Country: India
Organisation Name: Iqra International School
Started in the Year: 2012
Position: Founder & Managing Director
Website: www.iisb.co
Personal Introduction
Mrs Noor Ayesha is a passionate educator, a dreamer and a Doer. She completed her schooling in Baldwin Girls’ High School, Bachelors in Computer Science Engineering from Visvesvaraya Technological University and MBA in HRD and Project Management from Cardiff Metropolitan University, Wales UK. She has also received several certifications from many renowned organizations. She is a doting mother of 4 blessed with a supportive family. She is currently based out of Canada to pursue her Doctorate in Educational Leadership and Policy at the University of Toronto, Canada.
Professional Introduction
Noor Ayesha is an upbeat and versatile leader, known for her proactive approach and strong belief in a holacratic organisational culture that empowers individuals and fosters collaborative growth.
After her graduation, she began her professional journey as a Team Member at JPMorgan Chase, Bangalore. Following her post-graduation, she worked as a Centre Administrator/HR Officer at EBSP – Leadership, Equality and Diversity Training Centre, Cardiff, UK. She later joined IBFC-UK (Islamic Banking and Finance Centre, Cardiff, UK) as a Business Development Manager, gaining valuable international exposure in leadership, diversity, and Islamic finance.
Her brief stint at an international school in Mumbai, combined with her dissatisfaction with the prevailing education system in India, inspired her to establish her own institution in Bangalore focused on value-based education.
Over the past 15 years, Noor Ayesha has emerged as a visionary education leader. She is currently the Founder, Vice-Chairperson, and Managing Director of the Iqra Group of Schools, where her leadership has been defined by excellence, impact, and a strong commitment to holistic, value-driven learning.
She also serves in multiple leadership roles including:
- Director at Fantasy Group
- Founder & CEO at OURAH
- Director at Iqra Games Village
- Director at Centre of Integrative Medicine and Clinically Applied Hijamah Therapy (ICAHT)
- Vice-Chairman at Universal Educational Trust
- Founder & Managing Director at Iqra International School
Additionally, she is the Patron Principal at Early Childhood Association (ECA), a member of the Islamic Educators Communication Network (ISLA & CISNA), and serves as the Global Goodwill Ambassador (India) at Global Goodwill Ambassadors (GGA).
Academic Advancement & Global Exposure
Currently pursuing her Master’s in Education from Harvard University, Noor Ayesha continues to strengthen her expertise in strategic leadership, institutional growth, governance, and transformative educational practices. Her academic journey reflects a deeper commitment to integrating global best practices into her institutions while nurturing character and purpose in young minds.
A firm believer in lifelong learning, she actively engages with international schools and educational systems across countries, exchanging insights and adopting innovative pedagogical and leadership frameworks. This global exposure enables her to blend international excellence with strong ethical and cultural foundations.
Intellectual & Literary Contributions
Beyond institutional leadership, Noor Ayesha is also advancing a meaningful literary initiative through the “Curiously Why” series. Her first book, The Boy Who Wanted to Fly, introduces young readers to the legacy of the Islamic Golden Age, highlighting the contributions of Muslim inventors and scholars. This initiative aims to nurture curiosity, identity, and pride in future generations.
| ‘Best Innovative International Preschool in Bangalore’ award at the Asia Education Summit & Awards 2016 |
Awards, Recognition & Institutional Achievements
Noor Ayesha has received numerous prestigious national and international recognitions for her contributions to education and society, including:
- Rashtriya Shiksha Ratan Award (National Education Gem Award), Constitution Club of India, New Delhi
- Fakhr-e-Watan Award (Pride of the Nation), conferred by Pakistan High Commissioner Mr. Abdul Basit
- Rabindra Nath Tagore National Directors’ Award
- Indian Education Change-Maker Award (EGN India)
- Recognised as an Influential Woman in Education (2022)
- Featured among the 100 Most Influential Muslim Women of Karnataka
- Listed in Rising Beyond The Ceiling (2023), highlighting 100 courageous contemporary Muslim women of Karnataka
Under her leadership, Iqra International School has achieved remarkable milestones, including:
- Best Innovative International Preschool in Bangalore – Asia Education Summit & Awards (2016)
- Most Promising School for Quality Education in Bangalore – Asia Leadership & Services Awards (2016)
- Ranked No.1 in India for Individual Attention to Students – Education Today (2016)
- Ranked No.1 in India for Holistic Development – India School Merit Awards (2017)
- Excellence in Flexible Education Programme – India K12 Awards (2019)
- International School Award – British Council (2019–2022)
Thought Leadership & Public Engagement
She has been an invited speaker at prominent national and international platforms including:
- Asia Education Summit
- Eldrok Summit
- Early Childhood Association Summit
- Asia Leadership & Services Awards
- Various MFERD and global education conferences
Her talks focus on value-based education, leadership, and the future of holistic learning.
