Biraaj Dodiya

The Class of 2011 | Visual Artist & Solo exhibition with Experimenter Gallery (2020) Featured in Forbes 30 under 30 in 2021 - ART Category

Today as I look back on my eight years at DAIS that taught me many academic, social, and cultural lessons, what I value the most is how we were taught to think independently, critically, and creatively. We have learnt how a historical event, a work of literature, or a scientific problem could be approached in more than just one way. The academic rigour and introduction to contemporary methods of research during my DAIS years helped me immensely when later I went to the US for Art School. It also instilled in me a deep love for sports and libraries! I am truly grateful to all the inspiring teachers and coaches who have motivated all of us to do our best and excel.

Munib Khanyari

The Class of 2012 | Pursuing PhD at University of Bristol and Oxford University in the UK (final year)

DAIS has given me a strong foundation in my learning journey and has always instilled in me an inquiry mindset; these have helped me develop into the person that I am today. My time at DAIS encouraged me to explore new concepts, live new experiences, and make bold decisions. I continue to cherish the relationships I shared with my peers and my teachers at DAIS, which created a conducive atmosphere to assimilate knowledge in its full depth and breadth and value relations. My days at DAIS not only rooted me in my love for academic inquiry and conceptual understanding, but also pushed me to go beyond my comfort zone. All these have motivated me to build a career in the field of wildlife conservation.

Adwaita Nayar

The Class of 2008 | Co-Founder Nykaa, CEO Nykaa Fashion

I was so fortunate to spend my last two years of high school at DAIS. The School and the IB programme taught me how to think critically, to work hard, to question, and to communicate strongly - skills that helped me not just through my college years but every day of my entrepreneurial journey since. What I am most grateful for is that DAIS also allowed me to explore multiple disciplines - from Mathematics to English to Biology - without boxing me in, instilling in me a life-long love for learning that extends far beyond a classroom. This freedom to explore subjects and academics was a gift that not many other schools allowed at the time and this most definitely changed the trajectory of my education and career. Beyond academics and extracurriculars - the people were wonderful. I developed some of my most meaningful and long-lasting friendships in those two years. The teachers were fantastic - warm, well-qualified and passionate educators - and many shaped my personality and future meaningfully.

Ranveer Allahbadia

ICSE Class X of 2009 | Social Media Entrepreneur - Founder of BeerBiceps & Co-founder of Monk Entertainment

Little did I know that the blue school diary that we were given on our first day in school each academic year would turn into one of the most important 'totems' I would ever own. As I graduated from DAIS, I realised how respected our school is in the outside world. DAIS students are revered for their conversational ability, critical thinking, and their ability to think 'out of the box'. It isn't just the studying that you're put through. It is an open-minded mindset you're taught to create. It is the toughness that you're taught to embrace. It is the intensely good communication skills you are taught! And above all, it's everything in between. The way the cafeteria staff speaks to you... the way sportsmanship is celebrated in our assemblies... the way teachers nurture you. It is the culture of DAIS that has created countless entrepreneurs and professionals. And, most importantly, the School motto, Dare to Dream, Learn to Excel, has made me who I am today!

Arjun Vaidya

The Class of 2009 | CEO of Dr. Vaidya's: New Age Ayurveda. Featured in Forbes Asia 30 Under 30 in 2019 - Healthcare and Life Sciences

From day one, I felt completely at home at Dhirubhai Ambani International School whether it was with teachers or friends. My two years at the school defined the person I have become. From being a cricket captain to working on a peace conference, we learned as much outside the classroom as we did inside. The spirit of perseverance and hard work that we learned at DAIS has taken me a long way in my career. My DAIS years nurtured the understanding of being a global citizen with a deep appreciation of Indian values. This spirit also pushed me to blend the local and the global in my entrepreneurial life and start my current venture, Dr. Vaidya's - India's largest digital Ayurveda brand. I can safely say that my best friends, closest confidantes and mentors are still my peers and teachers from DAIS!

Sameera Nayak

The Class of 2010 | PhD Student - Population Health, Course Instructor - Department of Health Sciences, Northeastern University

It was only once I started college that I fully appreciated my schooling years at DAIS. The faculty at the school built my confidence and mentored me to explore my passions and develop my identity. Unlike many of my peers here, I transitioned to the demands of college seamlessly. Critical thinking/writing, reading for meaning and analyzing concepts and linking them to real world examples were every day practices in the classrooms in DAIS. Today as I pursue my degree with an emphasis on health and social justice, my experiences in History/English and Extended Essay come back vividly as they encouraged me to explore social inequalities and politics in fiction academically, while being able to develop a world view. Between the rigorous coursework, the hangouts in the social area, the dedication of my teachers, and the lifelong friendships, DAIS gave me more than I could've asked for and still influences me deeply nine years later!

Aditi Raheja

Dhirubhai Ambani International School awarded the King Constantine Medal to Aditi Raheja for her commitment to service.

