Storytelling – Sandiip Bansal

Some changes are so profound, they quietly redefine everything we know. The Internet, the World Wide Web, and now, Artificial Intelligence — three forces that have not just connected the world, but have changed the way we live, learn, and dream.

I still remember the days when getting our exam results was a race against time. At five in the morning, we’d rush to the local newspaper stand, scanning hurriedly through pages, names, roll numbers — hearts pounding with anticipation. It wasn’t just about the results; it was a ritual, a shared memory stitched into our youth.

Then came the early 2000s. The Internet and the World Wide Web began to reshape even the smallest experiences. Suddenly, results were available online — although the websites struggled under heavy traffic and the connections were painfully slow. Still, students would gather around my Institution, eyes wide with hope. Hours were spent refreshing pages, celebrating victories, consoling each other’s setbacks. I never charged a single student on result day. Watching them smile, witnessing dreams inch closer to reality — that was its own reward.

Fast Forward today, Students are getting results directly on their Student Portal, WhatsApp. Without rushing to stores or centres, struggling web portals. The Results are delivered on their Registered Email and Mobile Number. The Experience is changing with new ways of technology automation.

The New Mission: Building Seamless Experiences for Students

Fast forward to today. When I took up a responsible position at a leading educational institution, a question stayed with me: How can we make every student’s journey smoother, warmer, more memorable?

Technology was the answer. But only if used with empathy.

We introduced automation from onboarding to offboarding — ensuring students no longer had to rush from one office to another, burdened with paperwork and uncertainty.

1. Admission Onboarding: Turning Chaos into Comfort

Imagine thousands of students arriving with their parents in July, bags heavy with dreams. Our institution now has a dedicated onboarding team to guide students through their classes, hostels, departments — every touchpoint thoughtfully organized.

But there were still gaps. Students had to visit departments just to get their portal login credentials. They had to fill manual hostel forms separately, despite having provided the same information earlier.

Article content — Image Source: https://www.hindustantimes.com/education/10-types-of-students-you-meet-during-du-admissions/story-sFNd7x4668aa1iUzg81u8I.html

In today’s world, this is simply unacceptable.

We realized:

Why not automate login credential delivery through registered email IDs?
Why not integrate hostel registration within the main admission form, eliminating duplication and errors?

Students today expect efficiency — and institutions must rise to meet that expectation.

2. A Farewell to Remember: AI at Convocation

Your last memory at college should be joyful, not stressful.

At last year’s convocation, we deployed an AI-powered SaaS application that allowed students to download their professional photographs instantly. A simple QR code scan — and their proud moments were delivered straight to their WhatsApp. No waiting, no pushing through crowds, no disappointment.

It wasn’t just technology. It was dignity. It was respect for their journey.

Key Takeaways for Educational Leaders

Empathize with Student Journeys: Technology should serve emotions, not complicate them.
Automate Thoughtfully: Every repetitive process is an opportunity for simplicity.
Invest in Lasting Memories: Moments like onboarding and convocation are not administrative tasks; they are memories in the making.

🌟 A Call to Educational Institutions

The students of today are the leaders of tomorrow. Their first interaction with your institution should feel like a welcome, not a test of endurance.

Let us build institutions where technology meets humanity, where automation amplifies dreams, and where every student feels — from day one to graduation day — that their journey truly matters.

If you are passionate about transforming the student experience, let’s connect. Let’s reimagine education — one thoughtful innovation at a time.

How many marbles do you have?

The older I get, the more I enjoy Saturday mornings. Perhaps it’s the quiet solitude that comes with being the first to rise, of maybe it’s the unbounded joy of not having to be at work. Either way, the first few hours of a Saturday morning are most enjoyable.

A few weeks ago, I was shuffling toward the kitchen, with a steaming cup of coffee in one hand and the morning paper in the other. What began as a typical Saturday morning turned into one of those lessons that life seems to hand you from time to time.

Let me tell you about it. I turned the volume up on my radio in order to listen to a Saturday morning talk show. I heard an older sounding chap with a golden voice. You know the kind, he sounded like he should be in the broadcasting business himself.