A Continuing Mission
At the core of Noor Ayesha’s journey is a clear and powerful vision: to build institutions that nurture not only academic excellence but also character, confidence, identity, and purpose.
Her work—spanning education, global engagement, leadership, and intellectual revival—is not merely a series of achievements, but a continuing mission to transform education into a force that empowers the next generation to lead with knowledge, ethics, and impact.
Interview Questions:
What inspired you to start your organisation in the Islamic Economy
A promise I made to my father as a 17 year old to seek education and benefit the community with my knowledge. The Tarbiyyah Project by Br Dawud Tauhidi (Rahimahullah) that I chanced upon while I was researching about education before I began Iqra has been an inspiration and guide.
What were the challenges you had to overcome in the initial stages of starting your organisation?
| Steer clear of Riba and Riba based loans. |
The only challenge was and still remains the huge deficit of good teachers in the Education sector.
What is the most important thing you feel anyone needs to do to build a successful organisation in the Islamic Economy?
Steer clear of Riba and Riba based loans.
What were the most important learning experiences you would like to share?
Though I had a natural inclination towards leadership, I wasn’t born with the skills to own/head an organisation. It took a lot of time, effort and many failures to acquire and develop these skills to become what I am today.
I believe, my investment in building relationships and forming a strong core team has helped sustain many setbacks.
I believe setbacks are infact windows of opportunities which only become visible when you start believing that you are not in control, only HE is.
During my sessions every year with my team I ask them 3 questions:
1. What is your purpose of existence?
2. Why are you here?
3. What should be your focus while you are here?
| I give huge importance for growth and development through professional development and believe the employee’s voice is the most important to the growth and development of any organisation. |
I inform them that the only purpose of existence of a Muslim is to focus on achieving Jannah and to achieve that, smart Muslims will always take up Jobs that help them balance between worldly and spiritual life to earn their daily bread and place in Jannah. I ask them to check and stay with us only if their purpose of existence aligns with what they are doing in our organisation. This way I make them align and bind their purpose to our organisation’s mission thus establishing a strong passionate connection and a sense of belonging with the Institution along with strong ethics and a sense of safety. I advice them while they are around to focus only and only on pleasing Allah and to not make anything personal if it is for the sake of Allah.
I enjoy reading people and identifying their talent which helps me to push them to realise their own potential and empowers them with great confidence (which they never knew they possessed). The joy and gratitude upon realising their potential is indescribable and serves as my biggest motivator.
I give huge importance to growth and development through professional development and believe the employee’s voice is the most important to the growth and development of any organisation which has in turn helped me become a good listener who is always approachable/available especially to hear new ideas and struggles. I empower them by asking them to always attend meetings with solutions to their struggles and then by resolving those struggles with their own solutions.
What advice would you give aspiring leaders in the Islamic Economy?
I am a very positive person and this positivity comes through Istikhara. I believe everything happens for a good reason (Khair) which will only be realised in time. I take all such experiences as teachable moments to grow and move forward with courage and resilience. This helps me worry less about the past/ present and remain positive to take on more risks in the future.
| I advice aspiring leaders to rely strongly on istikhara before making even the smallest of decisions. |
I advice aspiring leaders to rely strongly on istikhara before making even the smallest of decisions and once istikhara is done, there shouldn’t be even an iota of doubt or regret as you’ve consulted the Most Supreme controller of affairs so the outcome, even if it is not what you hoped for, is for sure good for you. Once you get used to istikhara and believe in it strongly, disappointment, distress, dilemma, depression will never know you again.
I always mention this to my team that voracious Readers make great Leaders so make reading and researching a part of your daily routine. Travel as much as possible and sharpen your axe as travel broadens the horizons of your mind, helping you solve the unsolvable.
Prioritise your health and keep your humility in check always. As leaders always remember that with great power comes great responsibility and with great responsibility comes even greater accountability. Abu Umamah reported: The Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, said, “No man is given authority over ten people or more but that he will come to Allah on the Day of Resurrection with his hands in shackles up to his neck. His freedom is his righteousness, or his imprisonment is his sin. The first of it is blame, the middle of it is regret, and the last of it is disgrace on the Day of Resurrection.” Source: Musnad Aḥmad
