Ms. Priyanka Bakshi
Vice Principal
Ms. Priyanka Bakshi is a believer in education that develops international mindedness; education that inculcates values, skills and personal qualities to thrive in a world of relentless change; and education that prepares us all for an era of greater need and urgency.
She has a Bachelor’s degree in History and a Masters in Economics. She has taught various curriculums in different countries for the past 22 years around the world. She believes that teachers’ focus should be to develop the core competencies and specific skills of the learners alongside content and conceptual understanding. Teachers also grow along with the students.
A life-long learner herself, she continued to upgrade her skills and knowledge even during the pandemic lockdown by completing courses of studies online on Data wise – Collaborative Process of Improving Learning and Teaching offered by Harvard University, 21st Century Teaching and Learning from Stanford Graduate School of Education and Child Protection for Teachers from the Queensland University of Technology.
Recently she accomplished Executive Management Programme in Education Leadership from Indian Institute of Management, Calcutta.
In these changing times, the teaching and learning process should be continuous and well accelerated. Her focus has always been to improve, not prove, to develop the student’s overall abilities (holistic) and not just any single ability. Challenging assessments and constant feedback is pertinent. Collaborative learning enables engagement of the whole student.
Ms. Priyanka Bakshi strongly holds the view that every child is special regardless of their background, abilities, and needs. They must be appreciated for who they are and the potential they possess. As teachers, maximising the available resources, it is our responsibility to provide them with a wide range of opportunities to learn, exercise leadership, innovate, be creative and encourage them to take on new challenges. We must be able to hone their confidence and maximise their potential. She believes that it is the responsibility of all the stakeholders to instil in them a sense of possibilities when faced with uncertainties as we prepare them to be socially responsible and global minded.
With the right intention, a clear heart and compassion for life around goals can be achieved.
Major Shuklambar
Director of Administration
Mr. Vivek Mandal
Head of Senior School
Mr Vivek comes with a combined experience of over 12 years in Education, Business Planning and Strategy, he concludes that there are multifaceted factors governing the dynamics of the global economy and therefore no professional responsibility should be considered in seclusion. He is a thinker and philosopher at heart and an educator & solution provider by profession.
A graduate in Physics and Master in Business Administration (PGDM), he has taught multiple subjects under DP like, Physics, Economics, Business Management and Theory of Knowledge (TOK) over the years after receiving formal IB training for the same.
He is experienced in setting up organizational systems and processes and was an Internal auditor of ISO 9001:2008 & ISO 27001:2005 during his corporate tenure. He has also been a member of the curriculum development team of CBSE for ‘Design Thinking’ and has worked towards developing the assessment model for the senior secondary level. He is fond of writing research papers focusing on social innovation and change and has participated in various seminars and conferences in India and abroad pertaining to the field of education.
Mr Vivek’s vision and mission align with that of Indus School. He advocates the philosophy of ‘life entrepreneur’ and intends to achieve the same for students through a balance of academic rigour and personal growth. His experience with the programme and in creating a positive and supportive environment with all members of the school community makes him eminently suitable to Head the Programme at Indus.
Mr Vivek firmly believes that the overall development of the students must be routed through developing their Meta-cognitive skills which would further enable them to become life-long learners.
Ms. Archana Singh
Head of School - Gr 6 to 8
Ms. Archana Singh brings over two decades of experience in education, with a remarkable track record of fostering critical thinking skills in students. Throughout her career across diverse curricula in the Middle East, she has championed creating a learning environment that empowers students to excel in real-world situations.
At Indus International School, Hyderabad, during 2017-2020, she spearheaded the launch of the MYP program and achieved impressive results as the Personal Projects coordinator. Her success continued in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam (2020-2024), where she led a new IB school to achieve outstanding outcomes as the Middle Years Programme Coordinator.
