Meet Our Founder | Legacy of Lina Ashar

Founder: Dreamtime Learning  

Founder Emeritus: Billabong High & Kangaroo Kids | TedX Speaker |
Happiness Advocate | Author

Founder: Dreamtime Learning  

Founder Emeritus: Billabong High & Kangaroo Kids | TedX Speaker |
Happiness Advocate | Author

“Our job isn’t just to teach. Our job is to raise human consciousness. That has been my life’s work, and it will remain my mission until every child learns to thrive from within.”

Lina hopes to educate 1 billion children and raise humanity’s collective consciousness.

Lina Ashar’s story is one of vision, vulnerability, and a lifelong devotion to reimagining what it means to learn. Born with dislocated hips, Lina spent her early years in and out of surgeries, separated from her parents and raised by her grandmother in India. That early separation wound would later shape her deepest belief: that every child deserves to feel seen, safe, and connected.

Long before “21st-century learning” became a buzzword, Lina was designing classrooms where curiosity mattered more than compliance. But behind her public success was a private collapse. In 2006, her marriage ended, and soon after, her franchise partnership dissolved. She turned inward, studying with Brandon Bays, attending Anthony Robbins’ seminars, and discovering a truth that would redefine her life: From pain can come purpose.

This belief became Dreamtime Learning: a living, breathing education model rooted in neuroscience, emotional intelligence, and consciousness.

Today, through Powered by Dreamtime Learning, her philosophy reaches schools and founders who share her belief: that the future of learning lies not in control, but in consciousness.

As Lina once said after a conversation with Ikigai author Héctor García,

“Yes, I’ve found my ikigai.   And my purpose is to help children find theirs.”

+

Schools
Empowered

+

Students
Impacted

+

Years of Curriculum Designing

Awards

A.P.J Abdul Kalam Award for Excellence in Education 2018
Most Influential Educator 2023- by Education Today
Most Influential Educator 2023- by Education Today
Most Influential Educator 2023- by Education Today

The educational landscape is shifting. Lina foresaw this evolution, seeking insights from 100+ global thought leaders to transition from the information age to the attention economy.

Founder’s Journey
From a question about the human mind to a movement redefining learning
1978
A Spark of Curiosity
In Australia, a young Lina watches a documentary on the Jonestown tragedy. This moment awakens deep curiosity about behavioural and brain science, and how education can shape consciousness.
1978
A Spark of Curiosity
In Australia, a young Lina watches a documentary on the Jonestown tragedy. This moment awakens deep curiosity about behavioural and brain science, and how education can shape consciousness.
1982
The Beginning of a Calling
Lina begins her Bachelor of Education at Rusden Teacher’s College, Melbourne (now Deakin University). Her curiosity finds direction — how we learn is more powerful than what we learn.
1982
The Beginning of a Calling
Lina begins her Bachelor of Education at Rusden Teacher’s College, Melbourne (now Deakin University). Her curiosity finds direction — how we learn is more powerful than what we learn.
1985
India Calls Home
During a one-year visit to India, Lina teaches at one of Mumbai’s most prestigious schools and witnesses cognitive stress and emotional fatigue in children.
She makes a vow: “One day, I will return to change how educators and parents see learning.”
1985
India Calls Home
During a one-year visit to India, Lina teaches at one of Mumbai’s most prestigious schools and witnesses cognitive stress and emotional fatigue in children.
She makes a vow: “One day, I will return to change how educators and parents see learning.”
1986
India Calls Home
At Ferntree Gully High, Melbourne, Lina helps students choreograph “When Two Tribes Go to War.” She witnesses positive impact when learning is meaningful, children self-direct, self-regulate, and shine.
1986
India Calls Home
At Ferntree Gully High, Melbourne, Lina helps students choreograph “When Two Tribes Go to War.” She witnesses positive impact when learning is meaningful, children self-direct, self-regulate, and shine.
1993
The Kangaroo Jumps
After returning to India, Lina challenges every assumption of the school system. She founds the first Kangaroo Kids in Mumbai, pioneering active, experiential, and joyful learning.
1993
The Kangaroo Jumps
After returning to India, Lina challenges every assumption of the school system. She founds the first Kangaroo Kids in Mumbai, pioneering active, experiential, and joyful learning.
1994 - 2000
The Movement Begins*
Divya Punjabi joins Lina as co-creator.

Mothers across India turn into educational entrepreneurs, spreading Kangaroo Kids across the country
1994 - 2000
The Movement Begins*
Divya Punjabi joins Lina as co-creator.

