Raunak Jain, the Managing Director of Tula’s International School (TIS), defines a leader as someone who inspires, motivates, and sets the bar high for others through their actions irrespective of designation. Be it family members or subordinates, or even the owner of a big organization. Raunak adds, “No matter what your role is, you are a leader if you are working to make sure that your team is feeling motivated and positive. and that’s what I truly believe in.”
Raunak completed his schooling at Brightlands School, Dehradun. He later pursued his graduation & post-graduation degrees from the Royal Holloway University of London and excelled at both. In 2012, Raunak joined Tula’s International School as its Managing Director. Since then, he has been striving hard to make TIS one of the best and most dependable schools, and he aims to achieve it by driving success for each and every student of the school.
Role Models Influencing Career Path
Two people have mainly influenced Raunak’s professional life. His biggest source of inspiration comes from his father and mentor, Sunil Kumar Jain, who has been an educationist his entire life and continues to motivate and support Raunak on his leadership journey.
Raunak met his second source of inspiration, the Vice-Chancellor of Banasthali University, Late Aditya Shastri, through his father’s priceless guidance. Shastri was a visionary who wanted to provide a global platform specifically for girls by furnishing world-class education, including Aeronautical Sciences, and that too by making it highly affordable. “Apart from my father, Shastri is the one who I consider as one of the significant influencers in my professional life,” statesRaunak. Through their values and teachings, Raunak is making successful strides as a leader in the education industry.
Tula’s International School
In 2012, Rishabh Educational Trust established Tula’s International School (TIS) to impart education through seamless opportunities. TIS is a residential co-educational school that is affiliated with the CBSE Board. The school focuses on turning young students into balanced and analytical individuals and, at the same time, provides them with an atmosphere where education is balanced and rewarding. Raunak says, “We believe in offering our students beyond the four walls of classroom, holistic academic excellence through quality education, learning experience, and fostering these in them.”
During the pandemic, when most educational institutions struggled to cope, TIS was able to attain the transition with the creative and innovative learning approach, incorporating both online and offline activities through its safe and secure online platform. Through its virtual classes, each student was connected with classmates and mentors for truly personalized learning. TIS conducted webinars with various colleges for higher classes, including the College of California USA, College of Canyons USA, University of Victoria Canada, the University of Ottawa Canada, and the University of IT Andrews Scotland.
Promoting Innovation & Creativity In & Beyond Classrooms
Innovation and creativity are fundamental to all academic disciplines and educational activities today. Raunak says, “We offer state-of-the-art facilities, a modern curriculum, and an advanced school mission based around energized and engrossed learning that lets students take ownership of their future.” The school delivers an excellent opportunity for students to be inquisitive, develop creativity and sharpen their talents in innovation. Students have access to modern technology in information, design, art & craft, music, 15+Olympic sports, and day-to-day learning.
Besides this, TIS also organizes frequent educational excursions, trips, and outings to expose students to the vibrant world outside their classrooms. These activities keep the students engaged and committed to learning.
Active Involvement of Parents in Education
Successful involvement of parents in education leads to students’ success. TIS understands this and therefore engages each parent in their child’s entire learning and school life. It conducts regular parent-teacher meetings where each student’s academic and co-curricular progress is discussed on a one-to-one basis. Likewise, seminars, field trips, and school-based activities are also organized to get parents involved.
Moreover, teachers and the administrative staff at TIS are always ready to assist or discuss any issues about students’ wellbeing. Raunak says that TIS is a complete family, and its parent community plays a significant role in the joy and success of the school. Parents and other family members are also invited to attend and participate in annual functions and school activities.
Staying Ahead of Time with Effective Planning
As the Managing Director, Raunak ensures students stay attentive and engaged in their learning process and that various planned projects are progressing at a good pace. Raunak also likes to meticulously plan his work and assignments ahead of time. At TIS, he conducts daily meetings with his team to discuss the work updates and status of weekly goals. This keeps the team motivated and determined to achieve their goals. Raunak makes certain that essential communications are conducted via emails and in-person meetings on the administrative front.
“Whenever I am in a stressful position, I usually pause to take a step back and allow myself some time to contemplate, prepare and prioritize my work objectives. For me, trying and responding to situations rather than taking stress allows me to manage stressful circumstances considerably better,” sharesRaunak.Moreover, his practical communication skill acts as a stress buster for others and him. Raunak also takes time from his busy schedule to catch up on the dynamic education trends and news to present what’s best for the students in terms of learning methods. Besides, he communicates with his industry peers on what’s up and coming in the Edtech industry.
As an enthusiastic academic administrator, one change that Raunak would like to bring to the current education system is to empower the teachers. Raunak feels that if academicians and administrators build teachers’ capacities to formulate and adjust the curriculum to the stipulated requirements and curiousness of scholars, then teachers could be entrusted in creating the type of eminent judgments that can individualize and personalize learning.
Aiming for a Higher Sky
In the coming years, Raunak plans to work on two main goals: Global Co-ed boarding education and infusing academics with career management programmes.“In India, the top 10 boarding schools are mostly all-girls or all-boys boarding schools. My plan for Tula’s International School is to take Co-ed boarding education to a global level and make our institution achieve unprecedented heights. Secondly, we are thriving to become an institution where students are not just made to focus on academics but are also guided about their future career prospects, thus maintaining the perfect balance between schooling and career planning,” concludes Raunak.