To a nation with education and economy in the doldrums, India’s 10-25 million gifted children offer hope of inventing and innovating sock-it-to-’em killer products and services that will leapfrog the country to the forefront of the global economic development race – Sridhar Rajagopalan, Swarnali Chakraborty, Nagendra Mopada & Summiya Yasmeen
Gifted children engaged in development workshops and stimulating activities: hidden in plain sight
India’s politicians from president Draupadi Murmu downwards and ministers of the ruling BJP/NDA government at the Centre in particular, proclaim from the rooftops that there’s an inevitability about India (“the world’s fastest growing major economy,” according to Union finance minister Dr. Nirmala Sitharaman) attaining the prime minister’s Viksit Bharat (‘developed India’) and $30 trillion GDP targets for 2047, when the Republic will celebrate its centenary of freedom from almost 200 years of debilitating, exploitative British rule. However the auguries for realising this cherished dream are not reassuring.
Currently, despite its huge population of 1.4 billion and the advantage of hosting the world’s largest child and youth cohort estimated at 560 million, India is a laggard nation in the international economic development race. India’s per capita GDP is a mere $2,600 per year as against America’s $86,601, UK’s $54,280, Singapore’s $86,248, Indonesia’s $4,960 and Malaysia’s $13,142. And perhaps the unkindest cut of all is that the per capita income of our neighbouring People’s Republic of China — which was lower than India’s in 1949 when the Communist Party of China united the country and Chairman Mao famously declared “China has stood up” — at $13,000, is several multiples of India’s.
In this connection, it’s pertinent to note that right until 1978, India and China’s per capita incomes were on a par with the enterprising people of both countries — Indians and Chinese are commonly accepted as the world’s best tradesmen — cabined, cribbed and confined by communist/socialist ideologies. But in 1978, China’s bold and visionary leader Deng Xiaoping took a big risk and led China up the “capitalist road”. With strong focus on upgrading education — especially primary-secondary schooling — deregulating agriculture and MSMEs (micro, small, medium enterprises), Deng ensured that China’s GDP recorded globally unprecedented 10 percent-plus compounded annual GDP growth for two full decades. As a result with a GDP of $18 trillion and having broken out of the ‘middle income trap’ (per capita income of $12,500), China has transformed into the world’s manufacturing hub with a huge trade surplus and established itself as the world’s second largest and most competitive economy.
On the other hand, successive governments in India neglected education, especially primary-secondary learning and the nation’s free enterprise capitalist tradition. In 1991, confronted with an inevitable balance of payments crisis and prospect of international bankruptcy, the Congress government under Prime Minister P.V. Narasimha Rao substantially liberalised and deregulated the economy, but failed to enthusiastically take the capitalist road. Currently despite liberalisation and deregulation, Indian industry and business are governed by 1,536 Acts of Parliament and state governments, 69,233 compliances and 6,818 filings. Little wonder the blunt message of the Economic Survey 2024-25 penned by V. Anantha Nageswaran, Chief Economic Adviser of the Union government is ‘Get out of the Way’.
Simultaneously, even as Indian industry and commerce continue to be hamstrung by the reluctance of the neta-babu brotherhood to abandon the potholed socialist road, India’s chronically under-funded public education system has deteriorated into the worst worldwide. Even as governments at the Centre and states splurge tax revenue on extravagant establishment expenditure, unwarranted middle class subsidies and bankrupt public sector enterprises, for over two decades the Annual Status of Education Report — published by the highly-respected independent not-for-profit Pratham Education Foundation — has been field testing and reporting that class VII children in rural India (which grudgingly hosts two-thirds of India’s population) can’t read class III textbooks and manage simple math sums.
In higher education as well, several authoritative studies indicate that the great majority of the country’s university graduates pushed into higher education without adequate foundational education are unemployable. India’s 45,000 undergrad colleges and 1,100 universities have been continuously debilitated by woke DEI (diversity, equity and inclusion) legislation which mandates reservation of 70 percent of capacity in some states for socio-economically backward classes/castes and communities rather than admission on merit. As a result, although the country certifies 3 million college/university graduates — including 1 million engineers — annually, an estimated 45 percent are unemployed with another 40 percent employed in jobs incommensurate with their academic qualifications. Unsurprisingly, Indian university graduates and research scholars in over a dozen white elephant Soviet-style CSIRs (Council for Scientific & Industrial Research) have not invented or innovated any globally acclaimed sock-it-to-’em, killer product or service (smartphones, Google, the internet etc) in 75 years since independence.
