Bhatkal students’ startup wins NexGen Skills Shapers Award at India’s Iconic Business Awards
Bengaluru: Alliance ProLearn Private Limited, a startup founded by two young students from Bhatkal, has bagged the NexGen Skills Shapers Award 2025 at the 16th edition of India’s Business Iconic Awards held at the White Pearl ASR Convention Centre, Yelahanka, Bengaluru.
The startup, co-founded by Mohammed Ismail and Mohammed Meera Mohtesham, focuses on upskilling school and college students in 21st-century skillsets including Robotics, Electronics, Coding, Artificial Intelligence, Drone Technologies, and even non-tech skills like Martial Arts. The initiative, which started with a vision to empower young learners with practical knowledge, has now been recognised at the national stage for its innovative approach.
Both Ismail, who is pursuing M.Tech in Robotics and Industrial Automation at MIT, Manipal, and Meera, currently studying Electronics Engineering at AITM, Bhatkal, dedicated the award to their late mentor Mohtesham Mohammed Yaseen (Yaseen sir) who passed away recently, recalling his guidance and encouragement in shaping the initiative.
In an official note, the founders described the award as a “dream turned into reality,” crediting their late-night brainstorming sessions, the hurdles they overcame, and the belief that skills can transform lives. They also expressed gratitude to their team members, learners who placed trust in them, and well-wishers who supported the journey.
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Man sets fire to gas cylinder on truck in Kerala's Kottayam, held
Kottayam(Kerala) (PTI): A 33-year-old man climbed onto a parked truck carrying cooking gas cylinders and set fire to one of them near Thalayolaparambu in the small hours of Saturday, police said.
The incident occurred around 12.30 am, they said.
The fire and rescue personnel soon arrived at the scene and extinguished the fire, averting a major disaster.
According to police, the man is suspected to be under mental distress as he claimed that he was walking from Ernakulam to his home in Marangattupilly here when he saw the truck on the roadside.
An FIR under sections 329(3)(criminal trespass),324(2)(mischief),326(f)(mischief by injury, inundation, fire or explosive substance) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita was lodged against him.
Police said that the man was formally arrested, but will be released on station bail as the offences he is accused of are bailable.
"His family is here at the station and he will be released to them," the officer said.
In the FIR, police have said that the man opened the seal of one of the gas cylinders and set fire to it with the knowledge that his act was dangerous to those living in the area.
According to the company transporting the cooking gas cylinders, it suffered a loss of Rs 2,300 in the incident.
