EI, Duke TIP to have 3 week programme for Indian students at Shiv Nadar University

Educational Initiatives (EI), which is one of the country's leading assessment and research companies in the education sector and Duke University Talent Identification Program (Duke TIP) will have 180 students from Classes VII and VIII spending three weeks at Shiv Nadar University studying a variety of courses.

The nationwide talent search, called ‘Duke TIP ASSET India Talent Search 2014’, will identify the hidden and finest scholastic talents among students of Mathematics, Science and English subjects. The talent search will be conducted on November 30, 2014.

Students who perform exceedingly well in this talent search will be recognized as ‘ASSET Talent Scholars’ and will receive special zone-wise recognition, in addition to the ‘ASSET Talent Scholar’ certificates.  They will be eligible for the Duke TIP India programme.

Educational Initiatives, an IIM-A alumni group endeavour that was formed in 2001 to help transform education to ensure ‘learning with understanding’, had launched a unique initiative called ASSET (Assessment of Scholastic Skills through Educational Testing). ASSET is an independent market leader in school assessments, with over 2 million assessments in the last decade.  

In order to make ‘ASSET’ more holistic and integrated project, EI in association with Duke TIP located in Durham, North Carolina, USA – partnered to identify academically gifted students in India in 2010.

The programme in India as 16-18 students in each class with a low student to teacher ratio. Faculty for this programme includes some from Duke and others who are selected by a structured process.

Mara Shurgot - Director of International Programs, Duke University Talent Identification Program (TIP) said that in the initial years, this programme was held in campuses like IIM Ahmedabad and Infosys Bangalore. Students completing this course get a certificate from Duke TIP.

Sridhar Rajagopalan – Managing Director, Educational Initiatives explained that there has been an increase in the number of schools that are interested in this programme. Students who wish to take part in this programme are required to give a higher level ASSET test and usually the top 5% performers in this test are taken. Courses as distinct as forensics, cryptography and entrepreneurship are offered.

He said that in the past few years. 700 students have gone through the summer programme and students from countries like UAE have been a part of this programme.

Rajagopalan said that about 40% of the selected candidates would be girls and if a candidate does not get through this year when they are in Class VII, they could re-apply next year when they are in Class VIII. He added that in the future too, ASSET would be the benchmark to choose students. Duke TIP has about 4000 students taking part in this programme in the US.

Going forward, Shurgot said that Duke TIP would be looking to expand its offerings to the teacher training space in India and prepare teachers in this country for everyday classroom training. She added that financial aid is also available for students who cannot financially afford the programme.

Also, students who do not qualify for the three-week programme are eligible to avail of e-programmes offered by the US institute in different disciplines.