 My name is Kevisitunana Kroh from BCF for Semester Innovation for the Leading Together Project being helped in collaboration with the University of Melbourne. So, before we move on, I would like to give you an introduction. So, your name is Shirei Nini Shaiza. You are the co-founder of Nagaland and Digital Education Company, a democracy education for students in rural and remote areas. Nagaland is developing quality blended education solutions to drive improved education outcomes across Nagaland and the Northeast region and ER of Nagaland. She is passionate about creating meaningful impact and has helped develop social ventures for grassroots entrepreneurship in Nagaland. She began her career as a project associated with IL and FS in New Delhi to roll out the Global Fund PPTCT program in 26 days of India. Her desire to contribute to her community led her back to Nagaland to work with the Entrepreneurs Associates and Leading Social Impact Organization. Promoting an inclusive entrepreneurial ecosystem through training, mentoring and financing, she currently serves as a management board member on the stretching direction of the organization. Shiroi is a Ecumen Fellow India 2017 and furthest 30U-30 India Special Mention for Social Impact in 2018. She is a recipient of the Young Leaders Accelerated Scholarship, LKY-SPP, National University of Singapore in 2019. She has a BBA from Sambil Sambiosis University, Pune and an MPA from LKY-SPP NUS Singapore. So, Miss, we have some few questions for you. So, the first question is, what first sparkled your interest in working in the technology industry? Okay, thanks so much for having me here. Please feel free to call me Shiroi. I'm also maybe not that old, I would say. Still young and hard, so feel free to call me Shiroi. So, yeah, I'm the co-founder of NagaEd and I'm really happy to be here today, speaking to you a little bit about what our company does and, you know, some of the work that we are trying to do in Nagaland with respect to digital education. So, like you said, I think what sparked my interest for me growing up, my inspiration has been largely by my grandparents. They've had a deep impact in my life because they always believe in the equitable growth of society, of our Naga community. And, you know, both of them, they met as teachers and started one of the first schools in Kohima and in Nagaland, in fact, you know. And they always believed that every Naga had a right to education, quality education. So, growing up, you know, I grew up in my family school where we had students from all walks of life, especially from, you know, the low-income households. And during high school, my mother was a government servant. So, I had the opportunity to also go to the best private schools in Kohima and then move on to New Delhi and then, you know, Pune for my graduation and, you know, very recently had an opportunity to go to Singapore. But I know that a lot of people in Nagaland, you know, the reality is very different for a lot of people who are not afforded the same luxuries that I've had. And, you know, last week I went to a wedding where I met someone I grew up from school with. Her name was Gyato and, you know, Gyato and we were catching up because we grew up together. So, you know, she, Gyato has three kids now, which is fantastic. And she was telling me that, you know, like after school, like we're just discussing what happened and all that. And for a whole, like she had to drop out of school. You know, she was telling me that how she had to drop out of school because her family couldn't afford her further education. And, you know, which led her to going to get married and everything, which is great. But the reality for Nagaland, you know, in terms of quality education is, this is the reality for so many people. So in Nagaland, we have the second highest rate dropout rates for primary schools in India. We are on the top five states with the highest school dropout rates for high school students. And we have the highest rate of single teacher schools. About 15% of our schools has only one teacher, you know. And 15% of the teachers who are teaching in these schools are also not qualified. These are all government statistics, right? So when you're talking about bringing digital education, you know, adding another layer, it's just adds tremendous strain to the teachers, right? So at Nagar Ed, how we approach the problem was like, how do we bring in quality education? So we didn't just think of bringing a technology solution and, you know, retrofitting it. But then we thought about, you know, how can we lessen the burden of our teachers? So what we do at Nagar Ed is we're really creating, using technology as an enabler to create scalable solutions. And we customize this for each and every individual school. So, you know, for example, teachers teaching with modified subjects. What we do is we create templates, we create lesson plans that will alleviate their workload. So we have, you know, teachers in Naglin working with very highly qualified teachers in Australia, Melbourne in France. We have fantastic, you know, volunteers, learning designers, people who have done their PhDs in e-learning, who support our Nagar teachers to create really good templates and lesson plans to look at, you know. And so this is how we build the capacity of our teachers. And we also know that, you know, Naglin has no accessibility to mobile phones, to devices, to internet. So that's the reality in our state. So how do we reach the problem is, you know, so we know that this is the situation that most of our parents and students are facing. So how do we solve this? So we're looking at both online and offline delivery. So we have a digital platform, yes. But we're also looking at when they don't have internet or access to devices. Like how do they have education, right? So we're also looking at quality, quality printed notes, quality