Entrepreneurship & Awards
Two historic recognitions. One extraordinary day.
There are moments in the life of a school that transcend the school itself — moments that reach beyond the classroom, beyond the community, beyond the country, and onto the world stage. Moments that say, with the clarity and authority that only the most significant institutions on earth can provide: what is happening here matters.
Friday at the House of Parliament in London was one of those moments. Two extraordinary recognitions came to American World School Chennai and its founder on that day. Together, they represent something that has never happened before — and something that every family, every student, and every educator connected to AWS should know and feel deeply proud of.
Standing inside one of the most historic democratic institutions on earth, Nandhini and Swarnambika did not simply receive an award. They delivered their debut speeches in front of a room of global entrepreneurs.
Nandhini Vijay stood at the House of Parliament as a Grade 12 student — in the final chapter of her AWS journey, and at the very beginning of everything that comes after it.
She arrived not as a student hoping to impress, but as a young entrepreneur with something genuine to say — and the confidence, clarity, and conviction to say it. The Young Change Maker Award is not given to students who show potential. It is given to students who have already demonstrated impact. Nandhini Vijay has done exactly that.
Swarnambika Devi stood at the House of Parliament as a Grade 9 student — with three more years of her AWS education still ahead of her, and already standing on one of the world’s most significant stages.
That a student with three full years of school remaining has already earned recognition at the British Parliament is a statement about both who Swarnambika is and what AWS makes possible. She delivered her debut speech — not tentatively, but with the presence and purpose of a young person who has been prepared, supported, and believed in from the moment she arrived.
Dr. Mohana Lakshmi — Founder and CEO of American World School Chennai, Kidspreneur, and KIDx Asia
On the same extraordinary day, in the same historic building, Dr. Mohana Lakshmi received the Global Women Empowerment Award — recognising her work creating young entrepreneurs through Kidspreneur, the entrepreneurship education platform whose curriculum was authorised by the Singapore Ministry of Education, and through American World School Chennai, the school she founded with a mission that is changing what entrepreneurial education looks like across the world.
Her academic journey began with a Bachelor of Business Administration from Madras University and a Master of Business Administration from the University of Sunderland, UK. Through Kidspreneur, she built a platform that has nurtured young entrepreneurs across ten countries. Through KIDx Asia, she created Asia’s premier youth startup competition — hosting Grand Finales in Thailand and Dubai, incubating 45 student startups with Anna University, IIT Madras Research Park, and the University of Silicon Valley.
That on the same day two of her students — Nandhini Vijay and Swarnambika Devi — stood on the same stage and received their own recognition is the most complete and moving expression of what Dr. Mohana has built. The founder and her students, recognised together, at the House of Parliament, in front of the world's entrepreneurs.
The testimony of Mr. Paul Montague — witness to the House of Parliament event
It was a privilege to be in the House of Parliament in London on Friday to watch Dr. Mohana Lakshmi receive the Global Women Empowerment Award for Creating Young Leaders through Education. It was an incredible event that celebrated women entrepreneurs from the Tamil community around the world.
This award recognised Mohana's work creating young entrepreneurs through her Kidspreneur company and her school, the American World School Chennai, Chennai, where every student has their own startup.
Her students live the core values of the school on a daily basis and develop entrepreneurial mindsets that focus on developing creativity, growth mindset, curiosity, persistence, opportunity seeking, empathy, problem solving and optimism. She is providing the education that all children need.
As I scanned the room, full of successful entrepreneurs, it was clear from their nodding heads and follow up discussions that they believe this is absolutely the type of education that should be being delivered in schools today. Mohana, you are purpose driven, and having an incredible impact on your students' lives.
Nandhini and Swarnambika did not walk in carrying a school badge. They walked in carrying the values AWS develops in every student, every day.
The courage and capability to imagine something that does not yet exist and begin the work of making it real.
The understanding that ability is not fixed, that failure is information, and that every challenge is an opportunity to become more capable.
The habit of asking why, and then what if, and then what next — the foundational disposition of every great entrepreneur and builder.
The determination to keep going through the inevitable difficulty, uncertainty, and setback that every meaningful endeavour involves.
The trained ability to see possibility where others see only problems — to look at a gap and recognise what could be built in response.
The deeply human capacity to understand and care about the experience of others — the foundation of every product that actually makes lives better.
The practical, disciplined capability to move from the identification of a challenge to the development and testing of a genuine response.
The belief that things can be better, that effort matters, and that the future is something to build toward rather than brace against.
The most historic day of recognition in American World School Chennai's history
The stage is already built. The education is already waiting. When you choose American World School Chennai, you are choosing a school that has already received recognition at the highest level, in the most historic venue, from the most credible audience imaginable.