But although despite loud claims to the contrary, India’s education system, Indian industry and the economy are in the doldrums, a small and growing minority of educationists, edupreneurs and academics are beginning to pin their hopes on an asset hidden in plain sight. For over seven decades, millions of rough diamond gifted children have been buried within the world’s largest neglected child and youth population.
Within this small community of genuine intellectuals and visionary edupreneurs, there is dawning awareness that provided enabling infrastructure, nurturance and expert mentoring, they have high-potential capability to engineer science and technology breakthroughs to fire the engines of industrial and economic growth, and leapfrog the also-ran Indian economy to the forefront of the international development race. They are lackadaisical India’s best bet to break out of the middle income trap to attain Prime Minister Modi’s Viksit Bharat and $30 trillion GDP by 2047 goals.
The success of diaspora Indians in software, business, academia and politics in developed countries around the world, emergence of test cricket, badminton, field hockey, athletics champions who have overcome overwhelming odds to rise to global greatness, is fuelling awareness of the importance of discovering, nurturing and mentoring India’s hidden millions of gifted children with global game-changing potential.
NIAS-EGT programme children: noteworthy but under-publicised
Last year, Sheel Mehta (14), a gifted class IX student of Ahmedabad International School, won an entry to the World Robotics Olympiad (WRO) 2024 finals staged in Turkey. Similarly, a large number of students including Aarna Malhotra (forensic science); Rupasri Chalavadi (neuroscience/data science); Aneesh Kamat (quantum computing); Kshemaahna Nagi (Generation Google Scholar), and world chess champion Gukesh Dommaraju among dozens of other gifted youth, have debuted on the global stage to best the best.
Coterminously several enabling organisations have sprung up countrywide to identify, nurture and mentor actual and potential gifted children.
Among them is the Bangalore-based Educational Initiatives Pvt. Ltd (Ei, estb. 2001), which identifies advanced learners with higher order thinking skills in classes IV-VIII through its annual ASSET Talent Search exam and provides the top 2 percent enrichment workshops and access to programmes conducted by universities in India and abroad; the Lodha Foundation, Mumbai, which provides high-potential class IX-XII students four-weeks residential learning programmes at the top-ranked private Ashoka University, Sonipat, and the Bangalore-based National Institute of Advanced Studies (NIAS) whose Education for the Gifted and Talented (EGT) program was instituted in 2011 to identify children in the 0-18 age group countrywide and nurture and mentor them through enrichment workshops held during summer and winter vacations (see box p.40).
The under-publicised NIAS-EGT programme which also identifies gifted children in rural India through its Standardised Behavioural Rating Nomination scale is especially noteworthy. It is a free-of-charge programme also provided in a growing number of private schools by way of Advanced Learning Centres (ALCs). The first ALCs were set up at Vidyashilp Academy and Silver Oaks International School in Bangalore and Silver Oaks International, Hyderabad. Since then, 15 more ALCs have been set up across India and ten more are imminent.
The US-based National Association for Gifted Children (NAGC) defines gifted. “Gifted individuals demonstrate outstanding levels of aptitude (defined as an exceptional ability to reason and learn) or competence (documented performance or achievement in the top 10 percent or rarer) in one or more domains. These domains include but are not limited to mathematics, music, language, or the arts.” In sum, gifted children are endowed with advanced inherent cognitive capability, creativity, and problem-solving skills. But without support and mentorship, their talent could wither.
Adds David Lubinski, psychologist at Vanderbilt University, USA: “Gifted students are the ‘mathletes’ of the world, who can shape the future. Whether it’s healthcare, climate change, or energy, these are the kids with the most potential to solve these problems.”
Gifted education mentors are unanimous that schools, parents, educators as also the larger ecosystem comprising government and industry have an important role in enabling discovery, nurturance and development of gifted children. While schools must take the lead in implementing advanced learning pathways, subject acceleration and enrichment programmes, parents need to provide crucial, emotional support and guidance even as teachers are trained to recognise and mentor diverse manifestations of talent. Simultaneously, government and industry need to provide internship, research and innovation labs and opportunities to enable gifted children to realise maximum potential.
