Manish Jain

Manish is a de-educationist, social innovator, and ecosystem cultivator. He has 25 years of experience working with grassroots leaders, young people, and local communities.

Manish is a de-educationist, social innovator and ecosystem manifestor.

Manish has 25 years of experience working with grassroots leaders, young people, and local communities. The vision behind his work is that people are inherently creative when freed from the constraints of factory schooling and externally imposed development paradigms.

Manish has co-founded several initiatives that have brought thousands of learners together. These include Shikshantar (The Peoples’ Institute for Rethinking Education and Development), Swaraj University (built on Gandhi’s ideas of self-rule), and Ecoversities Alliance (a network of 100+ alternative universities globally), and most recently the Jail University – a new innovation in rehabilitative prison practice.

Prior to his journey as a social entrepreneur , Manish has worked at Morgan Stanley, UNESCO, UNICEF and with various international NGOs. He has been trying to unlearn his master’s degree in education from Harvard University and his BA in economics, international development, and political philosophy from Brown University.