Adarsh Kumar

In the muddy lanes of Champaran, Bihar – where buffaloes outnumber internet connections and power cuts are routine – a young boy dreamed of changing the world with little more than determination and a second-hand laptop. Raised by a single mother who scrubbed utensils to pay his school fees, Adarsh faced financial hardship, parental separation, and systemic neglect. But where others saw limitation, he saw possibility.

At 14, with just INR1,000 and an old laptop, he left for Kota without a plan, driven by a belief that education could be his escape. Unable to afford coaching, he used free libraries and wifi to self-study and network, eventually pitching his start-up idea at an event, earning mentorship, and seed funding. That spark led to the creation of Skillzo, a youth-led platform connecting underserved students to mentorship, leadership training, and entrepreneurial opportunities. To date, Skillzo has impacted over 19,500 students across India.

His passion for grassroots impact began with Mission Badlao, a community project that surveyed over 1,300 households and resulted in a government school, COVID-19 vaccinations for 2,000+ people, menstrual pad distribution, and the planting of 3,000 trees. Through IgniteBharat, he trained 3,000 rural youth in entrepreneurship. With IIT Guwahati, he co-led Sparkle, reaching over 7,000 students, while Education-21, built with IIT Madras, brought global mentorship to small-town students.

Academically, his path has been unconventional but deeply inspiring. He earned a 100% scholarship to the International Baccalaureate Diploma Programme, eventually scoring 38/42 points. He’s been a fellow with Civics Unplugged, a winner in Masters’ Union Startup Week, and the only full scholar across multiple cohorts of BITS Pilani’s YEB. At LaunchX, he co-built a start-up and won the “Likely to Go to Mars” award.

In 2024, he became the first student to win a full-ride scholarship to JPIS, worth INR30 lakhs. Today, he’s helping replicate that success for others – three students have since received full scholarships, with more to come. As CMO of Bihar Chhatra Sansad, he’s helped engage 1,500+ youth in governance and raised over $36,000 in funding for student-led initiatives.

Internationally, he was selected as a Google Youth Advisor, the youngest of 53 global leaders influencing tech policy. He has judged competitions including LaunchX, Conrad Challenge, and the Blue Ocean Entrepreneurship Competition, mentoring global teams and championing voices from underrepresented regions.

If he wins the Global Student Prize, Adarsh intends to build SkillzoX, an AI-powered, low-bandwidth mentorship platform for rural areas, and launch the Ignite Fellowship, a global accelerator for student changemakers. Through storytelling and a planned documentary series, he aims to reshape narratives for youth from underserved communities worldwide.

From a torn shirt in Champaran to global tables of influence, Adarsh is proof that the revolution will not be televised – it will be downloaded, built, and shared by young leaders daring to dream louder than their circumstances.