“The reason behind choosing these three destinations is that the governments of respective countries are opening up their higher education and immigration policies and communicating in a far more welcoming manner for international students,” says Akshay Chaturvedi

To choose right and to invest in a future that is bright, here are a few startups that can help you finance overseas education.

The West, for the longest time, has been considered a land of opportunities. Recent years, however, have witnessed an unprecedented surge in the number of Indian students attempting to forge their destinies in foreign universities.

Karan Khemka has joined Leverage Edu’s Advisory Board. As a previous investor in the company’s Series A round of fundraising, Karan will provide guidance to founder and CEO, Akshay Chaturvedi, and the rest of the board.

University admission platform Leverage Edu has appointed Karan Khemka as an independent member on its advisory board.

Through its proprietary ‘Partner dashboard’ and ‘AI Course Finder’, it empowers partners with world-class-tech that helps them give student-first data-backed advice plus also optimizes their daily management of student applications, including options to verify mark sheets, check for plagiarism, give direct access to Universities via UniConnect events et al

While the appointment slots for the student visa to the US from India were opened on June 14, there is now a deluge to get the F-1 visa on time for the Fall 2021 academic session. Happily for the students, new slots are being added from July onwards.

According to the World Economic Forum (WEF), India's soaring gaming industry was valued at $930 million, last year. As per the data revealed by WEF, the year 2020 pushed India to the top position in mobile game downloads with 7.3 billion installs.

More than a month after Maharashtra announced a special vaccination drive on priority for students enrolled in universities abroad, many are still scrambling for visa and their second shot in time for the start of the fall semester next month

The study further revealed that around 71 per cent students chose better healthcare infrastructure as one of their key reasons to study and look at opportunities abroad

Indian students are responding to “welcoming” communication from study destinations, an Indian study abroad platform has said, after a survey it ran found that 94% students said they are more keen to study abroad this year than in 2020.

Around 75% students chose the UK as their preferred study destination while Canada and US were chosen by 13% and 9% students, respectively, reveals survey by Leverage Edu

A survey conducted by Leverage Edu revealed that 94% Indian students were more keen to travel and study abroad this year compared to last year. Conducted among users registered on the Leverage Edu platform in the last five months, the survey showed that 75% chose the U.K. as their preferred study destination...

Apart from visa and travel restrictions this year, students with confirmed admissions to foreign universities have one more issue to deal with — vaccination.

Kerala, Karnataka and Telangana have followed Maharashtra's footsteps by allowing priority vaccination to students going abroad for studies.

How is Leverage Edu easing students’ way into international colleges?

The startup will use the fund to expand its reach in Tier 3, 4 and smaller towns, Leverage Edu founder and Chief Executive Officer Akshay Chaturvedi has said.

Leverage Edu said Tomorrow Capital led the Delhi-headquartered startup’s Series A financing round. Existing investors Blume Ventures and DSG Consumer Partners also participated in the round...

Here we have Mr. Akshay Chaturvedi, Founder & CEO of Leverage Edu sharing his opinion on the future of foreign...

Amid the upheaval caused by the second wave of the pandemic and predictions that the next wave may affect the younger population more, a large part of the Indian student community is looking overseas for college admission. Factors like access to vaccines, robust health infrastructure and policies favouring foreign student admissions are drawing student interest more than ever for international colleges, apart from the charm of attaining a foreign degree.

From raising funding of Rs 47 crore to accelerating revenue by 4x post the pandemic lockdowns, watch Akshay Chaturvedi, Founder & CEO, Leverage Edu, on this episode of Build & Grow: Money Matters, in association with HSBC.

The states of Kerala and Telangana and the city of Mumbai have decided to prioritise the vaccination process for students going abroad for higher studies. The Kerala government has decided to allow those traveling abroad for work and higher studies to take the second dose of Covishield vaccine after four to six weeks of the first dose, as against the 12-16-week gap which the Centre recommended this month.

Academician Pratap Bhanu Mehta’s resignation from Haryana-based Ashoka University in March not only resulted in protests by students, but also put the spotlight on universities that offer them the option of getting a well-rounded and expansive intellectual grounding in all kinds of humanistic inquiry—in the form of a liberal arts degree.

Homeschooling, an alternative approach to education, is a way of learning outside the defined parameters of school education and puts the parents/guardians in charge of their child’s all-round development. What and how to teach is determined by the parents who might not follow the curriculum of any education board.

