Nirali Dagli, Director Principal – The Mindcraft School, emphasizes on inquiry-based learning, skill development, and crafting future-ready learners

Can you tell us about The Mindcraft School and its vision?

Thank you so much. I am the Director Principal of The Mindcraft School, Surat. It is an upcoming new project, and this is our first year. We are coming up with a CBSE school but with a completely different model based on inquiry-based and competency-based learning.

The word “Mindcraft” has a deeper meaning—“mind” and “craft” together signify crafting minds. Crafting requires precision, and that is how we have carefully chosen and researched the name. It is not just a name but a philosophy.

From the preschool level onwards, we follow an inquiry-based and competency-based model. There is no rote learning; instead, the focus is on understanding, learning, and becoming responsible and well-read citizens in this era of innovation and skilling.

What initiatives are you taking in terms of innovation and skilling?

We are focusing strongly on skill development. Even when students learn music or dance, it is integrated with skill-building.

We also have a dedicated sports academy within the school. One of the key initiatives we have introduced is one hour of compulsory sports every day for every child, starting from preschool. It is structured, with trained coaches guiding them.

This helps in developing social skills and building resilience, especially in handling failures. We aim to first shape them into the right human beings and then guide them towards academics.

What are your key takeaways from today’s event?

One of the best aspects of today’s event is the blend of school education and higher education participants. As I mentioned earlier, education follows a spiral learning system.

A school cannot function in isolation. We need to prepare students for the next stage—college. If we are not aware of what colleges expect, we cannot prepare students effectively.

The discussions today helped us understand what higher education institutions are looking for, and accordingly, we can align our approach. It is about working backward from the desired outcome.

Any message or wishes for ArdorComm as it completes four years?

Many congratulations and best wishes. It is just four years now—I would say let’s move towards 14 and even 40 years ahead.

I have been associated with your events for almost three years now. It has always been a great experience. It was wonderful to be part of this forum.