Podcast: Talks at Innovation Valley, season1, episode8

Guest speaker: Richa Batra, Vice President & General Manager of Anthology (formerly Blackboard)

Host: Zahid Imran, Founder of Innovation Valley

Questions and points of discussion:

1. Can you tell us about your personal experience as a first-generation student from an underserved population and how wrap-around services impacted your academic outcomes?

2. How do you define wrap-around services, and how do they differ from traditional academic support services?

3. What are some of the most significant barriers faced by first-generation students from underserved populations, and how can wrap-around services help address these challenges?

4. What are some of the most effective wrap-around services for first-generation students, and how have they been shown to impact academic outcomes?

5. How can schools and universities ensure that wrap-around services are accessible and effectively implemented for first-generation students from underserved populations?

6. How can wrap-around services be integrated into a broader approach to support first-generation students' success beyond just academic support?

7. Can you discuss any research or evidence that demonstrates the impact of wrap-around services on first-generation students' long-term outcomes, such as career success and overall well-being?

8. How can wrap-around services be tailored to meet the unique needs and experiences of first-generation students from diverse backgrounds, such as low-income students, students of color, or students with disabilities?

9. What role can community partnerships and collaboration play in providing wrap-around services to first-generation students from underserved populations?

10. What advice would you give to schools and universities looking to implement or improve their wrap-around services for first-generation students from underserved populations?

Podcast: Talks at Innovation Valley, Season1, Episode7

Host: Zahid imran, Founder Innovation Valley

Guest: Farrukh Sohail, Product Manager at Amazon

Questions and points of discussion:

1. Farrukh where you did your schooling and higher education?

2. What are your interests and one big purpose in life?

3. How was your selection and onboarding at Amazon? What challenges you faced during interview?

4. What would you suggest to others as tips who want to proceed their career with big tech companies?

5. Is it necessary for a technical product manger to know - how to code, for becoming a product manager? Could anyone with non-tech background can learn technical product management?

6. I know being a product manager you need to coordinate and communists with cross functional teams, so what challenges do you face during your job as product manager?

7. What are the key responsibilities of a product manager in general?

8. What kind of mindset and skill-set once needs to have to become a successful product manager?

9. How do you convince your team on the innovation?

10. Do you initiate product innovation at your own or does the top management brief you on things?

11. What is the difference between technical product manager and product manager?

12. What would you like to advice to the new entrepreneurs and the those who want to pursue their career in tech industry?

Disclaimer:

The views, thoughts, and opinions expressed are the speaker’s own and do not represent the

views, thoughts, and opinions of the Innovation Valley or Speaker's Employer. The material and information presented here is for general information purposes only. The "University of California" name and all forms and abbreviations are the property of its owner and its use does not imply

endorsement of or opposition to any specific organization, product, or service.\

Talks at Innovation Valley, Season1, Episode#6

Topic: How to be good at business development

Guest: Alexandra Grigore

1. What challenges do you see in the current education system, and how can technology help overcome these challenges?

2. How has technology changed the way we approach education, and what benefits have you seen?

3. What role does Google for Education play in making education more impactful and accessible?

4. Can you give us some examples of innovative technology solutions that have been implemented in schools, and their impact?

5. How do you see technology bridging the gap between formal education and practical experience?

6. What steps is Google for Education taking to make sure that technology is not just a tool for students, but also for teachers?

7. How does Google for Education support educators in developing a student-centered and technology-rich learning environment?

8. Can you share your thoughts on the future of technology in education, and how it will shape the learning experience for students?

9. How can schools and universities best integrate technology into their curricula to maximize its impact on student learning?

10. Can you talk about any initiatives or programs that Google for Education has launched in Southeast Asia to promote technology in education? Especially, any special campaign?

Topic: How to be good at business development

Podcast name: Talks at Innovation Valley, Season1, Episode#5

Guest Name: Alexandra Grigore

Questions and points of discussion:

1. Can you define what business development means and why it's important for a company's success?

2. How can someone determine if they have the skills necessary for business development, and what are some of the most important qualities a business developer should possess?

3. How do you create a business development plan, and what are some key steps to take in developing that plan?

4. What are some effective strategies for identifying potential customers or clients, and how do you go about making contact with them?

5. How do you build and maintain relationships with clients or customers, and what are some tips for staying in touch with them and nurturing those relationships over time?

6. What are some common mistakes that people make when trying to develop business, and how can these mistakes be avoided?

7. How do you measure the success of your business development efforts, and what metrics should you be tracking?

8. How important is networking to business development, and what are some effective ways to network and build relationships within your industry?

9. How can business development be integrated into a company's overall strategy, and what role should it play in the organization as a whole?

10. What are some emerging trends in business development that professionals should be aware of, and how can they stay up-to-date on the latest developments in the field?

