As we mark 28 years of Mahindra International School, I am filled with a deep sense of pride, gratitude, and reflection. What began in 1997 as a small, purposeful initiative to serve a close-knit community has, over nearly three decades, evolved into one of India’s most respected international schools and a beacon of IB education in Pune. Anniversaries invite us not only to celebrate longevity, but to pause and consider the values, decisions, and people that have shaped our journey—and the responsibility we carry as we look ahead.

MIS was founded at a time when international education in India was still in its infancy. The decision, taken by visionary leaders, to embrace the International Baccalaureate philosophy—then new, unfamiliar, and largely untested in this country—was both bold and deeply principled. By becoming the first school in India authorised for the IB Primary Years Programme and Middle Years Programme, and later a full IB continuum school, MIS set a benchmark that many would eventually follow. That this pioneering work took root in Pune, a city long known as the “Oxford of the East,” feels both fitting and significant.

Over the past 28 years, our school has grown in size, stature, and global connectedness, but it has never drifted from its core purpose: educating the whole child. At MIS, learning has always been understood as something richer than academic achievement alone. Guided by the IB philosophy, we have consistently valued inquiry, student agency, intercultural understanding, ethical decision-making, and the balance between intellect, creativity, and empathy. Our classrooms have been places where hands, hearts, and minds work together—where curiosity is protected, voices are respected, and diversity is experienced as a strength.

This commitment has been daily expressed through our students and faculty. Our learners graduate not only with strong academic credentials, but also with the confidence to think independently, the humility to listen deeply, and the courage to engage with a complex and interconnected world. Our educators, in turn, have been the quiet custodians of this vision—professionals who model lifelong learning, collaboration, and care, and who ensure that the spirit of MIS is felt well beyond our campus.

As a Mahindra institution, we are also proud heirs to a legacy that places values at the centre of excellence. Integrity, respect for human dignity, social responsibility, and the belief that progress must be purposeful have long defined the Mahindra Group. The alignment between these values and those of the IB has been one of MIS’s greatest strengths. It has given our community a shared moral compass and a clear sense of why education matters—not just for individual success, but for the common good.

Today, as India emerges as one of the fastest-growing IB communities in the world, MIS stands as both a pioneer and a partner in this movement. We continue to learn from, and contribute to, a vibrant network of schools, educators, parents, and students who believe in education as a force for understanding and positive change.

Looking ahead, our task is clear. The world our students are inheriting demands more than information and qualifications; it demands empathy, adaptability, creativity, and ethical clarity. As MIS enters its next decade, we recommit ourselves to nurturing these qualities—to keeping our learners’ many “languages” alive, to honouring their individuality, and to preparing them not just for universities and careers, but for meaningful lives.

I would like to express my heartfelt thanks to our parents for their trust and partnership, to our staff for their dedication and professionalism, and to our students—past and present—for giving this school its energy, purpose, and joy. MIS is what it is because of you.

As we celebrate 28 years of excellence, we do so with confidence in our foundations and optimism for what lies ahead. Together, we will continue to shape a school that is thoughtful in its traditions, courageous in its choices, and unwavering in its belief in the power of education to build a better world.