Leaders

Today, education demands leaders to honour tradition and balance academic rigor with compassion while teaching discipline without fear. It requires visionaries who can unite students, teachers and parents in a shared agenda.

Padma Kolli, Principal of Epistemo Vikas Leadership School, epitomizes this vision. Her move from Silicon Valley's high-tech setup to Hyderabad's vibrant education landscape signifies a bold career turn. In 2010, she returned to India with a computer engineering degree and work experience in multinational companies like Marvell and AMD. Initially, she focused on her children's education before foraying into the education industry.

Over the past five years as Principal, Padma has developed Epistemo into an evolving ecosystem where both CBSE and Cambridge curriculums coexist and leadership begins at the lower grades, having practical application to life emphasized along with academic excellence.

She has integrated AI within the classrooms, envisioned teacher training to manage diverse learning needs as well as revolutionized assessments to evaluate skills and critical thinking. Her pedagogy is centered on trust and relationships.

Being devoted towards inspiring families to focus on emotional intelligence and skills instead of marks, she is shaping a generation that is as confident in its conviction as it is compassionate in its actions.

What inspired your shift from engineering to education? How has it shaped your leadership?

As a child, I often played “teacher”, though my mother encouraged a tech career. Today, she’s proud of both my sister and I chose education as our profession. My father’s empathy and my mother’s practicality shaped my values, while our founder, Surapneni Kotesh Rao Garu, and his wife, both lecturers, inspired me—she continued teaching even at 75 after his passing.

I earned a B.Tech in Computer Engineering and began a master’s in VLSI design at San Jose State University, leaving it unfinished for work. My corporate journey spanned startups, Marvell Semiconductor, AMD, and Synopsys, moving from networking to VLSI chip design, where I discovered a love for physics.

Returning to India in 2010, I joined our family’s schools, progressing from Academic Director to Principal. Initially unsure, I leaned on feedback and my corporate skills to set up processes in an emotion-driven sector. I focused on teacher training, activity-based methods, experiential learning, and AI integration to ease workloads and support diverse needs.

Tell us about Epistemo’s journey and its vision in Indian education.

Our school blends CBSE and Cambridge curricula, valuing Cambridge’s continuous learning for better retention. We balance academics with four sports periods weekly to ease cognitive overload, alongside leadership initiatives.

One such initiative is Odyssey magazine, started by graduate Mahita. She boosted library engagement from 60 percent to 90 percent through creative themes and ensured sustainability by training student-led teams in editorial work, marketing, and design—freedom that fostered real creativity. Another is Epistemo MUN, begun by a 10th grader Sujana, during the pandemic, complete with policies, training, and inclusive outreach to Navodaya school students.

We believe giving back should be experiential—students spend time in orphanages or shelters to build empathy. Peer influence is channelled positively through counselling and opportunities for self-expression. My open-door policy encourages student interaction, while ERP systems resolve parent concerns transparently, strengthening trust.

Assessments focus on skills over rote learning, and new CBSE health guidelines led us to healthier birthday practices. Internships for Grades 10–12 expose students to real workplaces, guiding future choices.

How does Epistome prepare students for academics and real-world challenges?

At Epistome, we focus on active and experiential learning while addressing diverse abilities. Field trips, leadership activities from Grade 1 to 12, and discipline committees foster responsibility. Discipline must come from both school and home; if children see rules ignored at home, they tend to follow suit.

We integrate values into academics—for example, “electricity monitors” ensure lights and projectors are switched off, with roles rotating for all students. English and Mathematics are emphasized for comprehension, problem-solving, and overall academic success. Library periods cover speaking, listening, reading, writing, creative writing, and comprehension, with extra guidance provided when needed.

We believe skill-based learning removes “pressure” and promotes a growth mindset. Marks shouldn’t be the only measure—emotional intelligence and analytical thinking are equally vital.

Every child gets speaking opportunities during assemblies and TED-Ed sessions, often on thought-provoking topics like bias or family dynamics. We also conduct MUNs, field trips, and inclusive classrooms to cultivate empathy, gratitude, and acceptance.

What are the biggest challenges of being an educator today? How do you overcome them?

Meeting diverse learning needs is a priority. As principal, I emphasize that making mistakes is okay if we reflect and improve. Teachers often face criticism from parents globally, so we conduct parenting sessions to align teachers’ and parents’ perspectives, helping parents trust the process and accept that some children need more time.

Students’ mental health is another major challenge, worsened by excessive screen time and reduced attention spans. We identify and counsel such students to take responsibility and strike a balance between academics and leisure. To support this, we collaborate with universities to train teachers and involve psychologists in parenting sessions.

Parental expectations focus on engagement without micromanagement. Open-mindedness, mutual respect, and giving parents a voice fosters understanding; while teaching and awareness sessions remain essential in today’s peer-influenced world.

What is your success mantra as a leader?

My success mantra as a leader is seeing opportunity in criticism. If we don’t take it personally and understand its source, it can be valuable. This mindset has guided me through challenges, with lessons from my family. Mental clarity is key: take criticism positively, seek opportunities, and implement them. Even if it benefits just 10 percent of the community, it’s worth it. Every problem has solutions; even if one fails, that’s okay.

Continuous learning and unlearning are essential, though challenging for long-practicing teachers. Milestones also include students returning after studying abroad or teachers rejoining, reflecting the value of transparent, meaningful bonds over material achievements.

Padma Kolli, Principal, Epistemo Vikas Leadership School

Padma Kolli is the Principal of Epistemo Vikas Leadership School, a Hyderabad school that integrates CBSE and Cambridge curricula. She was born in India but educated as a comput­er engineer in Silicon Valley. Her initial career in multinational tech companies such as Marvell and AMD led her back to India in 2010. Her ini­tial motivation was educating her children, but she soon devoted herself to reengineering Epis­temo as a progressive school where academic pressure is matched with emotional quotient.