Ms. Singh holds a postgraduate degree in History from the prestigious University of Delhi along with a degree in education. She has also served as adjunct faculty in education departments at Liverpool John Moores University and City University, Malaysia. Her participation in International Baccalaureate workshops and her experience as an instructor with the Scottish Credit and Qualifications Framework further demonstrate her commitment to providing well-rounded educational experiences for students.
Her extensive experience, both within Indus and internationally, positions her perfectly to cultivate a vibrant and thriving learning environment where our students can flourish.
Ms. Surbhi Yadav
Head of School, PYP
Ms. Surbhi has worked in education for twenty years, sixteen of which were spent in the International Baccalaureate's Primary Years Programme. Her primary expertise lies in fostering student development, curriculum planning and implementation along with teacher training.
Her expertise is in global collaboration to enhance student learning experiences was recognized by the British Council. She is voracious reader and an active member in the Mindvalley association, which is one of the biggest platforms for personal development worldwide.
She envisions, IISH as a center of excellence with a primary focus on academic excellence and educational innovation. Through a strong emphasis on the development of values, skills, and learning opportunities that are engaging, significant, challenging, and pertinent, the goal is to cultivate global citizens.
Mr. Achal Kumar
Head of College Placements
Mr. Achal has 11 years of experience counseling students for their college applications. He worked at Indus from 2018 to 2022 and has helped many students secure admissions to their desired colleges. Mr. Achal is a highly skilled counselor with exceptional management, communication, and leadership skills. He believes in providing personalized guidance to each student and working closely with them to understand their aspirations, interests, and strengths.
With a Master's degree in English Literature and a Bachelor's in education, Mr. Achal is well-suited for the education industry. Additionally, his diverse professional experience in banking, corporate training in the hotel industry, administration at an educational institute, and as an IB facilitator for the English Language has given him a range of skills that he will use to guide our students through the college application process.
Mr. Achal also understands the importance of developing critical life skills in students, such as time management, leadership, and effective communication, which are essential for success in college and beyond.
Dr. Pooja Lather
Head of Boarding
Dr. Pooja Lather is an enterprising leader, a human resource professional & a school administrator with exceptional communication skills and organizational capabilities. She brings with her more than fifteen years of rich experience in administration & management and this includes more than seven years of fruitful and enriching experience in school administration and management. She has done this in the capacity of International Director & Administrator at GD Goenka Group of Schools and Pastoral Care Head at Ecole Globale International Girls School, Dehradun. These positions involved her conducting and organising international educational exchange programs/ collaborations & recreational trips for students to the USA, UK (Cambridge) and Europe.
She holds the unique credit of two professional bachelor's degrees viz., Bachelor of Ayurvedic Medicine & Surgery and Bachelor of Law (Legum Baccalaureus). She has also done her PG Dip in Human Resource Development from LBSIMT and Master of Laws (LLM (Corporate & Commercial Law)) attaining a Silver Medal from ICFAI University. She is a qualified Independent Director (IICA, Min of Corporate Affairs) and also possesses an astronaut training experience at Kennedy Space Centre (NASA), USA.
Hailing from an army background, she brings with her the ethics and enriching moral values of the 'olive green'. Her motivational talks with empathy, pleasing personality, healing smile and loving passion for children imbibe self-discipline amongst the boarders. She believes in freedom earned through self-discipline vis a vis imposed discipline.
Ms. Swetha Kothapalli
Vice Principal
With a Computer Science engineering background, she chose to go into teaching from the inception of her career. She has been in this profession now for over fifteen years. Her journey started with teaching the ‘early years’ and then on to PYP and MYP. Having successfully started the STEAM department here at Indus, she then moved on to become the MYP Coordinator.
She is excited about her new role here as the Vice Principal and will be looking at her strong interpersonal connect with all stakeholders, organisational abilities and resilience to achieve all that she aspires for the school. She firmly believes that each child is unique and with the right guidance by the teacher brings out with the best in him or her.
By mentoring the students she would like to achieve the purpose of education which is to make them responsible members of their community.