Dr. Srimathy Kesan
Name: Dr. Srimathy Kesan
Qualification: MBA (Honorary Doctorate)
Designation: Founder, CEO
Organization name: Space Kidz India
Paper title: Making Space Exploration possible by using nano satellites & High-Altitude ballooning.
Conference Name: Oxford Debate, University of the Future
Publication Name: Europe Business Assembly
The organizer of the conference: Europe Business Assembly, Oxford, UK
Year: 2019
Page No: 111
ISBN/ISSN No.: 978-0-9929112-4-9
About Dr. Srimathy Kesan
Dr. Srimathy, Founder & CEO of a leading Science and Technology incubator- “Space Kidz India” (SKI), is helping children reach out to the stars, quite literally. Launched in 2011, Space Kidz India has designed and pioneered multiple programs that are aimed at creating the next generation of scientific thinkers in India. Driven with a mission to disrupt the mundanity of the Indian education system, Dr. Srimathy has broken ground in a hitherto uncharted avenue called “Space Education” through her unique programs, aimed at grooming India’s future scientists. Her ultimate goal is to lay the foundation for a World-renowned Space University with a manufacturing port in India. She is the only Indian to be decorated with the Ambassador status to the top 3 Space centers of the World, NASA, ESA, and GCTC - Moscow. Apart from taking children to these research centers for hands-on Space training - Rocket building and launching techniques, Satellite making, she has also invited Cosmonaut Salizan Sharipov (Director of Yuri Gagarin Space Centre, Moscow) and Astronaut Marsha Ivins (NASA) to India to meet with Indian students and share their Space travel experience and to motivate students, Retd. Wing Commander Rakesh Sharma – Hero of the Soviet Union, Space traveler, and the only Indian Cosmonaut had also shared his expertise with these students. “Creating Young Scientists and Young Leaders for the Country” is her main motto and for which she had designed a metric to handpick them.“Young Scientist India”, “Youth Icon”, and “I4 India - Innovate for India” are annual contests, a unique avenue to promote innovations in the field of Science and Technology for high school and University students, apart from handpicking the core team of Young Scientists, they are then mentored, funded to create path-breaking live projects. Building and Launching Satellites by High school and University students was her dream which came true in the year 2015, where her SKI team of Young scientists built and launched the 1st ever “Near Space Launch Vehicle, NSLV a Balloon Satellite named NSLV.KALAM.1. Within 5 years of creating SKI, she had the opportunity to meet and interact with more than half a million children across the country in various schools, colleges, and Universities. Dr.Srimathy Kesan has been invited across the length and breadth of the globe to deliver motivational speeches. Among them was the “World Woman Federation” at Clinton Presidential Centre, Little Rock, Arkansas, USA on September 30, 2017. She has delivered a lecture for more than 500 Women Scientists at ISRO, corporate houses such as Bank of America, Caterpillar, MARS SUMMIT 2017, and CMACGS, apart from being invited to Malaysia as the Chief Guest for inaugurating the Asian Fencing Championship. Interviews in national and vernacular television channels and radio channels have been a routine affair. Space Kidz India (SKI) is the only organization to launch 12 balloon satellites, 2 sub-orbital satellites, and 1 orbital satellite. SKI has received wide international attention, and found mentions in the Asia Book of Records, URF Book of Records, India Book of Records, Assist Book of Records, and Official World Record, in addition to recognition from Space Agencies, schools, colleges, universities, and political parties world over. Apart from Space Education, SKI is also devoted to promoting education through culture. Dr. Srimathy believes that art plays a major role in the assimilation and synthesis of learning. In this regard, SKI created history during the 2012 Olympics by becoming the first cultural unit selected from a prestigious list of 22,000 artists to perform at the London Olympics. Additionally, SKI has hosted numerous cultural events in India, Canada, and the USA. Dr.Srimathy is also an avid social activist, her education through social awareness theme educates the future generation of India on several social issues that plague the society, and is aimed at strengthening India’s roots through critical questioning and engagement. SKI produced a short film on Breast Cancer, to create awareness among people from all walks of life. Dr. Srimathy visits several corporate houses and colleges to promote the awareness of breast cancer and urges folks to take the preliminary test every year. Dr. Srimathy Kesan has been showered with many awards, and has been frequently nominated as a "Pioneer" in the field of "Space Education" and awarded as the “Pride of India”. She has also won other awards as a "Social entrepreneur" and "Woman Achiever". She actively supports several juvenile homes in the city of Chennai, in a bid to improve their lives. She conducts aeromodelling and computer workshops for the children and helps them with supplies, medicines, and infrastructure requirements. Through constant counseling and motivational speeches, she works on their mental conditioning and improving their self- esteem. Her passion for education has recently enabled her to adopt a school in Chennai that is in dire need of help. Dr. Srimathy and her team strive hard to make sure proper sanitary conditions are met; she collaborates with various NGOs from around the world to procure day to day needs for the school.