After the birth of his first daughter, Vikas gupta felt a deeper calling than his current role as head of Consumer Payments at Google- to make coding and technical skills accessible to young children. His vision was crowdfunded and with his team he developed Dash and Dot, robots that were designed to introduce young children to coding and programming. Dash and Dot have since gained popularity and acclaim in the education world and are implemented widely in schools, such as my own. The robots are dynamic and can be used with an expanding catalogue of accessories, such as a ball launcher and a mini xylophone. The original value of this venture lies in its ability to engage young learners in coding and programming at a level that is engaging, accessible, meaningful and fun.
Perhaps Gupta’s value as an innovator-leader is most evident in his motivations for championing his venture. His biographical information suggests that he is motivated primarily as a father who sees value in engaging young childrten in technical skills such as coding. Likewise, he identifies the goal of closing the gender gap in the technology industry as a driving force behind his venture. In an article in Forbes magazine he argues that engaging girls in technology at an early age by piquing their interests will play a key role in reducing this gender gap. The company he founded, Wonder Workshop, models this motivation and possibly strays into social enterprise territory as it sponsors robotics competitions which tend to have equal participation of genders, helped fund a school in a developing nation partly through Dash sales, and released a curriculum based on learning to code that also fits existing (ISTE) standards.
Based on his vision of making coding accessible to young children and closing the gender gap in tech by piquing girls interest at an early age, I think Vikas Gupta is an excellent example of an innovator-leader who has seen his vision through from idea to invention to highly successful and acclaimed venture which has created original value that is in high demand in today’s education market.
References
Gupta, V. (2017, May 05). Closing The Gender Gap In Computer Science Begins In Kindergarten. Retrieved June 02, 2019, from https://www.forbes.com/sites/schoolboard/2017/05/05/closing-the-gender-gap-in-computer-science-begins-in-kindergarten/#58984682a451
Wonder Workshop | Home of Cue, Dash, and Dot, robots that help kids learn to code. (n.d.). Retrieved from https://www.makewonder.com/about/#the-team
