ABOUT US

The Riverside Learning Center, is a pedagogical research and training organization, based in Ahmedabad, India, with a global reach in over 9 countries.

RLC offers customized training programs that provide ecosystem wide solutions to transform school cultures with processes and pedagogical practices designed for the 21st century learner. We believe that Design Thinking, with empathy at its core, is the key to create a unique and user-centered approach to learning and building school systems.

RLC uses this approach in its training programs to transform schools from standardized “one size fits all approach” to schools that value agency, co-creation and character over compliance, instruction and content.

OUR STORY

The genesis of RLC is in the story of The Riverside School, which is a brain-child of Kiran Bir Sethi - a designer turned educationist who has brought Design Thinking into Education. Bothered by her son's unfortunate experience at school, she gave up thriving design practice to start The Riverside School in 2001. Riverside since, has continued to innovate and prototype student-centric pedagogy and has developed into a vibrant lab that has earned recognitions, awards and acclamations world-wide.

In 2009, Kiran distilled the essence of the HumanE^™ approach into a simple 4 step design thinking framework called FIDS {Feel (Empathy) Imagine (Ethics) Do (Excellence) Share (Elevation)} and launched Design for Change to have all children empowered with this mindset.

Design for Change is today the largest movement of change in the world.

RLC continuously strives to develop and offer programs that draw heavily from the tried and tested pedagogy of The Riverside School, to make it available and accessible to educators of all demographics.

“I was driven to create a school with humane culture that graduated humane citizens equipped with the knowledge, skills and passion to design a better world.”

- Kiran Sethi

Founder - Riverside Learning Center

RLC TEAM

The Riverside Learning Center team is an exceptional blend of diverse expertise, seasoned wisdom, sharp humor, and unwavering dedication, passionately driving the global adoption of the I CAN Approach to learning and the HumanE Framework for education.

Kiran Sethi

Kiran Bir Sethi is a designer who became a teacher, a principal who grew into an education reformer and subsequently morphed into a social entrepreneur. A trained visual communicator from the National Institute of Design, she comfortably uses the language of design as a tool for user centered innovations.
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Kiran Sethi

Kiran Bir Sethi is a designer who became a teacher, a principal who grew into an education reformer and subsequently morphed into a social entrepreneur. A trained visual communicator from the National Institute of Design, she comfortably uses the language of design as a tool for user centered innovation.

Sethi founded the award winning Riverside School in Ahmedabad, India, in 2001. Riverside, is viewed as a laboratory to prototype design processes that uses a systems approach to build a culture of empowerment, graduating young citizen leaders with an ‘ I CAN Mindset’ – using their agency for the greater good. The values that nourish this mindset are the 5 E’s – Empathy, Ethics, Excellence, Elevation and Evolution – intentionally moving us to becoming HumanE, by design.

Riverside Learning Centre ( RLC ) started in 2016, has codified the practices and processes of The Riverside School, and housed them in 6 Pillars ( Curriculum, Parent Partnership, Personal and Professional Development, Community, Administration and Leadership ) and designed Training Programmes that empower more schools to become I CAN schools.

Kiran is also the founder of 'aProCh'—an initiative to make our cities more child friendly, for which she was awarded the Ashoka Fellow in 2008 and was a Yidan Fellow in 2019.

In 2009, Kiran launched “Design for Change” which uses a simple 4 step design framework – FIDS (Feel, Imagine, Do, Share) to cultivate the I CAN belief in all children. Today, DFC is the world's largest movement of change - of and by children, and is in 60 countries — impacting over 2.2 million children and 65,000 Teachers.

Over the years, Kiran, Riverside and Design for Change have won several accolades and Awards, and some of the most recent ones are:
- November 2021 – Design for Change is one of the only 7 innovations that made it to HundrED.org’s Hall of Fame
- In March of 2021, Kiran was invited to be judge for the prestigious YIDAN Prize.
- In November, 2019, Design for Change conceptualised and helped to host the first ever All Faith - I CAN Children’s Global Summit at the Vatican in Rome from 27th to 30th November, with participation of over 2500 children from across 40 countries, who were blessed by the Pope!!
- In October, 2019, she was awarded the Earth Prize in Luino, Italy
- In March 2019, she was amongst the first batch of the ChenYidan Visiting Global Fellows at Harvard.
- In January 2019, she was honoured with the Lexus Design Award for 2019, in Pune, India
- In 2018, Kiran has been awarded the “Light of Freedom” Award, at the Vital Voices, U.S.A., Global Leadership Awards.
- In 2018 Edutopia covered The Riverside School for best practices. In 2017, 2018, 2019, 2020 -DFC has been recognised as one of the 100 most innovative educational programmes in the world by HundRED.org (based in Finland).
Kiran currently resides in Ahmedabad with her Husband – GeetSethi and two wonderful children – their son, Raag and daughter, Jazz. She loves listening to music, watching movies, singing, dancing and has an insane love for fruit-filled Dark Chocolates!!!
Pranay Desai

