Founder of Super 30 Anand Kumar (file photo)
New York:
The founder of Super 30, Anand Kumar, has been invited by the prestigious Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) and Harvard University to speak on his globally-acclaimed effort to mentor students from the underprivileged sections for admission to IIT.
In 1997, Mr Kumar set up what is called the Super 30 program in Patna - he identifies 30 students who have completed school and then coaches them for one of the most competitive tests in the world - the entrance exam for the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT).
During the year-long program, students are given free tuition and stay. Over the years, Mr Kumar's record has drawn international attention - most of the students he coaches make it into one of the 16 IITs in the country.
Mr Kumar, 46, who could not study at Cambridge University years ago due to acute financial constraints, will speak at the MIT Media Lab, an interdisciplinary research laboratory, on Tuesday, a media release said.
On October 1, he will speak at the International Education Policy programme of Harvard University.
"I will talk about how the world can be a better place using inclusive education as a powerful tool to usher in psychological and societal change. What I have done in the last 14 years in the backwaters of my home state Bihar is a small initiative to provide the right opportunity to a bunch of talented and passionate students from the underprivileged sections, but the results have been astonishing," Mr Kumar said.
"It needs to be replicated on a larger scale, as education alone has the power to tackle all the world's problems," he said.
In 1997, Mr Kumar set up what is called the Super 30 program in Patna - he identifies 30 students who have completed school and then coaches them for one of the most competitive tests in the world - the entrance exam for the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT).
During the year-long program, students are given free tuition and stay. Over the years, Mr Kumar's record has drawn international attention - most of the students he coaches make it into one of the 16 IITs in the country.
Mr Kumar, 46, who could not study at Cambridge University years ago due to acute financial constraints, will speak at the MIT Media Lab, an interdisciplinary research laboratory, on Tuesday, a media release said.
On October 1, he will speak at the International Education Policy programme of Harvard University.
"I will talk about how the world can be a better place using inclusive education as a powerful tool to usher in psychological and societal change. What I have done in the last 14 years in the backwaters of my home state Bihar is a small initiative to provide the right opportunity to a bunch of talented and passionate students from the underprivileged sections, but the results have been astonishing," Mr Kumar said.
"It needs to be replicated on a larger scale, as education alone has the power to tackle all the world's problems," he said.
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