Newham MIT alumnus sets up tutoring business

by LAUREN CODLING

AN EAST LONDON student who graduated from a prestigious US university has set up her own tutoring business to help others gain access to top institutions.

Tafsia Shikdar is the co-founder of tutoring and academic counselling business, Beyond Exams. Having recently graduated from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), the 22-year-old hopes the business can guide others to success in further education.

Hailing from a working-class family in Newham, Shikdar made headlines in 2017 when she won an unconditional offer to MIT. The Ivy League university is ranked among the most prestigious academic institutions in the world.

“Since I got into MIT, a lot of people have reached out to me on social media for advice,” she told Eastern Eye. “(Co-founder Krupali Parikh and I) realised some students don’t have much support in school (on further education) so we thought we could help them by offering advice on exams and how to apply for universities.”

Parikh also grew up in Newham, and the duo believe that sharing their experiences of the barriers they faced as young people in the borough could contribute to the success of their business. “We wanted to provide our personal experiences of growing up in these areas, which you might not get elsewhere,” explained Shikdar, who is of British Bangladeshi heritage.

Tafsia attended the prestigious Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), one of the world's top schools

Beyond Exams offers students support such as test preparation and tutoring. Shikdar hopes to help those from an underprivileged background.  Their business offers complimentary academic counselling sessions, since they know that not everyone may be able to afford their services, she said. “Obviously, we are trying to include everyone, but we are mindful that we want to give everybody an equal opportunity.”

Since Shikdar won a place at MIT, her former sixth form Newham Collegiate Sixth Form (NCS) has implemented programmes to help students apply to schools in the US. Under the Ivy League Preparation Programme (ILPP), students are offered the chance to tour high ranking schools in the US and seek additional help with the application process if they wish to pursue higher education in America.

Former NSC student Mohammed Isuf Ahmed was accepted to study physics and aerospace engineering at MIT in 2019. In a previous interview with Eastern Eye, he said that it was Shikdar’s success which had encouraged him to choose NCS over other sixth forms.

“(The programme) really does seem like it’s taking off and I’m really proud of the students who have received places (at US universities),” Shikdar said.

Tafsia with Mohammed Isuf Ahmed on the MIT campus

Reflecting on her own time at MIT, Shikdar admitted it was a “whirlwind of experiences.” Being at the school gave her numerous opportunities, including travelling to India for an internship and building networks with professors and alumni. MIT allows students to take classes in subjects outside their field, too.

Shikdar, who graduated with a bachelor’s degree in materials science and engineering, said this was “incredibly important” to her. “I’ve always been interested in the connections between different fields,” she said. “I did a semester at Oxford and the material science that I studied there was quite a rigid set of specific topics. Whereas at MIT, I could take a class in another field which might relate to something I’m doing, and it certainly helped build my knowledge.”

As well as the Beyond Exams business, Shikdar will soon be heading back to the US to start a new job in California. She has accepted a position as an associate scientist at Beyond Meat, a Los Angeles-based producer of plant-based meat substitutes. “I’m really looking forward to it,” she said. “I’d say it is really my dream job for the current moment.”

Speaking to Eastern Eye, NCS principal Mouhssin Ismail called Shikdar an “inspiration to young people of this community”. “She has not only set the standard of what can be achieved with hard work and determination, she has also given up her time to support our scholarship programme and her fellow students follow in her footsteps,” he said. “We could not be prouder of her achievements.”