Forging India’s Future: The Hind School on World Youth Skills Day
As the world observes World Youth Skills Day, India stands at a pivotal moment. With one of the youngest populations globally, the nation has an unparalleled opportunity to shape the future through investment in human capital. Yet, beyond vocational training and digital literacy, a more fundamental question emerges:
What kinds of skills are truly needed to build India’s future?
At The Hind School, we approach this question through a distinctive lens. As the world’s first institution dedicated exclusively to Applied India Studies, we believe the next generation must be equipped not only with employability skills but with contextual awareness, interdisciplinary insight, and civic leadership grounded in India's diverse realities.
From Vocational Skills to Civic Competence
Government programs such as Skill India and Start-Up India have made substantial progress in building technical competencies. However, today's youth also need the tools to navigate complexity, understand India's social and cultural fabric, and engage with policy, innovation, and governance in meaningful ways.
Our programs — including the Hind Scholars Postgraduate Fellowship, the Hind Fellow, and the Hind Explorer Internship — are designed to respond to this need. They blend academic rigour with real-world engagement, drawing on India’s cities, institutions, and communities as living classrooms.
Participants in these programs gain:
A foundational understanding of India’s civilizational and policy heritage,
Firsthand exposure to regional and urban transformations,
Critical skills in writing, field research, problem-solving, and leadership,
An ability to work across disciplines, sectors, and geographies.
Education as Nation-Building
We believe the most valuable skill a young person can develop today is the capacity to think critically about India and act constructively within it. This means understanding how historical, cultural, political, and economic systems interact — and learning how to intervene thoughtfully and responsibly.
Our model goes beyond conventional higher education. It challenges students to become:
Researchers who ask the right questions,
Professionals who design context-sensitive solutions,
Citizens who participate in India’s democratic, developmental, and cultural renewal.
A Call to Reimagine
On World Youth Skills Day, The Hind School calls for a broader and deeper conversation around youth development. We invite collaboration from government bodies, academic institutions, civil society organisations, and the private sector to collectively reimagine what it means to be skilled in and for India.
True national development will not be achieved through technical training alone. It requires a new kind of leadership — one rooted in the ability to understand India from within and contribute to it from a place of knowledge, empathy, and integrity.
At The Hind School, that is the mission we pursue — every day, with every student.