Career exploration for students · since 2022

Careers chosen by curiosity, not pressure.

College Accel builds the support systems that help students take an active part in shaping their careers. Through games, mentoring and hands-on sessions, we turn the student journey into an exploration they lead themselves.

See our programs Bring us to your school

The Career Compass approach

Inspire

Spark curiosity by noticing the people around you and the many different skills they have.

Explore

Find out what you're genuinely interested in and discover the wide range of work out there.

Aspire

Hear success stories from your own community and picture a future beyond the usual paths.

Plan

Test careers in small, low-risk ways, then make a step-by-step plan.

Three girls in summer camp T-shirts sit on the floor around career cards, one of them laughing — Playing the career game at a summer camp at a government school in Hyderabad, 2023

Four boys in blue school polos sort career cards on a 'Let us Make a Movie' sheet — Government school students at BITS Pilani, Hyderabad Campus

A facilitator talks to school students sitting in small groups at blue desks — Pranay leading Career Compass at Sri Amoga Junior College

Why we exist

Too many career decisions are made for students, not by them.

Outside pressures often push students toward choices that don't match their interests or values. We want every student to have the tools and experiences to decide for themselves.

Choices shaped by others

External factors steer students toward paths that don't fit who they are, and they only find out after years of study.

Counselling that doesn't fit

Traditional career counselling often misses what each student actually needs. A single session with a test score rarely changes how a student sees their options.

Too few role models

Students can only aspire to careers they know exist. Meeting people from their own community who took different paths opens that up.

Support stops at admission

First-generation students often arrive on campus without anyone to ask about academics, campus life or careers.

Impact so far

What we've done since 2022

150

students in career exploration sessions, including Shaping Teens with the Global Shapers Hyderabad Hub

600

school students at Safar, the career conclave we co-organised

first-generation students paired with mentors at IIT Bombay and Azim Premji University

50+

government college students trained for the Azim Premji University entrance exam

A large group of girls in matching camp T-shirts sit and stand together with two facilitators — Summer camp at a government school in Hyderabad, 2023

Programs

Support for students and families, from school through college

For school and junior college students

Career Compass

Our core career program. It helps students work out what they are genuinely interested in, then try careers out through career prototyping: small, low-risk ways to test a path, like talking to someone who does the job or working through a real task, before committing to it. Sessions follow our four steps, Inspire, Explore, Aspire and Plan, and use local role models so students see careers people from their own community have made real.

We've run it at Sri Amoga Junior College, at BITS Pilani's Hyderabad Campus for students from government schools, and at a summer camp at a government school in Hyderabad. We've also partnered with the Global Shapers Community's Hyderabad Hub on Shaping Teens, its career-guidance sessions for government-school teenagers. It works as a one-off workshop or as a weekly series.

Activities to discover what you're interested in
Career prototyping: test a career before choosing it
Career games and comics that trace real people's paths
Conversations with people from many different backgrounds

Four girls on the floor arranging career cards on a worksheet — Students map every job it takes to make a textbook, a newspaper or a film

Two students beside — "Let us Make a Movie": the many jobs behind one film

Career cards such as illustrator, publisher and columnist arranged in a circle around a textbook card — Who does it take to make a textbook?

Students sit in small groups on the floor while two facilitators lead a discussion — Teams share their plans at the summer camp

Stacks of College Accel career cards for jobs like journalist, editor and cinematographer — Our career card decks

For families

Conversation Cards

Card decks that get parents and children talking. Each card has two sides: one with questions for parents to ask their child, and one with questions for the child to ask their parent. Career decisions go better when they start from a real conversation at home.

Parent–child conversation cards
Drawing and doodling prompt cards for younger kids
Career cards, career maps and games for exploring careers

30 sets of each deck sold in 2025Stall at a kids expo, Hyderabad, 2025

Parent asksWhat's something you learned this week that surprised you?College Accel · Conversation Cards

Child asksWhat did you want to be when you were my age?College Accel · Conversation Cards

Example prompts for illustration

For college students

Design Your College

A program that helps college students make the most of their time in college. Using design thinking, students get curious about what college offers, try out different options, and reflect on their choices, so they shape their college years around what matters to them instead of drifting through them.

A facilitator with a microphone leads an ice-breaker for college students in an auditorium, with College Accel slides on two screens — An ice-breaker on who shapes our decisions

At a glance

Design thinkingSelf-awarenessPlanning college lifeReflection

Built to reshape how students think about decisions and help them line up their goals with how they actually spend their time in college.

For first-generation students

Buddy Program

We paired first-generation students with mentors on their own campus, who helped them navigate campus life, academics and careers. The program ran at IIT Bombay and Azim Premji University, Bangalore.

A group of about twenty students and mentors pose together at night on the IIT Bombay campus — The IIT Bombay buddy group

An online video call with Pranay and several students — An online session with the APU group

Ran at

IIT BombayAzim Premji University

40 first-generation students were paired with mentors.

For first-generation learners

Road to College

For first-generation learners, getting into college means navigating a process no one at home has been through. Road to College gives them the support they need to get admitted: understanding their options, preparing for entrance exams and getting through the admission process.

Our first cohort: 50+ students from government colleges, trained in math and logical reasoning for the Azim Premji University undergraduate entrance exam.

Pranay sits at the front of a classroom while students in lavender uniforms take notes — Road to College: preparing for the APU admission process

Students in lavender uniforms working through practice questions at their desks — Practice in math and logical reasoning

Also from College Accel

Safar, a career conclave we co-organized, where 600 school students met professionals from tech, policy and the social sector to explore career paths.

Career game, designed for our summer camp at a government school in Hyderabad to widen the range of careers students are exposed to.

How we work

How we partner with a school, college or university

Every partnership starts by listening to students and ends with evidence of what worked.

Step 1

Understand the students

Talk to students, teachers and staff about what students need
Find role models students can relate to
Adapt sessions and activities to the group

Step 2

Run the program

Agree on a format, from a single workshop to a series of sessions
Deliver sessions with our facilitators
Check in with students as the program runs

Step 3

Learn and improve

Collect feedback from students and staff
Share what worked with our partner
Refine the program for the next group

Work with us

Find where you fit

Your career should be your choice.

Our sessions help you discover what you enjoy, meet people doing all kinds of work and make a plan that is yours.

Explore careers through games and activities
Hear from people who grew up where you did
Find careers that match what you enjoy
Leave with a plan, not just advice

Founder

Pranay

Pranay grew up in Tuni, a small town in Andhra Pradesh, and founded College Accel in 2022. He has six years of experience in education across program design, policy, large-scale implementation, impact evaluation and technology.

He studied economics at St. Stephen's College, Delhi, led impact evaluations of STEM programs in Telangana and Uttarakhand, and now works in product at an edtech company. As a Global Shaper in the Hyderabad Hub, he runs career guidance sessions for teenagers in government schools.

World Bank youth advisory board YuWaah youth advisory board Global Shapers, Hyderabad India youth representative, UN HLPF side event 2025

Get in touch

Let's help students choose their own path.

Write to us with a line about who you are and how you'd like to work together.

Schools & colleges

info.collegeaccel@gmail.com