Pranay Desai has vast experience as a Visual Communication specialist. He graduated from the prestigious MS University of Baroda with core competency in the area of Graphic Design. At RLC, Pranay is responsible for the website design and the user interface of the I CAN platform.
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Pranay Desai

Pranay Desai has vast experience as a Visual Communication specialist. He graduated from the prestigious MS University of Baroda with core competency in the area of Graphic Design.

At RLC, Pranay is responsible for the website design and the user interface of the I CAN platform. With his business acumen, he has also contributed in developing RLC’s business model.

In his spare time, he is a passionate off roader and traveller.
Parul Patel

Parul Patel is associated with The Riverside School since its inception in 2001. A B.Com graduate by education, she started her career as a Junior K.G. Teacher in 1990. Working as a School Administrator, Parul has actively spearheaded several initiatives started by The Riverside School, namely, aProCh.org, Design for Change and Koshish.
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Parul Patel

Parul Patel is associated with The Riverside School since its inception in 2001. A B.Com graduate by education, she started her career as a Junior K.G. Teacher in 1990. Working as a School Administrator, Parul has actively spearheaded several initiatives started by The Riverside School, namely, aProCh.org, Design for Change and Koshish. Her contribution to augment Joy of Giving program and the RTE program at Riverside has been exemplar. She now looks after the administrative work of RLC and ensures better implementation of processes and good governance at RLC. She enjoys reading and watching movies and is an out-and-out people's person. Her administrative skills are impeccable and she puts her heart and soul into everything that she does.
Shruti Narayanan

A designer and growth hacker, who is fuelled by her passion for understanding the nuances of cross-cultural application of space, sustainability and design thinking to create not just buildings, but a feeling! Shruti Narayanan, has completed her undergraduate B.A.(Hons) program from Pearl Academy in Interior Architecture and Design.
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Shruti Narayanan

A designer and growth hacker, who is fuelled by her passion for understanding the nuances of cross-cultural application of space, sustainability and design thinking to create not just buildings, but a feeling! Shruti Narayanan, has completed her undergraduate B.A.(Hons) program from Pearl Academy in Interior Architecture and Design.

Her 'pursuit of knowledge' has always been a cherished obsession and a dominating influence for her. She comes with an experience in project management, space planning and computer aided designing. Her background in co-ordinating all facets of design, from conceptual processing’s to final delivery inform her mindful approach. She considers herself a ‘forever student,’ eager to both build on her academic foundations in design thinking and stay in tune with the latest technologies and techniques through continued coursework.
Nirav Modha

Nirav Modha brings in many years of experience working with leading media houses in India and is the lead documenter (film-maker) for Riverside Learning Center, converting the complex educational processes into short films that are simple to understand and easy to share. Nirav has a post graduate degree in Multimedia and International Trade..
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Nirav Modha

Nirav Modha brings in many years of experience working with leading media houses in India and is the lead documenter (film-maker) for Riverside Learning Center, converting the complex educational processes into short films that are simple to understand and easy to share. Nirav has a post graduate degree in Multimedia and International Trade, and has been working with Riverside on process documentation for the past seven years. He has specialised in Motion Graphics, Brand Solutions and Post production. He also runs his own creative agency, Talkingcloud. Outside of the workplace, Nirav is passionate about both nature and yoga.
Raag Sethi

Raag Sethi graduated from the Woodstock International School in Missouri in 2009, after which he took a gap year to work for the Design for Change contest which was featured in TED that same year. He completed his undergraduate degree from Chapman University, California in Integrated Educational Studies with an emphasis on schools..
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Raag Sethi

Raag Sethi graduated from the Woodstock International School in Missouri in 2009, after which he took a gap year to work for the Design for Change contest which was featured in TED that same year. He completed his undergraduate degree from Chapman University, California in Integrated Educational Studies with an emphasis on schools in the community and music performance in Classical Guitar.

Currently he works at The Riverside School, conducting Professional Development courses for teachers regarding Pedagogy and teaching Music, Global Perspective and Literature to High School students. He also spends considerable time providing consultancy to Riverside Learning Center, specifically for impact measurement and observation processes.

