Qatar’s forward thinking and investment in education will pay rich dividends for the country in the years to come, leading Indian entrepreneur, investor and film producer Rohinton Soli Screwvala, popularly known as Ronnie Screwvala, told Gulf Times in an exclusive interview.

“I am fascinated by the forward thinking of Qatar and other countries in the region. Qatar is articulating it with a strong vision and passion. I think the investment by Qatar in the education sector will be a huge asset for the country in the years and decades to come,” stated Screwvala, who was in town to attend Qatar Economic Forum.

Screwvala, who has set up some path breaking and successful ventures in India such as UTV and UpGrad and several other startups, said: “Qatar and the countries in the entire region are building so many new things. They have a great capital with a long term view. One of the long term capitals is education which is transformative. I like the energy and the long term vision that Qatar is showing, going beyond the natural resources.”

Screwvala recalled that he was into theatre as a hobby in the early days and that was his first exposure to arts and thereby to the media. He built a media and entertainment company, UTV, which after several setbacks, scaled to a size spanning all aspects of content and platform. Later he also produced a number of Bollywood movies and several of them went on to become huge hits.

As for his foray into online education, Screwvala said that it was a different calling for him and one of the best things to happen. “UpGrad was different. I find a huge potential for the online education and lifelong learning. UpGrad provides such a platform for anybody and everybody. If you look at education, learning and skilling, it is a kind of storytelling. As you look at the end of the day, you will find that the professors or teachers at your college and schools are the best communicators that you remember,” he continued.

“UpGrad came out of the thinking for enabling people with greater skills. Lifelong learning is an interesting topic for me and people will have to take time to upskill themselves to keep up with the present day developments and not to lose their jobs. It sounded to me an interesting market to disrupt not just in India but around the world,” he pointed out.

UpGrad is a programme in the higher education meant for working professionals and Screwvala feels that it has a huge potential. He says that UpGrad and the Swades Foundation, which he founded along with his wife, are his major areas of attention for sometime to come.

“I have been in the media business for the last 20 years and instead of thinking what next, I am thinking of depth in the existing programmes. The Swades Foundation, which is committed to empower one million lives in rural India every 5-7 years and UpGrad are the calling for me for the next 10 to 20 years,” added, Screwvala.