A Desire For A Clear Purpose And Mission

An emphasis on positive impact over material gain. A preference for sharing and giving over owning and taking. A willingness to think creatively and connect the dots in new ways. An urgent, enthusiastic desire to find new solutions to the world’s most pressing problems. These are some of the characteristics of the young tech-savvy generation. Today’s students are more connected with the rest of the world than their predecessors, and so the type of education they receive needs changing too.

In recent times, we have noticed that schools are encouraging students to take up socially responsible activities and subjects that expand their outlook internationally. At Cambridge Assessment International Education, we offer subjects like Environment Management, Global Perspectives and Enterprise that help students understand the world around them, learn about sustainability and create a better tomorrow for themselves and others.

Meet some of the Cambridge International students who have chosen to study these unconventional subjects and have done some impactful projects while pursuing their academic interests.

Shubham Parekh (Cambridge International A-level batch of 2018), a student of Utpal Shanghvi Global School (USGS) & Prabhavati Padamshi Soni International Junior College (PPSIJC)strongly believes that any social outreach service should have genuine intentions and not just be done for the sake of it. The two institutions have undertaken a social outreach programme - “Sustainable Development Project- Adopting a Tribal Village” - Katkariwadi in the Wada District of Maharashtra.

This project is Shubham’s brainchild. Shubham suggested that the schools adopt a village and develop it, and the schools’ management wholeheartedly accepted this proposal. Shubham then started looking for an appropriate village considering multiple aspects and finally selected the tribal village which needed the most support. The schools then took it further and got permission from the Village Panchayat to take up the development.

Students took care of the funding, planning and execution of the project. Again, under the guidance of the school leadership team, Shubham designed a proposal to partner with the ‘Oxford Internship Programme’. As an outcome of this, they have students from the University of Oxford (UK) as interns for seven weeks. This is the second year of the partnership. USGS & PPSIJC students are benefitting from their interactions with the student interns. One can already see their evolution in developing research skills as well as in new approaches to problem-solving.

Learners applied their knowledge of science, mathematics, information technology and business gained from the Cambridge International A-level curriculum to the project. The Cambridge curriculum develops skills like critical thinking, analysis, reasoning, and decision making, and the students applied these skills to the successful running of this project.

Sreevidya Ayyar, Choithram International School, Alumnus Batch of 2014.

Sreevidya was a very talented student and had an excellent record in both academic and co-curricular activities. She studied Cambridge IGCSE with Environmental Management (June 2014 exam series), and was declared World Topper in Environmental Management and Mathematics in the same series. .

She has always been interested in developing eco-friendly economies which could be sustainable. Environmental Management seemed like a way to deepen and widen that interest further. The economic issues that arise from environmental damage and the situations where economic growth could lead to damage to the environment seemed to be an area, which she was quite interested in. She has chosen Economics as her career path and has plans to work on projects which could help companies to consider environment conservation ideas along with their growth opportunities.

Manan Shah, Vibgyor High Pune, (Alumnus)

While Manan did not initially choose to take Cambridge IGCSE Environmental Management, he developed an interest in it and grew to enjoy the concepts and the thinking involved in the subject. It really shaped the way he viewed complex, pertinent issues in the world.   Currently, he is working to become an engineer who can design solutions to all types of problems. He aims to take complex challenges and issues, break them down, and develop innovative ways to positively impact people's lives.

Sejal Shah, Vibgyor High Pune, Alumnus

Sejal has always been really interested in sustainability, going on to be accepted into the competitive United World College (UWC) program which emphasizes the power of youth and education and has a mission of world peace and sustainability.  She is currently completing her 12th grade at UWC Mahindra College. This drive to be actively involved in making the world a better place makes Environmental Engineering an obvious career choice. She hopes to follow this passion and study Environmental or Chemical Engineering, and currently wants to focus on energy issues. As a woman entering the field of STEM, it is really important to her that such male-dominated areas become a little more open to underrepresented minorities.

Cambridge IGCSE Environment Management

The subject is designed to teach learners about sustainable development in a world where the security of resources and life-sustaining systems is endangered by human impact. It draws upon disciplines such as biology, Earth science, geography and economics.

Learners gain an understanding of the Earth’s natural systems and how people use natural resources; they then investigate the impact of human development on the environment and learn how the environment can be managed sustainably in the future, from a local as well as a global perspective.

Shivani Ayyar, Choithram International School, (Alumnus, Batch of 2016)

Shivani studied Cambridge IGCSE Global Perspectives (March 2016) and scored 91% marks.

The subject acted as a useful medium to widen her understanding and analysis of daily life issues, which are significant on a global, national and even local scale. The project work helped her gain further insight into topics that are worth discussing. Exploring issues within the broad Health topic of Global Perspectives, as well as having a deep interest in Biology and Chemistry, led her to choose medicine as her career path. Medicine does not solely deal with science, but it also has a very human component to it, with which she believes Global Perspectives has helped. She is fortunate that Choithram International was the only school in Indore that offered Global Perspectives during that time and it really helped in shaping her understanding about global issues and to develop a humane perspective about medical treatments.

