Mayank Dhingra: Helping Bridge Digital Equity in Education

Ladderworks is a publishing platform of diverse picture books and an online curriculum with the mission to empower over a million kids to become social entrepreneurs. Our current series features interviews by our interplanetary journalist Spiffy with inspiring Social Entrepreneurs, Entrepreneurship Ecosystem Builders, and Changemakers who are advancing the UN SDGs. 

Spiffy here with the scoop on the entrepreneurial leaders of Planet Earth. As the only interplanetary journalist stationed on this blue planet, I’m thrilled to present this galactic exclusive with Mayank Dhingra, the Senior Education Business Leader of HP Inc. Let’s learn about what’s happening there and how Mayank is making a positive impact in the world.

Spiffy: Hi Mayank, thanks a million for talking to me today. Tell me, what challenge are you addressing through HP Inc?

Mayank: Thanks for having me, Spiffy! We’re helping bridge digital equity in education, supporting future skilling of students, and the capacity-building of educators and policy makers, through a portfolio stack consisting of the following programs: HP IDEA, HP Cambridge EdTech Fellowship, HP Classeasy, HP Futures, HP Gaming Garage, HP Innovation Garage, HP READ, HP School Improvement Coach, World Education Medals, and HP EdTech Incubator.

Spiffy: Wow! What motivates you to do it?

Mayank: Advancing quality education and bridging the digital divide gives me great personal satisfaction and aligns with my personal value system. As a purpose-driven company that has committed to some very ambitious sustainability goals, it aligns with HP's corporate values too, so makes for an in-sync experience. Seeing the positive impact on learners and educators keeps me going.

Spiffy: What would you say is the impact of your work?

Mayank: My work supports all stakeholders across the education ecosystem—from learners to parents, from educators to school leaders, from policymakers to changemakers. This is achieved through a scaffolding of programs that advance from digital solutioning to celebrating changemakers.

Spiffy: Tell me about a recent organization milestone or initiative. What impact does it make on your community?

Mayank: We recently hit a milestone of one million learners and teachers impacted by the HP IDEA program across 23 countries in the short span of three years. This was a very heartwarming milestone.

Spiffy: Is there anything else you would love to tell our audience?

Mayank: We recently launched an Esports and Game Development Academy—HP Gaming Garage—that offers students from across the globe free access to 67 modules on Esports Management, Game Design, and Game Programming, leading to a professional certificate. The program is hosted on edX, is self paced, and available in 12 languages.

Spiffy: Thanks for speaking with me today, Mayank—it’s been an honor!

Mayank Dhingra leads the Education Business Vertical for the Worldwide Commercial Organization at HP Inc. His role is to provide strategic direction and thought leadership to the education business line. He also works with National Education Ministries to support country-level education policy and to evangelize HP’s education proposition. (First published on the Ladderworks website on March 29, 2024.)

The views and opinions expressed herein are those of the interviewee and do not necessarily reflect those of Ladderworks LLC.