Amidst confusion over the COVID-19 second wave in India, uncertainty exists on the vaccination status for young students eyeing a degree abroad. While borders are shut across countries, students are being given exemption. Vaccination drives are also being organised for international students. So, does it make sense to postpone your study-abroad plans for 2021? In today's episode of Future Wise, Moneycontrol's M Saraswathy talks to Akshay Chaturvedi, founder & CEO, Leverage Edu to find out more details. Listen in for more.

The states of Kerala and Telangana and the city of Mumbai have decided to prioritise the vaccination process for students going abroad for higher studies. The Kerala government has decided to allow those traveling abroad for work and higher studies to take the second dose of Covishield vaccine after four to six weeks of the first dose, as against the 12-16-week gap which the Centre recommended this month.

To forecast the future of higher education and understand its impact on students, educators and universities, Re:Set asked education experts to weigh in on the future of the industry and how the pandemic will impact various facets of the college experience and a student’s life. In the final instalment of a three-part series titled ‘The Trap Year,’ we spoke with Akshay Chaturvedi, Founder and CEO of Leverage EDU, one of India’s biggest mentorship and career advice platforms, helping students make decisions about their education abroad.

As a result of a higher number of applications, the acceptance letters can take a longer time than usual. Further, the top choices including MBAs, data science, finance courses etc. will be the toughest to get into. Many experts believe that the hybrid model is likely to stay and can result in increased access to foreign education for lower-middle-class Indians. The coronavirus pandemic last year forced a lot of students to defer their plans to study abroad. Experts now say that it’s going to be tough this year as well to get a seat in foreign universities, as those who could not make it last year will apply in 2021 along with fresh applicants.

Even as the US government has announced a travel ban on India starting May 4, some categories of travellers including Indian students seeking to commence studies in American universities in the Fall semester of 2021, have been exempted under the national interest exceptions, according to the US state department. This is in keeping with the US department of state’s commitment to facilitate legitimate travel. US secretary of state Tony Blinken, decided to apply the same set of national interest exceptions to India that he had previously applied to all other regional travel restrictions currently in effect as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic. The exemption issued by the state department last month, is valid for students with F-1 and M-1 visas intending to begin studies in the US starting on August 1 or later.

The shift to test-optional requirements in university admissions has driven a large increase in applications as more students apply to universities that they would otherwise not have applied to. For students applying for Fall 2021 undergraduate entry, the number of applications submitted through the Common App has increased but not at the same level as the number of applicants which suggests that applicants are applying to more schools. There is a strong interest in elite and well-funded private and public universities because students feel they may have a chance without SAT or ACT; also students feel with the ongoing pandemic, well-funded universities have resources like campus testing, etc. to meet in-person and on-campus rather remote only.

Companies are going to provide Covid vaccination to employees and their families. From arranging life-saving oxygen to hospital beds, many industry leaders have shown the real meaning of walking the talk. Bengaluru-based couverture chocolate brand SMOOR has offered Covid insurance for all its employees, including drivers. Besides, a vaccination drive for all the employees has been planned and the company is trying to take care of the expenses concerning the same. Akshay Chaturvedi, Founder and CEO, Leverage Edu, an education company, spent the last couple of days helping out his team members, running from pillar to post to secure hospital beds and oxygen in New Delhi.

Owing to the lockdowns in various cities in India, the Visa Application Centres’ (VACs) operations have also been impacted, causing visa approval delays for multiple students. The second wave of coronavirus has further impacted higher education in the country. In the past two weeks, central and state board exams have either been cancelled or postponed, with several entrance exams for undergraduate (UG) and postgraduate (PG) admissions getting deferred owing to the increasing number of COVID-19 cases. This year, the University of Delhi (DU) had plans of providing 50 per cent weightage to class 12 marks and 50 per cent to Central Universities Common Entrance Test (CUCET) score. But, with board exams deferred, the varsity is yet to take a final call on that.

@leverageedu के साथ हमारी यही कोशिश है कि हम हर स्टूडेंट को ‘उनके लिए जो सही व्यवसाय है’ - उसी दिशा में प्रोत्साहित करें, जिससे वोह ज़िंदगी में सही मायने से सफलता पाएँ - और साथ ही उनका पूरा परिवार भी 👩🏻‍🎓

*serendipity enough - writing this from Ernakulum, as I wait to address a bunch of ‘hopefully excited’ students👩🏻‍🎓 We are blessed, and thrilled, to be serving the aspirations that take shape in the deepest parts of this country 🇮🇳 Of course, only begun!