He was talking about “a thousand marbles” to someone named “Tom”. I was intrigued and sat down to listen to what he had to say. “Well, Tom, it sure sounds like you’re busy with your job. I’m sure they pay you well but it’s a shame you have to be away from home and your family so much. Hard to believe a young fellow should have to work sixty or seventy hours a week to make ends meet. Too bad you missed your daughter’s dance recital. ” He continued, “Let me tell you something Tom, something that has helped me keep a good perspective on my own priorities.” And that’s when he began to explain his theory of a “thousand marbles.”

“You see, I sat down one day and did a little arithmetic. The average person lives about seventy-five years. I know, some live more and some live less, but on average, folks live about seventy-five years.” “Now then, I multiplied 75 times 52 and I came up with 3900 which is the number of Saturdays that the average person has in their entire lifetime.

“Now stick with me Tom, I’m getting to the important part. “It took me until I was fifty-five years old to think about all this in any detail”, he went on, “and by that time I had lived through over twenty-eight hundred Saturdays. “I got to thinking that if I lived to be seventy-five, I only had about a thousand of them left to enjoy. “So I went to a toy store and bought every single marble they had. I ended up having to visit three toy stores to round-up 1000 marbles. “I took them home and put them inside of a large, clear plastic container right here in my workshop next to the radio. Every Saturday since then, I have taken one marble out and thrown it away.

“I found that by watching the marbles diminish, I focused more on the really important things in life. There is nothing like watching your time here on this earth run out to help get your priorities straight. “Now let me tell you one last thing before I sign-off with you and take my lovely wife out for breakfast. This morning, I took the very last marble out of the container. I figure if I make it until next Saturday then God has blessed me with a little extra time to be with my loved ones…… “It was nice to talk to you Tom, I hope you spend more time with your loved ones, and I hope to meet you again someday. Have a good morning!”

You could have heard a pin drop when he finished. Even the show’s moderator didn’t have anything to say for a few moments. I guess he gave us all a lot to think about. I had planned to do some work that morning, then go to the gym. Instead, I went upstairs and woke my wife up with a kiss. “C’mon honey, I’m taking you and the kids to breakfast.” “What brought this on?” she asked with a smile. “Oh, nothing special,” I said. ” It has just been a long time since we spent a Saturday together with the kids. Hey, can we stop at a toy store while we’re out? I need to buy some marbles.”

“Your diamonds are not in far distant mountains or in yonder seas; they are in your own backyard if you but dig for them.”Dr Russell H. Conwell

One of the most interesting Americans who lived in the 19th century was a man by the name of Russell Herman Conwell. He was born in 1843 and lived until 1925. He was a lawyer for about fifteen years until he became a clergyman.

One day, a young man went to him and told him he wanted a college education but couldn’t swing it financially. Dr Conwell decided, at that moment, what his aim in life was, besides being a man of the cloth – that is. He decided to build a university for unfortunate, but deserving, students. He did have a challenge, however. He would need a few million dollars to build the university. For Dr Conwell, and anyone with real purpose in life, nothing could stand in the way of his goal.

Several years before this incident, Dr Conwell was tremendously intrigued by a true story – with its ageless moral.

The story was about a farmer who lived in Africa and through a visitor became tremendously excited about looking for diamonds. Diamonds were already discovered in abundance on the African continent and this farmer got so excited about the idea of millions of dollars worth of diamonds that he sold his farm to head out to the diamond line. He wandered all over the continent, as the years slipped by, constantly searching for diamonds, wealth, which he never found. Eventually, he went completely broke and threw himself into a river and drowned.

Meanwhile, the new owner of his farm picked up an unusual looking rock about the size of a country egg and put it on his mantle as a sort of curiosity. A visitor stopped by and in viewing the rock practically went into terminal convulsions. He told the new owner of the farm that the funny looking rock on his mantle was about the biggest diamond that had ever been found. The new owner of the farm said, “Heck, the whole farm is covered with them” – and sure enough it was.

The farm turned out to be the Kimberly Diamond Mine… the richest the world has ever known. The original farmer was literally standing on “Acres of Diamonds” until he sold his farm.