material, which we give in the form of printed notes, or in the form of, you know, USB sticks, which can be shared between multiple students. So I think, you know, just to say that I think the interest for me is really looking at, you know, the interest that's interest for me is really looking at how do we, you know, solve this problem, you know, collaborate with different people and technology is such an enabler, right? It's, we're able to really scale this, scale up, you know, our solution. So if we can do this for five teachers in Kohima, we can do this for 50,000 teachers of course Naglin, right? We can go to other different quality states. So that's how, you know, we look at this problem and, you know, how we've come up with Naga at today. So happy to know that, Miss. The second question is, what advice will you give yourself just starting out? So do you mean personal or professional, you tell me? Personal, professional, professional. So I think professional advice would be, you know, initially when I was starting out, like, I think it was about wanting to do too many things at a time and not really focus on one thing, but over time what I've learned is really learning to focus on one aspect of a problem, looking at the different ways in which we can solve it and having high quality and standards to, you know, the products and services that we provide. So starting out, I mean for anyone, right? Well, many things that are there, but personally for me, I'm also someone who is always very, always looking for the next thing, but, you know, like wanting to do too many things at a time. But what I would really, you know, advise, I guess would be like really looking at the quality that you can provide out of a product. So for example, what we're doing now with Naga and, you know, when we're going to talk about training as well, we're really looking at providing not just, you know, Naga standards, but also providing global standards of teaching and learning solutions, right? And we spend a lot of time planning and executing that. So I think, you know, just taking the time to put more attention to quality, to have more attention to the small, small goals will be a game changer. Yeah. Thank you, ma'am. The next question is, do you think it's important for more Naga women to join the technology industry? Yeah, I think that's a no-brainer. We definitely need more women to join this industry. As of now, you know, most of the sort of when you talk about technology, I feel like it's attributed to more of a male sort of dominated industry, right? If we talk about IT or, you know, any kind of specialization, it's more about sort of the attitude is more towards like a male sort of dominated industry. But I think we need more women to really come up here and to take more leadership positions, right? So even at Naga Ed, like, you know, as a co-founder of this, I'm a woman and we are very intentional with the way we kind of distribute like leadership positions. So if you come to our company, we have, you know, the digital education specialist who is a woman. We have our operations manager. So all the leadership, many of the leadership positions currently are with women, you know? So I think it's really important for more Naga women to really join this industry. We have very low representation currently, you know, be it in the political realm or the professional realm. And, you know, we should start looking at women, not just as, you know, people who are filling up the roles for, you know, just secretarial jobs or, you know, this is I think the kind of attitude that we have in Naga and right now to look at women for more domesticated roles, I would say. But yeah, I think definitely more women should start taking up these leadership positions and start going towards, you know, yeah, even in the technology industry, we need more women representation. The last question is, how do you manage your work-life balance? That's an interesting one. So I think, well, I've been on both spectrums. On one hand, you know, being really a workaholic in the sense that I defined my work as my identity. So whatever I did, I just wanted to kind of achieve those working goals that I had, you know, and that really defined who me as Shiroi was. So I've been on that side of the spectrum and slowly what I'm moving towards is, and you know, this is different for everyone, but also like defining what's important to me. So I'm like trying to move towards spending equal time with, you know, friends, family, like which are equally important, spending quality time with, you know, things that are important to me, right? So I think one way to manage a work-life balance is also like for me, especially planning. So what we, you know, what I've been learning to do and even in the organization, what we do is we don't force ourselves that, okay, this is the target that we have to have. So then we start, you know, scrambling, but we look at realistic things that we can do and really focus on bringing out the quality and input. And we just plan, like, you know, we just take a lot of time to plan out that, you know, plan out the goals that we want to achieve. And what happens is at the end of the quarter or at the end of the year, we know that, oh, you know, we had these five things we wanted to do. So we've achieved that, right? So when you don't define the goals that you want to achieve, I think it's very easy to burn out because there's so much to do, right? Especially working in a startup, every single thing, you know, we have a very small team. So it's very easy for any one of us to burn out. But with, yeah, with planning and, you know, you know that you're not going to achieve 100% of what you plan. And there are a lot of risks and changes that can come. I think helping to plan and define, you know, some of the things that we want to achieve is really, is really helpful. And, you know, my partner keeps