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:: SETTING AN EXAMPLE
The portfolio of SOF activities
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The Foundation serves as a veritable forum for qualitative dissemination
of knowledge and information on the latest advances in science and
technology. Conducting workshops, interactive seminars and Science and
Cyber Olympiads and publication of informative, non-curriculum study
material for school children are currently an essential part of the SOF
portfolio.
The science tournament, branded as Science Olympiad, is a rigorous
academic and scholastic aptitude competition on the pattern of the
Sports Olympiad. The event encompass various science disciplines,
namely, Mathematics, Physics, Chemistry, Biology and Computer Science.
The National Cyber Olympiad is a nationwide talent search contest that
identifies cyber savvy talents amongst the younger generation.
The Foundation strongly believes that such Olympiads, apart from
bringing out the best in the participants, also help them gain
confidence for competing with the best around them and in the country
and contribute to personality development. Also recognition of merit at
an early age is bound to infuse a certain sense of achievement that
encourages them to do even better as they advance in age.
The students are exposed to a variety of complex problems which demand a
high level of analytical ability and proficiency in the use of various
concepts from a cross-section of subjects, thereby invoking ingenuity in
dealing with them. Since admissions to various professional institutions
like IITs and Medical colleges are given on the basis of performance in
competitive exams, such Olympiads also pave the way for a true
understanding of the concepts that is so essential for doing well in
these highly competitive exams.
Apart from the Olympiad activities, the Foundation also conducts
seminars, workshops, and teacher training programmes in the state
capitals of the country. Implementing one of its aims to conduct
seminars state-level, the first such seminar cum workshop for science
teachers was conducted at St. Columba's School, New Delhi, on 29th
April, 2000. The theme was: Innovation in Science Teaching. 160 science
teachers from 46 schools in Delhi took part in the workshop, and 13
resource persons of eminence and erudition were drawn from IIT Delhi,
IIT Kanpur and Delhi University who freely and generously shared their
teaching skill, expertise and knowledge with the participants. For most
of the teachers it was a stimulating, refreshing and learning experience
and an eye-opener.
Hence conducting workshops, interactive seminars and teachers' training
programmes are at present an essential part of the SOF stable of
activities. This way the Foundation aims at bringing about a steady and
speedy change in the very way science education is currently imparted in
the country. |
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