Ayman Sadiq
Queens Young Leader Award Winner
Sheikh Iraj
Ayman Sadiq is the founder and CEO of 10 Minute School. The 25-year-old recently received a Queens Young Leader Award 2018, which recognises exceptional youths from across the Commonwealth who are using their talents to transform lives in their own communities. Queen Elizabeth II of the United Kingdom presented the awards at a ceremony on June 26 in London. This week, YI talks to Sadiq about his work and future plans.
Please tell us how 10 Minute School is making a positive impact on society.
With over 40 million active users across all its channels, 10 Minute School is the largest free-learning platform of its kind in Bangladesh. It allows people to study a range of academic subjects and also teaches presentation and interview skills. In partnership with the countrys ICT Division, a2i programme and telecom operator Robi, 18,000 schools are now using our resources to teach their students. The platform singlehandedly teaches more than 260,000 students every single day.
How does it feel receiving the Queens Young Leader Award?
The experience of winning the award, especially the residential programme, cannot be summed up in words. I had the opportunity to learn from the most inspiring mentors and interact with some of the brightest minds of the Commonwealth. The interactive learning tasks we had there is something I will never forget. One of the most intriguing tasks was the one where we were given a simulation of a real life crisis, and we were broadly separated into groups of government, media, general public and members of law and we had to enact how the situation would unfold in a real life situation. Tasks like that and the incomparable mentoring sessions and activities were the best learning experience I could ever hope for.
Did you receive any prizes with the award?
With help of the award, I received a unique package of training, mentoring and networking, including a one-week residential programme in the UK during which I collected my award from the Queen. I received this award for trying to improve access to education throughout Bangladesh through 10 Minute School, a free online educational platform providing interactive videos, live classes, quizzes and smart books to over 260,000 students every day. This award gave me the opportunity to interact with and learn from some of the most amazing minds and their stories have left me with a drive to do much more for my country to the best of my ability.
Please tell us about the leadership course offered to the awardees.
The yearlong leadership programme, termed as Leading Change, is an online course designed for those who have been recognised by the Queens Young Leaders Programme. The Leading Change website regularly publishes stories and learning resources to inspire and support us. Leading Change, Queens Young Leaders Mentoring programme, together with the Institute for Continuing Education at University of Cambridge and a growing team of talented people from around the Commonwealth support the programme by teaching, producing content, mentoring or by sharing their expertise and stories with us.
What is next for you?
The future when it comes to education is endless and digital. We plan on digitising education to such an extent that anyone can attend any class they want from the comfort of their own home, and say goodbye to last-minute cramming from lecture sheets. Every topic in the syllabus is close to being entirely covered in our videos, SmartBooks and quizzes. If anyone wants to learn about a new software, they no longer have to pay thousands of Taka to do it, they can learn it from our platform for free. Our app will be released in the next few days, making all of our contents more accessible than ever before. We are also exploring our options with AI and VR in order to make our contents even more interactive.
Photos: Courtesy.