Shishodia: untapped resource pool
For India’s policy formulators and educationists, it is important to note that a large number of global game changers — scientists, entrepreneurs, and inventors — were identified and enabled from childhood. Mark Zuckerberg, the founder/inventor of Facebook was building messaging systems at age 12. Similarly, a large and growing number of school children are experimenting with AI and robotics, and need to be transformed into game-changer inventors and innovators.
The outcome of belated official awareness of the potential of gifted children to transform into industry and societal game changers — Microsoft and Apple promoter-founders Bill Gates and Steve Jobs were identified as gifted in their early years — is that the number of children identified as gifted is growing exponentially. Over the past 14 years since Ei introduced its ASSET Talent Search, 1.8 lakh children have been certified as gifted by the company. MENSA, the world’s most prestigious high-IQ society, estimates the number of gifted children in India at a modest 6 million. Yet, unlike developed countries such as the US, UK and Germany which have established robust systems and programmes to identify and nurture gifted children, in India initiatives to segregate bright minds in an education system designed for average learners, are of recent origin.
According to studies by the National Association for Gifted Children (USA) and Dr. Joseph Renzulli (University of Connecticut), gifted individuals normatively comprise 2-5 percent of the total population of every country. By that yardstick, India’s gifted child cohort aggregates 10-25 million individuals. According to Ei estimates, the number of gifted people in India is 24 million of whom 4.8 million are of school-going age.
Proportionate to the number, India’s initiatives to nurture, enable and mentor its brightest and best minds are lukewarm. Unless a concerted national initiative to identify and specially educate this important national resource is made, millions of gifted children and youth are likely to descend into mediocrity and fade unsung without realising their potential.
“India’s gifted children are confronted with a range of challenges that hinders their development. Among them: lack of recognition — most gifted children, especially in rural and educationally underserved areas, remain unidentified because of insufficient screening processes and limited teacher capability in recognising giftedness, and curriculum rigidity. Gifted children are denied specialised education resources, enrichment programs and advanced learning materials. Moreover, because they are ahead of the pack, gifted children routinely experience problems such as isolation, anxiety, bullying and ridicule and are seldom offered social-emotional support and counseling. Yet India’s gifted children represent a vast untapped resource pool for innovation, creativity, and leadership. By identifying them early, providing them with differentiated and enriched curriculums and ensuring their emotional and social stability, gifted children can contribute hugely towards inventions and innovations that will revolutionise India’s laggard economy,” says Mahika Shishodia, Head of Education, Lodha Foundation, which in 2023 introduced the Lodha Genius Programme for nurturing gifted children.
For policy formulators, educationists, teachers (and parents) accustomed to equating board exams success with giftedness, it’s important to grasp that giftedness manifests in varying forms ranging from leadership and creativity to abstract thinking and heightened emotional intelligence.
In an influential research paper titled ‘Rethinking Giftedness and Gifted Education: A Proposed Direction Forward,’ published in Gifted Child Quarterly (2011), US-based researchers Rena F. Subotnik, Paula Olszewski-Kubilius and Frank C. Worrell defined giftedness as a dynamic and developmental process. “Giftedness can be viewed as developmental in that in the beginning stages, potential is the key variable; in later stages, achievement is the measure of giftedness; and in fully developed talents, eminence is the basis on which this label is granted. Psychosocial variables play an essential role in the manifestation of giftedness at every developmental stage. Both cognitive and psychological variables are malleable and need to be deliberately cultivated,” they wrote. Therefore, unless provided opportunity, nurturance and mentorship, gifted children may never realise their potential.
Gifted education experts identify rapid learning and advanced memory, ability to quickly comprehend complex concepts, deep curiosity to explore beyond the given curriculum, as manifestations of giftedness. In a research study, Dr. Joseph S. Renzulli, professor of education at the University of Connecticut renowned for his research in gifted education and talent development, presents a Three-Ring Model highlighting the importance of interplay between capability, creativity, and persistence, as signs of giftedness. Similarly, in his Multiple Intelligences Theory, Dr. Howard Gardner, professor of education at the renowned Harvard University, cautions educators that high intelligences manifest in several fields — linguistic, mathematical, spatial, musical, interpersonal, not merely academics.