In a world where sustainable growth is the ultimate lever or hack to being in the big lists, cities have begun to recognize the importance of education & learning as one of their top priorities. The value of Human Capital over Financial Capital has never been more evident for cities that want to stand the test of time. According to an NBER Report, cities that have a high skill-base for their workers, are able to recover from negative shocks in their economy quicker. This majorly siphons in from the fact that educated individuals are able to diversify and work in unaffected domains and make the transition faster and easier while unskilled laborers have to either move out or go out of context in the situation, a situation that can very well be analyzed to what we have seen in the global pandemic.

Anil (name changed) aspired to study at an internationally ranked university in the U.K. His profile met the criteria and he had also completed the necessary application process. However, COVID-19 and the consequent lockdown, made him uncertain about what he should do. However, a series of online interactions with his coach at an AI-enabled platform for higher learning proved to be a game changer. He was familiarised with the scholarships, waivers and post-study work visa options that he would be eligible for if he started his programme this year. All this helped him begin his course at his dream university.

Growing up, Charles Dickens and Charlotte Bronte were as much a part of Akshay Chaturvedi’s life as were academic books. His parents fed him dollops of literature to improve his English. Chaturvedi took home a lesson. “If ever there was a problem that I was going to solve, it was to be in education, aimed towards the middle India… those who aspire to and successfully transform their children’s future,” he says.Years later, as a student at the Indian School of Business, where he doubled up as director of the student board, Chaturvedi spotted a business opportunity in higher education. “It was a huge white space, tough to crack and difficult to build solid moats,” he says.

The Coronavirus pandemic has played spoilsport on what could have been the best year for Indians students to study abroad. Many top universities have turned flexible with student intake, and lowered criteria to increase the number of falling foreign students. “A lot of top schools have lowered the eligibility criteria slightly. They are giving GMAT, GRE waivers in terms of scores, extending deadlines etc. And this has never happened before in the last 20-25 years,” Akshay Chaturvedi, founder and CEO of online higher education platform Leverage Edu told Business Insider in an interview.

Every crisis is an opportunity in disguise, so is this. First and foremost, it has given institutes of higher education a chance to take a pause, assess where they’ve reached and then start moving forward with renewed ambitions. I like how so many of them have this year overhauled curriculums and also done a top to bottom review of all programmes, ensuring what’s taught is relevant, plus also leads into opportunities of success in the world outside college. Moreover, the way the university community has stepped forward is enthralling – be it safety precautions, the massive government support in the UK towards international students, very fast changing reforms in countries like Germany, France and New Zealand. Decisions of higher education are taken over a long period of time. And sometimes that’s even half a decade or more. Hence, the pandemic hasn’t really made people make drastic unplanned changes; infact, as per our survey, only eight per cent have decided to change plans. Given the recent announcements, mostly from the UK which is ahead of the pack right now, more European countries are likely to roll the red carpet for international students with exciting linked-to-job options.

If not in the current profession, you would be? Still engaged with building something useful and needle-moving for the young. I am time stuck in the “college days mode” for life now, and wouldn’t have it another way! One tune you always hum. Changes by the mood. Anything from the “will win it all” Indie raps - to old Bollywood - or classics like Vienna & Imagine after a bunch of hard days together. Music has a profound impact, always. One book to read when you want to motivate yourself. Shoe Dog, by Phil Knight. One dialogue of a movie that motivates you or you like the most. “Aur dhande se bada koi dharam nahin hota..” The place you never been to and always want to go. Tokyo; fell in love with Japan while doing my school summer project in grade 5 An animal that signifies you & why? Wolf, for it, represents being a pathfinder, & always taking care of your pack come what may, always! A Movie Character you most resemble or resonate with. Aspire to. Guru. Raees. Size of aspiration & taking care of family and friends mean everything to me. If your life was to be turned into a movie who would you like to play your part? Ah, that’s very wishful thinking. An actor from Delhi for sure, because from what I hear that’s a very significant part of who I am today & how I go about life :) Luck or Hard Work, what do you think weighs more in defining a successful person? Hard Work & doing good to the world. Rest, the clock takes care of itself. One best decision you ever made. Not letting my then-girlfriend, now wife, give up on me. And being with me. The single best decision that has shaped almost everything I have done since hi