Mothers across India turn into educational entrepreneurs, spreading Kangaroo Kids across the country
2000
The First School
The first Kangaroo Kids Primary School opens (now CP Goenka).
2000
The First School
The first Kangaroo Kids Primary School opens (now CP Goenka).
2004
Billabong High Launches
The first Billabong High International School opens in Mumbai, expanding Lina’s vision into high school education.
The network grows across India, Dubai, Qatar, and the Maldives.
2004
Billabong High Launches
The first Billabong High International School opens in Mumbai, expanding Lina’s vision into high school education.
The network grows across India, Dubai, Qatar, and the Maldives.
2006
The Lifequake
A parting of ways with the Billabongs becomes a turning point.
Lina attends *Anthony Robbins’ “Date with Destiny”* and *Dr. John Demartini’s “Breakthrough Experience”, beginning a personal journey into self-mastery, consciousness, and inner alignment.
2006
The Lifequake
A parting of ways with the Billabongs becomes a turning point.
Lina attends *Anthony Robbins’ “Date with Destiny”* and *Dr. John Demartini’s “Breakthrough Experience”, beginning a personal journey into self-mastery, consciousness, and inner alignment.
2016
The Abundance Realisation
At Peter Diamandis’ Abundance 360, Lina sees the future of exponential technologies.
She recognises that education must evolve as fast as the world it prepares children for.
2016
The Abundance Realisation
At Peter Diamandis’ Abundance 360, Lina sees the future of exponential technologies.
She recognises that education must evolve as fast as the world it prepares children for.
2017
Letting Go to Begin Again
Lina sells Kangaroo Kids and Billabong High, freeing herself to reimagine education for the age of AI and consciousness.
2017
Letting Go to Begin Again
Lina sells Kangaroo Kids and Billabong High, freeing herself to reimagine education for the age of AI and consciousness.
2020
The Great Reset
As COVID-19 halts the world, Lina begins her most ambitious research project yet — interviewing over 100 global thought leaders across neuroscience, behavioural science, education, and human potential.
2020
The Great Reset
As COVID-19 halts the world, Lina begins her most ambitious research project yet — interviewing over 100 global thought leaders across neuroscience, behavioural science, education, and human potential.
2022
Dreamtime Learning is Born
The culmination of four decades of inquiry, experimentation, and purpose:
Dreamtime Learning emerges as a future-ready education operating system.
2022
Dreamtime Learning is Born
The culmination of four decades of inquiry, experimentation, and purpose:
Dreamtime Learning emerges as a future-ready education operating system.
2024
and
beyond
2024 and Beyond – A Billion Dreams
Dreamtime Learning now powers over 100 pre-schools & high schools across India, Maldives, UAE, Saudi, Oman and beyond, impacting thousands of learners daily, and growing fast.
2024
and
beyond
2024 and Beyond – A Billion Dreams
Dreamtime Learning now powers over 100 pre-schools & high schools across India, Maldives, UAE, Saudi, Oman and beyond, impacting thousands of learners daily, and growing fast.

Founder’s Journey
From a question about the human mind to a movement redefining learning
1978
A Spark of Curiosity
In Australia, a young Lina watches a documentary on the Jonestown tragedy. This moment awakens deep curiosity about behavioural and brain science, and how education can shape consciousness.
1982
The Beginning of a Calling
Lina begins her Bachelor of Education at Rusden Teacher’s College, Melbourne (now Deakin University). Her curiosity finds direction — how we learn is more powerful than what we learn.
1985
India Calls Home
During a one-year visit to India, Lina teaches at one of Mumbai’s most prestigious schools and witnesses cognitive stress and emotional fatigue in children.
She makes a vow: “One day, I will return to change how educators and parents see learning.”
1986
India Calls Home
At Ferntree Gully High, Melbourne, Lina helps students choreograph “When Two Tribes Go to War.” She witnesses positive impact when learning is meaningful, children self-direct, self-regulate, and shine.
1993
The Kangaroo Jumps
After returning to India, Lina challenges every assumption of the school system. She founds the first Kangaroo Kids in Mumbai, pioneering active, experiential, and joyful learning.
1994 - 2000
The Movement Begins*
Divya Punjabi joins Lina as co-creator.

Mothers across India turn into educational entrepreneurs, spreading Kangaroo Kids across the country
2000
The First School
The first Kangaroo Kids Primary School opens (now CP Goenka).
2004
Billabong High Launches
The first Billabong High International School opens in Mumbai, expanding Lina’s vision into high school education.
The network grows across India, Dubai, Qatar, and the Maldives.
2006
The Lifequake
A parting of ways with the Billabongs becomes a turning point.
Lina attends *Anthony Robbins’ “Date with Destiny”* and *Dr. John Demartini’s “Breakthrough Experience”, beginning a personal journey into self-mastery, consciousness, and inner alignment.
2016
The Abundance Realisation
At Peter Diamandis’ Abundance 360, Lina sees the future of exponential technologies.
She recognises that education must evolve as fast as the world it prepares children for.
2017
Letting Go to Begin Again
Lina sells Kangaroo Kids and Billabong High, freeing herself to reimagine education for the age of AI and consciousness.
2020
The Great Reset
As COVID-19 halts the world, Lina begins her most ambitious research project yet — interviewing over 100 global thought leaders across neuroscience, behavioural science, education, and human potential.
2022
Dreamtime Learning is Born
The culmination of four decades of inquiry, experimentation, and purpose:
Dreamtime Learning emerges as a future-ready education operating system.
2024
2024 and Beyond – A Billion Dreams
Dreamtime Learning now powers over 100 pre-schools & high schools across India, Maldives, UAE, Saudi, Oman and beyond, impacting thousands of learners daily, and growing fast.