BUILT BY HER
Education, equity, and engineering: a conversation with kalash bhaiya
july 15th, by lavinia ricca
Lester B. Pearson Scholar, Computer Engineering student, and Non-Profit Founder; now at the University of Toronto, Kalash Bhaiya’s journey has been exceptional. Growing up, Kalash was faced with four different education systems across India, Singapore, and Canada. Each experience reshaped not only how she learned, but how she viewed the role education plays in empowering people to create change.
"The biggest lesson," she reflects, "was realizing that you can just do things."
This realization came at just fourteen years old, when she organized a local food drive in Singapore. Seeing the tangible impact of a simple initiative fundamentally changed how she viewed herself – not as someone waiting for permission, but as someone capable of making a difference.
That mindset would eventually grow into the Fund Learning Youth Foundation, a nonprofit she co-founded during the COVID-19 pandemic after recognizing that many children in underserved communities had completely lost access to education. What began with teaching a handful of students quickly expanded into a nationwide initiative spanning multiple cities across India.
Soon, the foundation’s mission evolved beyond tutoring. Rather than simply delivering lessons, Kalash and her team became mentors – supporting students, working with families, helping remove financial barriers, and creating environments where children felt encouraged to return to learning.
"We wanted every child to know that someone genuinely believed in their future."
"The biggest lesson," she reflects, "was realizing that you can just do things."
"We wanted every child to know that someone genuinely believed in their future."
Today, the organization has expanded further, opening computer learning centres where children gain digital literacy and experimenting with AI-powered teaching assistants trained on the local curricula to encourage both independent learning and curiosity.
Alongside her nonprofit work, Kalash continues to pursue engineering research at the University of Toronto, focusing on computer hardware and emerging applications in biotechnology and neurotechnology. One of her favourite projects involved implementing a neural network directly onto FPGA hardware, which involved rewiring computer architecture to perform machine learning tasks more efficiently.
Although highly technical, her motivation remains deeply human. Engineering, she explains, is simply another way to build tools that improve people's lives.
As one of many women navigating traditionally male-dominated technical spaces, Kalash acknowledges that stereotypes still exist. Women are often expected to excel in communication or empathy while their technical abilities are underestimated.
When asked how she approaches such issues, her response is straightforward. "Be the leader and change the environment."
Rather than waiting for spaces to become more inclusive, she encourages young women to trust their own abilities, seek out supportive communities, and confidently take on opportunities, even before they feel completely ready.
Throughout her journey, mentors have played an important role, though not always in the traditional sense. Instead of one defining figure, she credits teachers, family members, friends, and peers who each inspired different parts of her growth.
No matter the challenge – moving between education systems, launching a nonprofit at fifteen, or pursuing engineering research – Kalash credits her success to taking the first step before having all the answers.
"Nobody's ever prepared. Just have agency, go for it. It's okay—there will be problems, and you'll overcome them. If you keep taking those actions instead of being fearful of the world, one day you'll look back and be amazed at how far you've come."