L - R : Dr. Kalpana Sampath, Asha Thomas, Rupande Padaki, K Jairaj , Dr. T V Rao ,Aniruddha Jatkar , Dr. J M Sampath Bengaluru, November 22, 2025: Over 350 students, educators, parents, and thought leaders gathered at the SAP Champions Awards 2025, held at Meenakshi Rangamancha Auditorium, Bengaluru, to celebrate young changemakers who are applying life education to real-world impact through the EQUBE (Enabling Evolutionary Excellence) program.

The annual awards recognized students who undertook Social Action Projects (SAPs) community initiatives designed to build empathy, social awareness, and leadership among schoolchildren. This year’s finalists, selected from over 14,000 students who go through EQUBE program across five states and 750 projects, presented diverse projects addressing issues such as environmental conservation, health awareness, animal welfare, mental health, education, nutrition, water conservation, waste management, inclusion, and community welfare.

Dr. J. M. Sampath, Founder and Managing Director, EFIL Educational Services and EQUBE, shared: “These young minds remind us that empathy and social awareness are not subjects to be taught, but values to be lived. The SAP journey empowers students to understand their responsibility to the world and act on it with conviction.” Adding to this, Dr. Kalpana Sampath Founder Director, EFIL Educational Services and Program Director, EQUBE, said: “Through SAP, students experience the transformation that comes from taking responsibility for something larger than themselves. They learn to listen, empathize, and respond qualities that will shape not just their future careers but the kind of human beings they become.” The event also marked the launch of Dr. Sampath’s latest book, “Why I Do What I Do,” unveiled by Prof. T. V. Rao, Chairman of TVRLS. Additionally, the “Top 100 Changemaker Students” Compendium was released, featuring inspiring stories from the 2024–26 batches who have made a tangible difference in their communities.

Dignitaries at the event included K. Jairaj, IAS (Retd.), who presented the Champion Award, and Asha Thomas, Trustee, The Samhita Academy, who felicitated the runners-up. The EQUBE Alumni Award was presented by Rupande Padaki, Founder – P&P Group, while Aniruddha Jatkar, actor, director, and social worker, launched the Changemakers Compendium.

The SAP Champions Awards aim to make social consciousness an integral part of school education, aligning with CBSE and ICSE recommendations on life skills and community action (SEWA and SUPW), as well as with the State Curriculum, which includes Value education. Over the past 18 years, EQUBE has facilitated over 750 projects annually (13000 projects impacting over 50000 lives), with several student initiatives earning recognition at Ashoka Young Changemaker Awards, TEDx platforms, and global youth forums. Alumni over the last 18 years are making a global mark, and some are acclaimed social entrepreneurs recognised for their contributions. They have come back to EFIL to support the EQUBE initiative.

The event concluded with the screening of a short documentary, “Inner Curriculum – Creating Socially Conscious Changemakers”, directed by Sangita Iyer, chronicling EQUBE’s 18-year journey of integrating life education into mainstream schooling, highlighting its mission to enable students to discover purpose, act with compassion, and live consciously. The documentary has won the Best Award at the Toronto Female Film Festival, been nominated at the LA Sun Film Fest, and been a Semifinalist at the Paris International Film Festival.

About EQUBE EQUBE (Enabling Evolutionary Excellence) is a pioneering life education program designed to integrate values, reflection, and personal growth into school learning. Running from Grades 3 to 10 across CBSE, ICSE, and State Boards in five Indian states, EQUBE engages over 14,000 students annually, encouraging them to apply empathy, social consciousness and ethical thinking to everyday life challenges.

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