Podcast: Talks at Innovation Valley, Host: Zahid Imran, Founder of Innovation Valley

Guests: Stacey Gonzales, Renee DeVore

Questions and Points of Discussions:

1. In your experience, what are the key characteristics of a winning team?

2. What are the biggest challenges in building an effective team, and how do you overcome them?

3. How do you create a culture of collaboration and teamwork within a team?

4. How do you set and communicate clear goals for a team, and ensure everyone is aligned on them?

5. What are some effective strategies for developing a team's skills and knowledge, and how do you measure progress?

6. How do you handle conflicts within a team, and what are some effective ways to resolve them?

7. What are the most important leadership skills needed to build and lead a successful team?

8. How do you create a sense of accountability within a team, and ensure everyone is taking ownership of their work?

9. What are some common pitfalls to avoid when building and leading a team, and how can you overcome them?

10. How do you ensure that processes and systems are in place to support a high-performing team, and how do you continuously improve them?

Podcast: Talks at Innovation Valley, Host: Zahid imran, Founder Innovation Valley

Guest: Harshal Gautam, Product Manager at Microsoft

Questions and points of discussion:

1. Harshal where you did your schooling and higher education?

2. What are your interests and one big purpose in life?

3. How was your selection and onboarding at Microsoft? What challenges you faced during interview?

4. What would you suggest to others as tips who want to proceed their career with big tech companies?

5. Is it necessary for a technical product manger to know - how to code, for becoming a product manager? Could anyone with non-tech background can learn technical product management?

6. I know being a product manager you need to coordinate and communists with cross functional teams, so what challenges do you face during your job as product manager?

7. What are the key responsibilities of a product manager in general?

8. What kind of mindset and skill-set once needs to have to become a successful product manager?

9. How do you convince your team on the innovation?

10. Do you initiate product innovation at your own or does the top management brief you on things?

11. What is your perspective on ChatGPT in general + how are you going to integrate chatGPT in your area at Microsoft?

12. How Microsoft is going to integrate the ChatGPT across all their digital products?

13. What would you like to advice to the new entrepreneurs and the those who want to pursue their career in tech industry?

Guest: Shreyaan Daga, Founder & CEO of Online Live Learning (OLL, oll.co)

Host: Zahid Imran, Founder Innovation Valley

Topic: Why building edtech startups is need of the hour

Discussion points/questions:

1. What led you to the education and edtech domain? What's the story behind?

2. What challenges you faced when you initiated and during your entrepreneurial journey and how you came out of those challenges?

3. How are you managing against connectivity-issue thing?

4. What is your bigger vision and mission behind OLL?

5. What did you mean by "competition is collapsing" you said to the shark tank panel during your pitch?

6. Lean marketing strategy of OLL. Zero spend on digital marketing. Focusing on the quality and delivery of the core.

7. What problems from the existing education your platform is solving, or will solve and how?

8. Why people would come to your platform when they have opportunity to learn from the youtube and other free online resources?

9. What is the delivery model of your platform?

10. When you deal school, do they fit in your "live online" model or do you need to arrange on-campuses activities there?

11. Do you engage only your internal resources or do you also train the teachers from your partner schools?

12. Since you are school dropout, do people ask you like you yourself are not educated, then you could you educate others? If so, how do you answer people?

13. How will you ensure access of education to all those around 3.5 crore out school children in india?

14. Do you think existing educational institutes can/will resolve the skills-gap issue?

15. Do you think our region (India + Pakistan) needs more edtech platform like OLL?

16. Since one starts job or business after his her college or university degree then why school children need to learn skills and practical learning during their schooling?

17. Where do you see OLL in next 10 years?

18. How potential entrepreneurs can overcome fear of start?

19. Do you thing finances could be the reason of not initiating something?

20. "My raised funding 1.3 core is still in my bank account. I dit not use that. (The art of Bootstrapping)

21. What would you like to advice to the new startup founders and entrepreneurs?

Topic: Immersive Technologies and Future of Learning

Guest: Monica Ares, Head of Immersive Learning at Meta (Facebook)

Host: Zahid Imran, Founder of Innovation Valley

Discussion/Questions:

1. You have been focused on learning in the metaverse. What drew you to thaarea, and what is the impact you think t technology will have on the future of education?

2. The concept of the metaverse has been around for decades. Why is it suddenly taking off now and what’s driving it?

3. Technology innovation has always been a double-edged sword. What are some of the pros and cons of where this technology is headed?

4. What are you most excited about for the future of the metaverse?

5. Do you think the world is ready for learning in the Metaverse, in view the current connectivity and technological infrastructure especially in developing countries?

6. Do you think that new emerging technologies will replace the on-campus model of learning, and do you see it as a threat for teachers, will teachers be replaced by the technology?

7. Which learning model do you think is best for example, just self-paced online, self paced online + on-campus (hybrid model)?

8. For what age group do you think “learning in the Metaverse” will be best and how do you see it for children?