A student from Bihar who once struggled to afford IIT entrance coaching has received the UK's prestigious Diana Award for helping thousands of young people access education and career opportunities.
Adarsh Kumar, who founded the educational platform Skillzo at 16, has been recognised for his work in providing mentorship, entrepreneurship training and career guidance to students across India.
As per a November 9 announcement by Georgetown University in Qatar, where Kumar currently studies, his initiative has connected more than 25,000 students with educational and professional opportunities.
From financial struggles to launching Skillzo
According to Chegg.org, Kumar grew up in Champaran, Bihar, where his single mother cleaned homes to support his education. She used her savings to buy him a laptop, which became his gateway to learning coding and entrepreneurship.
{{/usCountry}}According to Chegg.org, Kumar grew up in Champaran, Bihar, where his single mother cleaned homes to support his education. She used her savings to buy him a laptop, which became his gateway to learning coding and entrepreneurship.
{{/usCountry}}At 14, Kumar left home with just ₹1,000 and travelled to Kota, hoping to prepare for the IIT-JEE examination. However, financial difficulties prevented him from enrolling at a coaching institute.
Instead, he turned to public libraries and free Wi-Fi to contact mentors, explore internships and learn from entrepreneurs.
At 13, he had also co-founded Mission Badlao, a community initiative working on education, healthcare and environmental issues.
In 2023, he launched Skillzo to make mentorship and career opportunities more accessible to underserved students.
Turning setbacks into opportunities
Building an organisation at such a young age came with challenges, particularly when convincing others to trust his abilities.
"How can I convince, being 16 years old or 17 years old, someone to believe in me?" Kumar told Georgetown University.
Speaking about handling setbacks, he added, "Those are the challenges. But you do work, you keep failing, you fail fast."
In 2025, Kumar became the first Indian recipient of the $100,000 Chegg.org Global Student Prize, selected from nearly 11,000 applications and nominations across 148 countries.
He now hopes to contribute to Bihar's development through his education.
What is the Diana Award?
Established in 1999 in memory of Diana, Princess of Wales, the Diana Award recognises young people making significant contributions through social action and humanitarian work.
According to its official announcement, 198 young changemakers from 44 countries, including 49 from India, were honoured during a virtual ceremony on November 4, 2026.
Kumar is also listed on the organisation's 2026 Roll of Honour.