Dr Conwell learned from the story of the farmer and continued to teach it’s moral. Each of us is right in the middle of our own “Acre of Diamonds” if only we would realize it and develop the ground we are standing on before charging off in search of greener pastures. Dr Conwell told this story many times and attracted enormous audiences. He told the story long enough to have raised the money to start the college for underprivileged deserving students. In fact, he raised nearly six million dollars and the university he founded, Temple University in Philadelphia, has at least ten degree-granting colleges and six other schools.

When Doctor Russell H. Conwell talked about each of us being right on our own “Acre of Diamonds”, he meant it.

This story does not get old…it will be true forever…
Opportunity does not just come along – it is there all the time – we just have to see it.

“Build bridges not walls”Suzy Kassem, Rise Up and Salute the Sun

Once upon a time two brothers, who lived on adjoining farms, fell into conflict. It was the first serious rift in 40 years of farming side by side, sharing machinery, and trading labor and goods as needed without a conflict.

Then the long collaboration fell apart. It began with a small misunderstanding and it grew into a major difference, and finally it exploded into an exchange of bitter words followed by weeks of silence.

One morning there was a knock on John’s door. He opened it to find a man with a carpenter’s tool box. “I’m looking for a few days’ work” he said. “Perhaps you would have a few small jobs here and there I could help with? Could I help you?” “Yes,” said the older brother. “I do have a job for you.”

“Look across the creek at that farm. That’s my neighbor; in fact, it’s my younger brother. Last week there was a meadow between us and he took his bulldozer to the river levee and now there is a creek between us. Well, he may have done this to spite me, but I’ll do him one better.”

“See that pile of lumber by the barn? I want you to build me a fence –an 8-foot fence –so I won’t need to see his place or his face anymore.”

The carpenter said, “I think I understand the situation. Show me the nails and the post-hole digger and I’ll be able to do a job that pleases you.”

The older brother had to go to town, so he helped the carpenter get the materials ready and then he was off for the day. The carpenter worked hard all that day measuring, sawing, nailing. About sunset when the farmer returned, the carpenter had just finished his job.

The farmer’s eyes opened wide, his jaw dropped. There was no fence there at all. It was a bridge — a bridge stretching from one side of the creek to the other! A fine piece of work, handrails and all — and the neighbor, his younger brother, was coming toward them, his hand outstretched. “You are quite a fellow to build this bridge after all I’ve said and done.” The two brothers stood at each end of the bridge, and then they met in the middle, taking each other’s hand.

They turned to see the carpenter hoist his toolbox onto his shoulder. “No, wait! Stay a few days. I’ve a lot of other projects for you,” said the older brother. “I’d love to stay on,” the carpenter said, but I have many more bridges to build.

It doesn’t matter what our outer circumstances are either, because the Kingdom of Heaven is within us. Don’t spend the rest of your life searching the world for happiness then.

Just look in the mirror and laugh. Just let the happiness flow from your heart, mind, and soul until it fills your life and the lives of all those around you.

A group of alumni, highly established in their careers, got together to visit their old university professor .

Conversation soon turned into complaints about stress in work and life. Offering his guests coffee, the professor went to the kitchen and returned with a large pot of coffee and an assortment of cups porcelain, plastic, glass, crystal, some plain looking, some expensive, some exquisite – telling them to help themselves to hot coffee.

When all the students had a cup of coffee in hand, the professor said: “If you noticed, all the nice looking expensive cups were taken up, leaving behind the plain and cheap ones. While it is but normal for you to want only the best for yourselves, that is the source of your problems and stress. What all of you really wanted was coffee, not the cup, but you consciously went for the best cups and were eyeing each other’s cups.

Now if life is coffee, then the jobs, money and position in society are the cups. They are just tools to hold and contain Life, but the quality of Life doesn’t change. Sometimes, by concentrating only on the cup, we fail to enjoy the coffee in it.”

Don’t let the cups drive you… Enjoy the coffee instead

Tag: Storytelling

From 5AM Newspaper Scramble to Instant WhatsApp Downloads: A Story of Change