The students will also be taught how to live a happier life using philosophy from resources like the Vedas, ancient Hindu texts. “I think from a Western context, you tend to believe that the environment controls your happiness," says cofounder Kiran Reddy. “So you attempt to control your environment. In an Eastern philosophy, you tend to believe that you control happiness through your mind–in how you perceive things, so you can disconnect the environment from your happiness. Ideally, that’s what we want to teach the kids."

Rather than following a standard curriculum, students will decide what they want to learn themselves, and pursue learning through experience. A day might start with a mango lassi and meditation or basketball, followed by a morning spent re-coding software for a classmate’s rocket launcher or reciting poems in a classical Indian literature seminar, lunch with friends, and an afternoon working on a new business in an on-campus incubator.

Faculty will act as coaches and mentors for students, helping them learn how to think independently. The school will focus on teaching students how to learn about a subject or skill that interests them–and exposing them to a broad range of subjects–rather than imparting a particular set of information.

The approach poses challenges–Reddy says that the team is still working to resolve the “disconnect" between their approach and Indian educational regulations. He also acknowledges that many parents won’t be comfortable with the approach. “It’s not a school for everyone," he says. But some will agree with the underlying philosophy: People pursue college and successful careers because, ultimately, they want to be happy, and it might make sense to focus more directly on that end goal.