Global Student Prize – Recognising exceptional students, making a real impact on learning, the lives of their peers and on society beyond.

Adarsh Kumar, an 18-year-old innovator from Bihar, India, who grew up in poverty and left home at 14 to pursue a better education, has been named the winner of the Chegg.org Global Student Prize 2025, a $100,000 award given to one exceptional student that has made a real impact on learning, the lives of their peers and on society beyond. He was selected from almost 11,000 nominations and applications from 148 countries around the world. Adarsh, a student at Jayshree Periwal International School, accepted the award in London, UK.

Born in Champaran, Bihar, with no stable electricity and limited internet access, Adarsh Kumar was raised by a single mother who cleaned homes to fund his education. When she spent her life savings on a laptop, it became his gateway to possibility. Through YouTube and Google, he taught himself coding, start-up skills, and entrepreneurship.

At just 13, he launched the non-profit Mission Badlao with his sister-in-law, mobilising his community and achieving real change, including securing land for a new government school, facilitating 2,000+ COVID vaccinations, distributing menstrual health products, and planting 3,000 trees.

Determined to break barriers, he left home on his own at 14 with only 1,000 Rupees ($10) and headed to Kota, hundreds of miles away, in pursuit of coaching for the Indian Institute of Technology Joint Entrance Examination.

Unable to afford the coaching, he camped out in libraries, using free Wi-Fi to cold-email mentors, land internships, and shadow start-up founders. These experiences became the foundation of Skillzo, a transformative platform launched in 2023, equipping underserved high school students with mentorship, entrepreneurship training, and real-world opportunities. By designing tailored courses and sourcing industry experts aligned with students’ ambitions, he built more than just a programme – he built a launchpad for futures. In just over two years, Skillzo has already empowered over 20,000 students, many of whom have gone on to earn scholarships, launch ventures, and win national awards. At its core, Skillzo is about giving young people the tools, confidence, and connections they need to shape their own destinies.

Adarsh independently sat for his Grade 10 board exams which allowed him to win a full scholarship to Jayshree Periwal International School in Rajasthan, one India’s best IB schools, worth 30 lakh Rupees. Here, he helped three other students secure the same life-changing support. As CMO of Bihar Chhatra Sansad, the state’s largest student-led policy forum, he has engaged 1,500+ youth in governance and raised $36,000 for student initiatives.

At Jayshree Periwal International School, Adarsh joined Global Social Leaders, took part in the GSL Global Goals programme, and entered his project into our international competition, where he was recognised with awards.

Internationally, he was named the youngest Google Youth Advisor, joining 52 global leaders shaping technology policy.

With the $100,000 prize money, Adarsh plans to launch SkillzoX, an AI-powered mentorship platform for rural learners, and the Ignite Fellowship, a global accelerator for student changemakers.