Shawn Chauhan, Dhirubhai Ambani International School (Batch of Cambridge IGCSE May 2018)

Shawn opted for Global Perspectives as one of his subjects during the Cambridge IGCSE program because the course appealed to him and the variety of projects and research it promised to offer seemed extremely interesting. The Individual Research Report gave him an insight into the specifics of how to write research papers, while Team Project taught him how to cooperate and collaborate while working in a group. Moreover, over the past two years, Global Perspectives has enhanced his critical thinking, analysis, reflection, research, communication and teamwork skills. These skills definitely allowed him to perform better in other subjects that required a similar skill set. He plans on pursuing engineering, technology and business in the future, but strongly believes that all the teachings he absorbed from Global Perspectives will help him learn, reflect, research and communicate better in any field.

Daivik Chawla, Dhirubhai Ambani International School, (Batch of Cambridge IGCSE May 2018)

The reason why Daivik chose Global Perspectives was that he wanted to learn how to develop skills that could help in a diverse range of subjects in the future including – logical reasoning, developing arguments, understanding and analyzing claims, and writing structured responses. The subject exposed him to various topics such as changing communities, digital world, education etc. and the case studies associated with each of them. The assessment components of the subject like the Individual Report introduced him to research methodology and the skill set required while writing extended essays and thesis papers in the future. Similarly, the Team Project was a wonderful chance to collaborate with his classmates. He plans to study Psychology in the future. The Global Perspectives skills of research methodology, logical reasoning, and structuring responses will certainly help him as these are essential and can be directly applied in the field of psychology.

Sharanya Sanjay – Vidyashilp Academy, Currently studying Cambridge International A Level Global Perspectives

Sharanya chose Global Perspectives out of curiosity. Curiosity about the world we live in, its issues and how they are handled. She wanted to get a deeper understanding of how the world works, and how different people and their influences lead them to think in different ways. It is a subject that requires a good amount of the general knowledge for the frequent discussions and research. In addition, she continued to develop dexterity for formulating her opinions as well as looking at and analyzing those of others objectively. The ability to refine opinions and comprehend the perspectives of others, and to conduct extensive research about a subject, exploring all possible views towards it, will aid her in a law career.

Cambridge Global Perspectives 

Cambridge Global Perspectives is a transformational and interdisciplinary subject available from primary to higher secondary that stretches across traditional subject boundaries and develops transferable skills. It is both cross-curricular and skills-based and taps into the way learners of today enjoy learning, including team work, presentations, projects, and working with other learners around the world. The emphasis is on developing the ability to think critically about a range of global issues where there is always more than one point of view. 

Yohaan Dalal, IGCSE Enterprise, Indus International School

Yohan chooses Enterprise because he learned numerous skills with immediate relevance to his day to day life. He observed that this communication and persuasion skills improved as a result of the subject. Moreover, he felt that Enterprise was an obvious choice for him as he planned to pursue it in the future as well. He plans to study a combination of finance, economics, and entrepreneurship at the undergraduate level. Following this, he would want to work as a financial analyst, stockbroker, or entrepreneur.

I chose Enterprise for three main reasons. Firstly, the learning opportunities seemed too great to turn down. As a student of Enterprise, I learned numerous skills with immediate relevance to my day-to-day life. My writing, speaking, and persuading skills improved drastically as a result of the course. The second reason I chose enterprise is that it lines up perfectly with my passions. I find myself extremely inclined towards creation and business; enterprise provided the perfect synergy between the two. Moreover, Enterprise was an obvious choice given what I plan to do in the future. Although I am uncertain about what I want to pursue as a career, I understand I want to study a combination of finance, economics, and entrepreneurship at the undergraduate level. Following this, I see myself potentially working as a financial analyst, stockbroker, or entrepreneur. Quite frankly, my career aspirations will be focused on making a positive social impact by doing something I love. 

Cambridge IGCSE Enterprise 

Cambridge IGCSE Enterprise is a unique syllabus that brings the world of business into the classroom and gives learners a clear insight into what it means to think like an entrepreneur. It helps learners develop the thoughts and actions of entrepreneurs, developing their knowledge and understanding of practicalities of setting and running their own new enterprise. It equips learners with a range of vital skills for use in planning and organisation, communication and financial management. 

Ruchira Ghosh

Guest Author Ruchira Ghosh is Regional Director South Asia, Cambridge Assessment International Education. In her current role as the regional head of the Cambridge board, Ruchira is responsible for strengthening credibility and trust, and influencing growth and better understanding of Cambridge programmes and qualifications in South Asia in countries including India, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh and Nepal, Afghanistan, Maldives and Bhutan.