Page 40 - EW March 2025

Cover Story

Gifted children enablers Northwestern University, Educational Initiatives, and GenWise,
Gifted World is an online community for gifted and talented
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GIFTED CHILDREN ENABLERSst decade, children (and their parents). It offers enrichment/advancement
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A several private companies/NGOs/higher education institu- programmes in the online/offline modes to nurture gifted
tions have launched initiatives/programmes to identify, nurture children.
and mentor gifted and high potential children. Among them: Pune International Centre (PIC). A think tank based in Pune, PIC
GenWise. This Bangalore-based company offers the GenWise focuses on policy research and education initiatives for pro-
Summer Program (GSP) and Online Masterclasses. GSP is a moting gifted education. It works with government to shape
residential camp offering advanced STEM, humanities, and national policies for gifted students.
leadership training for gifted students. The online masterclass- Godrej Foundation. It offers Godrej Scholarships & STEM Coach-
es provide year-round courses focusing on critical thinking and ing Programs to gifted EWS students. It also sponsors stu-
social-emotional development. dents for GenWise Gifted Summer Programs.
NIAS. In 2011, the National Institute of Advanced Studies Dakshana Foundation. The foundation offers its Dakshana
(NIAS), Bangalore, introduced its Coaching Programs for EWS
National Programme for Identifica- gifted students to avail fully-fund-
tion and Mentoring Gifted Children ed, residential IIT-JEE and NEET
aka Education for the Gifted and Tal- coaching.
ented (EGT) Program. The NIAS-EGT Educational Initiatives (Ei). The
program identifies gifted students Bengaluru-based Ei conducts its
and nurtures them through residen- annual Ei ASSET Talent Search,
tial workshops, mentorship, and a national exam to identify top 2
Advanced Learning Centres (ALCs) percent gifted students in class-
established in 15 selected schools es IV-VIII. Selected students are
countrywide. provided opportunities to attend
Lodha Foundation. The Mumbai-based online/summer/residential en-
Lodha Foundation offers its Lodha Genwise summer workshop richment workshops and courses
Genius Program, a fully-funded sum- conducted by partner universities/
mer residential camp in collaboration with Ashoka University, organisations including Johns Hopkins Centre for Talented
Sonipat. Selected gifted students (classes IX-XII) are provided Youth, Northwestern University CTD, UC Berkeley ATDP,
free-of-charge world-class STEM, research, and leadership Purdue University-GER2I, Summer Institute for the Gifted
training. (USA), and GenWise, Bengaluru.
Kaveri Gifted Education and Research Centre (KGERC). This Pune- Agastya International Foundation. Focused on providing science
based organisation provides Gifted Nurturing Workshops for learning programmes to rural and EWS children, this NGO’s
gifted students in mainstream schools. flagship initiative, launched in 2022, is a four-six-week STEM
GMR Varalakshmi Foundation. This CSR arm of the Delhi-based immersion programme hosted by eminent institutions such
construction major GMR Group provides GMRVF Scholarships as IISc, Bengaluru for students of Jawahar Navodaya Vidya-
& Coaching Program, financial aid, IIT-JEE/NEET coaching, layas, Central government residential schools and high-ability
and career mentorship to gifted students of EWS (economi- children from rural areas. In addition, Agastya representatives
cally weaker sections). also serve on the expert panel to advance National Education
Gifted World. Founded by the Center for Talent Development at Policy (NEP) 2020 initiatives for talented children.
developmental stage. Both cognitive research study, Dr. Joseph S. Ren- high intelligences manifest in several
and psychological variables are mal- zulli, professor of education at the fields — linguistic, mathematical,
leable and need to be deliberately cul- University of Connecticut renowned spatial, musical, interpersonal, not
tivated,” they wrote. Therefore, unless for his research in gifted education merely academics.
provided opportunity, nurturance and and talent development, presents a Among proponents and practitio-
mentorship, gifted children may never Three-Ring Model highlighting the ners of gifted education in the mod-
realise their potential. importance of interplay between ca- ern context, there is unanimity that
Gifted education experts identify pability, creativity, and persistence, it is essential to ensure that gifted
rapid learning and advanced mem- as signs of giftedness. Similarly, in children receive enabling resources,
ory, ability to quickly comprehend his Multiple Intelligences Theory, mentorship, and educational experi-
complex concepts, deep curiosity to Dr. Howard Gardner, professor of ences to transform their raw poten-
explore beyond the given curriculum, education at the renowned Harvard tial into meaningful achievements.
as manifestations of giftedness. In a University, cautions educators that Giftedness cannot be nurtured if it is

40 EDUCATIONWORLD MARCH 2025