telling our team, because we're a small team as well, that this is a marathon and not a sprint. So, you know, we know that currently where we want to achieve quality education, for example, in the, you know, in Nagaland, right? That's such an audacious goal. But, and we don't have the skills, you know, we're just starting out as well. We don't have the skills, resources or expertise, but we're slowly building upon it, right? So it's a long journey. It's not just that, you know, in the one year's time, we're going to be able to achieve everything that we have. But kind of defining those goals and, you know, looking at it as, you know, okay, this is a long journey, but we're going to get there by planning and, you know, one step at a time. And that's really helped in maintaining a work-life balance. So, yeah. So I think that's how I would put it. Yeah. Okay. Miss, I'll be asking you two more questions. Sure, sure. The next question is how should we encourage more women into the, into this technology industry? Yeah, I think when we talk about encouraging more women, I mean, women in general, like, I think sometimes we just have very low confidence, very low confidence in, you know, going for it, like, unless we have more role models, right? Or more women who are in leadership positions, even we feel that, okay, these positions or these leadership roles are only for men, right? So I think we do need more recognition. We do need more women in leadership roles to encourage girls to get into this. So for example, so I recently came back from Singapore with a friend of mine, and she's also moved back to London. And she was in fact in one of the Tetsuo College Docs, I think a few months back. Who she is, you know, she was a data analyst for about eight to 10 years in the U.S. Then for three, four years, she was in Singapore leading it. So if you know DHL, it's like one of the biggest supply chain conglomerates. So she was leading DHL's innovation lab in Singapore. So, you know, it was all about, you know, AI, machine learning, you know, all the latest technology. And she's coming to Dublin, and here, you know, she doesn't have any, like, there are no sort of avenues currently to utilize her support. So I think that it's important for, you know, like women like her who have, you know, for women like her as well, right? And only when we see that will more women want to join that. So for example, now again, like I was giving the previous example, right? Because we don't see people around us doing those certain things. So we just think that, okay, we're good for only this. So for example, in Naglin, our whole life has been optimized only for government jobs, right? So for us, we see that success means government jobs, but it's not the case anymore, especially with technology coming in. There's just so many things we can do. So for example, I'm sitting here in my farmhouse, you know, which is about 40 minutes in Zubsa. And I'm able to, like, now sit here, manage a team of like five, six people, you know, remotely, and, you know, start a company, right? So I think the traditional way of doing things, and we need to encourage, I think more women need to have more leadership positions, more, you know, even from the government side, I think more highlight. And a program like this, for example, is a good place to start. Yes, Miss. Can you one more question? Sure, sure. Do you want to share something about your dream project? So I think for me, no, like, I have a lot of projects in mind. I think it's very exciting in Naglin because, you know, like we have, we say that it's a land of no opportunities, but I think it's just a land full of opportunities, right? And with technology coming in, I think it's just such a game changer. And we've seen that in the past two years with COVID. We have seen so many startups, so many pop-ups of, you know, small companies and people putting their, you know, shops on Instagram, you know, like a marketplace of, you know, digital marketplaces. And I think so, so in that sense, I do see that there's so many opportunities. And for me, I think my heart has always been in healthcare. I think that was the first project that I worked on right after my graduation in New Delhi. And I think if, if I had an opportunity, not now, but in the next 10 years, if I made enough money and, you know, for me, I think financial success is really important to be independent as a woman and, you know, to be able to do good. So I would want to work on, you know, also looking at how can we use technology to also make healthcare more affordable. So that's my professional sort of dream project that I've always had. But I would like to pivot a bit and just say that I think for me, my dream project right now, apart from the professional stuff, is also like just having, is really like on my personal, you know, space and just having a really, building a really nice home. So my dream right now is to build a really nice cottage in the middle of nowhere and to be able to, you know, raise a family, to be able to rear some animals. Also, of course, with very good internet connectivity and to be able to, yeah, to be able to have friends over, you know, and yeah, just, just enjoy nature. So I think for me, like in terms of project, yeah, professional projects never ending. And Naglin has just so many like problems that you want to solve. So these are all opportunities for young people to take up. But yeah, on a personal front, definitely having a really tiny cottage in the middle of nowhere is my dream project right now. So happy to know that Miss, thank you so much for joining us today and sharing us your experience. Most welcome. Yeah. I'm hoping to have more conversation with you. Definitely. Thank you so much for having me. Yeah, thank you so much. You're most welcome Miss and all the very best for your dream project. Yeah, thank you. Thank you. Thank you, Miss. Thank you.