

- The Gap Year (2016)
- Talk on Gap Year
- Competence (2015)
- Curiosity (2015)
- Innovation Profiles (2015)
- Academic Excellence (2013)

What am I trying to do?

I want to share with the world why there can be something magical about Learning at schools and colleges and why every student is special. There is no good or bad student, there are only students passionate about different things...

Do Say Hello. It will make my day.

Email @abhishekshetty26993@gmail.com
Twitter @AbhishekShetty_