Dhirubhai Ambani International School awarded the King Constantine Medal to Aditi Raheja for her commitment to service. Aditi has been a part of several service initiatives that have had a great impact on the local and international community. Aditi is the founding member of T.E.A.M (Together Everyone Achieves More) a student led emergency-relief task force specializing in early-response disaster management that aids underserved communities in rural India. She has recruited 20 teenagers from various schools across Mumbai and successfully completed five initiatives over the last four years, feeding, supplying, and sheltering over 28,000 people.

Read More...

Ambika Vora

The Class of 2012 | Pursuing PhD at University of Bristol and Oxford University in the UK (final year)

After graduating from Princeton University in 2015, I landed a job in Deloitte, Tokyo, as a management consultant. For the first two years, I worked solely with traditional Japanese clients, requiring me to improve my Japanese language skills, apart from developing the consulting expertise. The experience of juggling multiple activities in high school - be it student council, MUN, various sports - while maintaining my academic grades, had taught me multi-tasking and effective time management; these have proved to be the two most valuable skills during my consulting career. The challenges I face now often echo those I grappled with when I was still a teenager; and the resilience and determination I developed during my days at DAIS continue to propel me forward so I can overcome those challenges. And for that, I will be forever grateful.

Ananya Vohra

The Class of 2017 | Student, Duke University & Co-founder, Aid For Sports (AFS)

A good school gives you an education and a great school empowers you to use your education. Venturing into MUN, debate, Student Council as Head Girl, and playing basketball at the national level may have seemed far too daunting without the incredible support I received at DAIS. Having teachers who believed in me every step of the way was critical to exploring and leaving my comfort zone. DAIS is where my interest in healthcare first took root. The exposure to community service changed my outlook towards healthcare and inspired me to see its social and innovative side. Thanks to the nurturing environment with emphasis on culture and relationships, DAIS has given me friends and mentors for life. The years I spent here have shaped my direction for the future.

Sukriti Yadava

The Class of 2008 | Writer, Author

It takes some time to realise the full value of a DAIS Education. In my first year at LSE, I felt really comfortable writing a 10,000 word essay, while many of my classmates from the world's best schools struggled with choosing a topic, structuring or completing their essay with citations and a bibliography. All this was possible because I had already performed so many rigorous assignments like this at DAIS. Years later when I was studying for my MFA in creative writing at Columbia University, DAIS education held me in very good stead. DAIS education lends many advantages to a student and as a writer now with one foot in Mumbai and one abroad I'm still uncovering and discovering many of those advantages.

Abhijit Kaji

The Class of 2009 | Currently pursuing MBA at Stanford University

DAIS has been an integral part of my life and has created a strong value system within that has helped me counter all personal and professional challenges across my undergraduates personal and graduates school life. It has helped me create a great community which came with lasting relationships and friendships. My closest friends today are the same friends I had 10 years ago. The importance the school gave to sport was incredible. Sport helped me deal with success and failure in all aspects of life.

Ira Gupta

The Class of 2012 | University of Pennsylvania

DAIS not only pushed me intellectually but it also helped me develop into a well-rounded individual and realise my potential. My transition to college was so easy because I was already used to the academic rigour and could easily balance academics with so many extracurriculars. I'm so thankful to my teachers and the school for giving me a wonderful education, for believing in me, for helping me chase my dreams and for giving me a network that I really rely on always.

Shivam Jumani

Round Square acknowledges DAIS Alumni

Mumbai City – dynamic, energetic and ever-changing – was not just a home for Shivam, but an inspiration. The dense and diverse urban environment underwent a period of significant growth a decade ago in ways that Shivam recalls vividly: “New bridges, train lines and skyways sprung up seemingly overnight. You couldn’t escape the sense of Mumbai’s ambitious spirit: this was a city in a third world country really going for it. But alongside this furious development, one would often see debates in the press about the impact of our growth – concerns about pollution and congestion commanded media debate.”

Growing up through this change ignited Shivam’s interest in the built environment, an interest that would take on a very specific leaning through his Round Square experience.

Read More...

Riddhi Kanwal

Round Square acknowledges DAIS Alumni

Leadership is learning. Learning to adapt, understand, solve, inspire and turn your vision into a reality," explains Riddhi "it builds your confidence, improves your communication skills, makes you learn the art of time-management and how to motivate people to achieve a common objective.

She organised an event "Shared Strokes for Safer Roads", and students from DAIS, distributed red roses to all car drivers wearing seat belts, as they cruised into the school driveway to drop off the children to school that morning.

Read More...

Saloni Atal

The Class of 2012
PhD Candidate at the University of Cambridge

DAIS gave me the 'grittiness', academic skills and intellectual curiosity to pursue my doctoral studies. The IB Diploma programme provided a platform to discover my interest in both academics and psychology, while also helping me avail global opportunities and apply to the University of Hong Kong (HKU) for my undergraduate studies. HKU opened up a number of doors which have eventually led me to pursue a PhD at the University of Cambridge on a Gates Scholarship. I hope this PhD will help me contribute to an important cause, of improving the availability of mental healthcare for women in the poorest communities of India. I am grateful to DAIS for showing me how to dream and excel in whatever I do.

