Mainak Roy

I grew up believing that the people who shape us most rarely get the recognition they deserve. For me, that person was a teacher. I work in public education in India, but I’d describe myself less as an education professional and more as someone who is genuinely troubled by the gap between human potential and the systems we build to unlock it. That gap keeps me up at night. It also gets me out of bed in the morning. Over the last decade, I’ve worked alongside government school teachers across many states in India and what I’ve learned is that lasting change doesn’t come from programmes or policies alone. It comes from dignity. From treating a teacher not as a recipient of training, but as a thinking professional worthy of trust, investment, and time. I believe deeply in systems. In the slow, unglamorous work of building something that outlasts any one person’s enthusiasm. And in the idea that real scale isn’t about reaching more people, it’s about changing the conditions that shape everyone. I find meaning in poetry, in long conversations that wander somewhere unexpected, and in questions that resist easy answers. If you care about what it takes to build more just and humane institutions - in education or anywhere else, I’d love to talk.

Improving teaching inside public schools in India

Every child needs an adult who believes in them

Making coffee and cocktails, and listening.