upGrad announces advisory board to scale upGrad Institute in Singapore

New Delhi: Edtech firm upGrad on Monday announced the appointment of seven industry leaders to the advisory board of upGrad Institute, a government-approved private education institution in Singapore.

The advisory board will offer insights to help accelerate upGrad’s focus on building a robust learning institute that will empower the global workforce with an industry-ready experiential curriculum, the company said in a statement.

"Joining the advisory board as Chairman, Prof. Arnoud De Meyer, ex-president of Singapore Management University... Along with him, Prof S Sadagopan, chairman, BoG, IIITDM-Kancheepuram, and founder director, IIIT-Bangalore, brings extensive experience in academia and education," the company said.

With a sharp focus on skilling and job outcomes, upGrad Institute has also on-boarded accomplished industry leaders from diverse backgrounds, it said.

They include Magdalene Ew, head of content, entertainment, Southeast Asia, Taiwan and Hong Kong, Warner Bros. Discovery; Jeremy Williams, managing director of PropertyGuru Marketplaces; Laura Parsons, vice-president, human resources, BBC Studios, the company said.

Other members are Larry Bradley, chief executive officer of SolasAI, and Mohit Nayyar, vice-president, human resources, global skin and personal care, P&G.

"Together, this diverse and accomplished board will play a crucial role in upGrad's endeavours to shape and grow Asia’s higher education and skilling landscape," the release added.

The company has invested USD 5 million to establish and scale upGrad Institute and is inviting enrolments for its debut doctorate programmes, along with select skilling courses in data science and management, with top global universities.

The first batch is expected to commence in the next 60 days.

"These latest appointments not just reassure our commitment but also power our ambition of rewriting the global skilling landscape," Ronnie Screwvala, co-founder and chairperson of upGrad, said.