He also has a Jazz band in Ahmedabad and organizes the Ahmedabad Jazz & Blues festival annually. Raag is currently pursuing his Masters of Science in Psychology in Child and Adolescent Development.
Priti Patel

With over 20 years of experience in the field of education, Priti Dr. Emwise, holds a key leadership role as a Key Stage leader and mentor at The Riverside School.. Her wealth of experience and leadership qualities positions her as a role model, leading with empathy and care...
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Priti Patel

With over 20 years of experience in the field of education, Priti Dr. Emwise, holds a key leadership role as a Key Stage leader and mentor at The Riverside School.. Her wealth of experience and leadership qualities positions her as a role model, leading with empathy and care.

Priti is renowned for her compassionate leadership style, always prioritizing the well-being of her students and teachers. Her passion lies in developing programs that foster empathy and citizenship among students, as demonstrated by her active involvement in the creation and implementation of the Citizen Leader program at the school.

Her years of experience in the education sector qualifies her as a trainer, conducting numerous workshops on diverse programmes such as Classroom Management, Citizenship, and Making Learning Visible. Through these workshops, she has effectively supported educators in enhancing their practices, enabling them to positively impact their students' lives.

Priti's qualities, including her warmth, empathy, and infectious smile, make her an inspiring figure in the education community. She is dedicated to instilling moral values in her students, leading by example in all aspects of her work. Priti's passion for artistic expression through sketching and painting showcases her creativity and serves as an inspiration for her students to pursue their own passion.
Parvez Shaikh

Parvez Shaikh is a graduate in Business Administration (Event management and Public relations) from the Bharatiyar University. With an experience of around seven years in the field of event management, all through he has been known for his calm nature along with a decisive nature. Experiences and interactions throughout his career have shaped..
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Parvez Shaikh

Parvez Shaikh is a graduate in Business Administration (Event management and Public relations) from the Bharatiyar University. With an experience of around seven years in the field of event management, all through he has been known for his calm nature along with a decisive nature.

Experiences and interactions throughout his career have shaped him as an adaptive individual and an ever-ready learner.
He is an explorer both ways - personally as well as professionally. In terms of work, he loves to explore new ideas, designs and methods. Personally, he enjoys exploring new places, food and cultures. In his free time Parvez loves meeting his friends, going for long drives and playing table tennis. Talking about his family, they are a family of four - his father, his brother, his wife - Shafaq and himself. He feels his personality of being a 'Go-getter' stems from them.

All in all, he believes that every day of life is a new lesson which brings new learnings for everyone.
Anu Malik Garg

Anu is the Head of Program and Operations at the Riverside Learning Center. Anu witnessed the profound impact of FIDS on students during her time at DFC Singapore, where she worked for 7 years from 2015 - 2023. She finds her greatest fulfilment as a Trainer and Facilitator in the classroom, dedicating a decade to instilling the "I CAN" spirit in children and youth..
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Anu Malik Garg

Anu is the Head of Program and Operations at the Riverside Learning Center. Anu witnessed the profound impact of FIDS on students during her time at DFC Singapore, where she worked for 7 years from 2015 - 2023. She finds her greatest fulfilment as a Trainer and Facilitator in the classroom, dedicating a decade to instilling the "I CAN" spirit in children and youth. Anu has a Master in Business Administration (MBA) from IMS, Ghaziabad. Beyond her professional endeavours, Anu is a wanderer, traveller, amateur photographer, and a digital nomad, authoring two books in 2023, "Free Fifties” and "Classroom to Corporate,” both acclaimed Amazon bestsellers.
Simran Bhan

Simran is the Program Manager at the Riverside Learning Center, where she plays a pivotal role in Research and Impact. With a background in Graphic Design from Pearl Academy and three years of experience as a Design Teacher, she developed and implemented an innovative, exploratory curriculum for grades 6-10 at an IB Candidate school..
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Simran Bhan

Simran is the Program Manager at the Riverside Learning Center, where she plays a pivotal role in Research and Impact. With a background in Graphic Design from Pearl Academy and three years of experience as a Design Teacher, she developed and implemented an innovative, exploratory curriculum for grades 6-10 at an IB Candidate school, emphasizing hands-on learning and empathy through collaborative projects. Simran is currently pursuing a master’s degree in Educational Studies from KU Leuven and is working on preparing her thesis on Public History for publication. Her professional philosophy is rooted in evidence-based practices, research, and a strong commitment to fostering student agency and empathy in the classroom. Outside of her professional work, Simran is an avid reader, painter, and photographer.