Neil Satra

The Class of 2011
Product Manager at Google, California

DAIS gave me a robust foundation that helped me secure a place at Cambridge for Bachelors in Computer Science with full scholarship. I secured a place at Entrepreneur First to build my own start-up after my final year of Bachelors. Studying at DAIS has given me the confidence and helped me accomplish so much - from attending a meeting at the Prime Minister's Office in UK for discussing development of entrepreneurship culture in the UK, to being offered a place with full scholarship for Masters in Computer Science at Cambridge, and an internship at Google in Zurich. I owe these to the leadership qualities I imbibed at DAIS and to the wonderful teachers, who constantly motivated me to give it my best.

Suhani Jalota

The Class of 2012
Founder, Myna Mahila Foundation Recipient of Queens Young Leaders Award 2017 (Leader in women's health and female entrepreneurship initiatives)

By the time I joined DAIS in the seventh grade, I had already changed six schools. DAIS was the first school I called home. I have made life-long friends at DAIS, who continue to inspire me even today. At DAIS, with the constant encouragement of my teachers, I learnt to be resilient, to step up my game, to be bold, generous and daring as a student. It prepared me for the opportunities and challenges for life in college. Studying at DAIS inspired me to research public health issues in slum communities and start Myna Mahila Foundation, a network of young women living in slums, to produce low cost hygiene products. We work with communities to create positive conversations around menstrual hygiene and health, and are looking to scale up our efforts across other communities.

Abhinav Aggarwal

The Class of 2009
CEO and Founder of Fluid AI (One of the top 35 start-ups of the 'StartupIndia' campaign) Featured on cover of Forbes India and part of the Forbes 30 under 30 Asia list 2017

For me DAIS was an amazing experience. I started my business when I was still a student at DAIS, and the support, encouragement and mentorship I received from my teachers to pursue my passion is what allowed me to get going. DAIS was also the only IB school to offer computers which was the start of my journey into technology. The opportunity we got to work on technology and build things really got me excited and paved the way for my journey into technology. I received opportunities and exposure to different learning dimensions, which helped me develop a unique perspective about the world. The teachers took us really deep into the subjects, allowing us to get a very different perspective on learning, which is really helping me in my business.

Gayatri Bhatia

The Class of 2010
Founder & Managing Director of Saucery

The lessons we learn during our schooling years are rarely ever ones we understand at the time. It's only when we are thrown into the fierce "real world", which we start appreciating the values so deeply imbibed in us by our schooling. DAIS, with its simple anthem singing "aasma ko ek din chhoo ke aayenge" and motto "Dare to Dream, Learn to Excel" taught me what I consider my biggest strengths today: the courage to dream big, and the perseverance to go out there and realize my dreams. The high achieving atmosphere made me push myself to my own increasing limits; and the strong support system of faculty and peers enabled me to get back up every time my morale fell through. Whether it was writing 12 drafts before submitting a World Culture essay for English HL, or reaching school at 6 30 am for Basketball practice - every moment was one I still cherish, and one that has shaped who I am today.

Om Dhumatkar

The Class of 2005
First Head Boy
Vice President at Deutsche Bank, London

Joining DAIS in its very first year afforded many unique opportunities. Organising the student body, editing its first annual magazine, hosting of events (from inter-house swim meets to international MUN conferences) are all treasured memories. But beyond these, DAIS instilled three core beliefs which I carry to this day. First, you are only limited by your imagination. Our initiatives were supported and encouraged by the School. Second, the path to excellence is marked by the quality of your peers. I was fortunate to attend the school with some of the cleverest, most articulate, and driven peers I've ever met - many of whom remain friends to this day. And third, there is no substitute for independent thought. To draw clarity from information overload, avoid ingesting others' biases, and be free to articulate one's independent view, is an invaluable education which I carry to this day.

Janavi M. Folmsbee

The Class of 2005
A Professional Artist

Dhirubhai Ambani International School is where I learned that dreams are achievable. The programmes, teachers and peers at DAIS helped build who I am today and what I do. The faculty and the training I received helped me become and excel as an individual and an international artist in ways I couldn't even imagine. DAIS instils in each student the ability and drive to keep learning and growing with every opportunity. 'Knowledge is power.' This is something I learned in our TOK classes and carry with me every day. At DAIS, I was taught to be ambitious, which led to my early graduation from the School of the Art Institute of Chicago. I am grateful for my experience and education at DAIS. It truly has shaped who I am and will continue to shape who I will become.

Camille Framroze

The Class of 2008
Head Girl
Pursuing LL.M. at Harvard Law School

My five years at DAIS made me a more intellectually curious, ambitious, confident and passionate human being. It introduced me to two fundamental ideas. First, that schooling - the actual act of learning and receiving an education - could be fun, exciting and fulfilling. Second, that my own opinions mattered. I was required to consider the ideas and thoughts of others, and instead of memorising them, to figure out where I fit within them, and to become capable of defending that position. Both served me well in college and continue to shape my experiences. I graduated with great friends, who are still a huge presence in my life, and precious memories.