World is your classroom

The main aim of the education system is to inculcate knowledge that will help the future generations to make their place in this competitive market.

But, what most of the top universities from around the world are forgetting is that although their teaching methods have helped students excel in the academics, they have not taught them the basic life skills which play a vital role to survive. Majority of the researchers believe that out-of-classroom experience is more interesting and effective than the tiring lectures in the classroom.

To make learning more interesting and student-friendly, a private university from the USA has started first of its kind undergraduate programme, which will not just allow the students to understand the subject but also let them travel around the world as part of their academic curriculum.

Minerva Schools, San Francisco, California is a private undergraduate institute which has been established in 2012. The main aim of the school is to develop and enhance the deep cognitive temper in the students.

It is being done through working with material, applying it and arguing about it instead of rote memorisation. All classes begin with a pop quiz, with potentially a second one later in the class that is claimed to increase retention.

Furthermore, courses are conducted as online seminars capped at 19 students and traditional lectures are banned. The automation allows fine-grained tracking of student progress.

Speaking to Young Hans, Kenn Ross, Managing Director, Asia, Minerva Schools who was in Hyderabad to establish a campus for the undergraduate students for their last semester said, “The way the programme works is that students come from all over the world. A majority are not from the US, they come from 50 different countries. We pick students purely based on merit.

So a student applying from India has the same shot at getting in as a student applying from Germany or the US. And even though it’s difficult to get in, it’s an even playing ground which no other university provides. Once the students come together at school, they only spend the first year in San Francisco, which is where we’re based.

A majority of the time we spend together living across different cities all over the world such as San Francisco, Seoul, Hyderabad and Berlin. We experience what the world has to offer in different ways. Our students will arrive in Hyderabad for the first time in January 2017.”

Sharing the admission process and eligibility Kenn Ross shared, “There is no need of SAT score for admission, but students should have minimum of 60 per cent in their intermediate or Class XII and they have to undergo certain tests which will test the students calibre and understanding about the subjects, once the student have cleared the admission tests then financial aid is provided if student needs it.”

Interested candidates can apply online for the programme and any additional achievements like Olympiad medals or national and international achievements will give them additional advantage,” he adds.Apart of undergraduate programmes in arts and science Minerva Schools also offers PhD programme in higher education.