Among proponents and practitioners of gifted education in the modern context, there is unanimity that it is essential to ensure that gifted children receive enabling resources, mentorship, and educational experiences to transform their raw potential into meaningful achievements. Giftedness cannot be nurtured if it is unrecognised, and for many children, early identification — ideally between three-12 years of age when their brains are rapidly developing — is the time to unlock their potential. Denied it, they may find themselves trapped in classrooms that don’t challenge them, struggling with boredom, isolation, or even misdiagnoses that mistake rapid thinking for inattentiveness and defiance. Recognising the traits of gifted children in their early years enables parents and educators to intervene before disengagement sets in.
Gifted children are usually confronted with unique emotional and social challenges. They are literally class apart from their peers. This often triggers frustration, loneliness, and quest for perfectionism. Without guidance and support, they struggle to understand their emotions and may not be able to cope with continuous pressure to excel. Connecting them with like-minded peer groups develops self-confidence and resilience. Moreover, early identification also ensures that gifted children are not misdiagnosed with ADHD (Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder), defiance disorder, or autism spectrum traits because their minds work differently.
Renzulli: three-ring model
Corwith: acceleration strategies
Additionally, for twice-exceptional students — those who are both gifted and have learning disabilities — recognising their strengths early enables necessary interventions, such as assistive technology and alternative pedagogies to prevent frustration and low self-esteem. The long-term benefits of early identification extend far beyond the classroom. Gifted individuals who receive adequate support are most likely to excel in higher education, pursue fulfilling careers and find innovative solutions for major universal problems.
For educators and teachers, reliance on traditional standardised tests, useful to assess cognitive capability, is insufficient to capture the full spectrum of giftedness. They are advised to check out the Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children (WISC-V), Stanford-Binet Intelligence Scale, Measures of Academic Progress (MAP), and Iowa Tests of Basic Skills (ITBS) to identify students performing significantly above their grade level. However, these assessments don’t recognise non-academic forms of giftedness, such as artistic talent, social intelligence, and exceptional creativity.
That’s why education psychologists recommend holistic testing, integrating multiple options such as standardised assessment, performance-based evaluation, and above-level testing. Performance-based assessments of students’ writing, art, and scientific research, provide a more nuanced view of their strengths. Observational tools such as the Gifted Rating Scales (GRS) allow educators and parents to systematically document behaviour indicative of giftedness, including problem-solving skills and creative thinking. Above-level testing, widely used in university talent searches, is also effective in identifying students who require accelerated learning programmes.
According to Dr. Susan Corwith, Director, Centre for Talent Development (CTD) at Northwestern University, Illinois, acceleration strategies and enrichment programmes enable gifted students to realise their potential. “CTD is a pioneering institution dedicated to nurturing the potential of gifted and talented students from early childhood through high school. Our approach is built on the belief that giftedness is not a fixed trait but a dynamic process that involves developing potential into high-level achievement. Once we identify giftedness using a variety of above-grade-level assessments and rigorous summer, weekend, and online course experiences, CTD provides accelerated and enriched online and in-person programs. Students focus on their areas of talent and collaborate with peers and instructors to achieve high levels of academic performance,” says Corwith.
While several universities in the US have fully-fledged departments researching and curating gifted education programmes, a sizeable minority of American schools, including private and public schools, also offer a wide range of programmes for students gifted in academics, the arts, and sports. Globally, different countries have approached gifted education with varying philosophies, although few have perfected it.
Singapore, long known for its rigorous Gifted Education Programme (GEP), recently restructured it to make enrichment opportunities more widely accessible to address charges of elitism. This island republic with a per capita income of $86,248 also prioritises research and innovation through initiatives like the A*STAR program, which funds young scientific talent. Finland, on the other hand, has taken a radically different path — one that does not segregate gifted students but instead adapts mainstream education to allow individualised learning.
The Finnish model highlights an important issue of whether gifted students should be given separate learning environments, or should education systems evolve to accommodate all students, regardless of ability. While Finland’s system aligns with its commitment to equity, it also risks depriving gifted students of the specialised challenges they need. According to Finnish educators, enabling gifted students to become integrated into society while receiving the necessary enrichment to cultivate their exceptional abilities, is the answer.
With awareness of the importance of identifying and providing enabling support to gifted children gaining traction within the educators’ community in India, a small but growing number of progressive schools are integrating advanced learning programmes, mentorship opportunities, and real-world problem-solving experiences into their curriculum to challenge and nurture gifted students. A pioneer K-12 institution that introduced an inclusive gifted education model way back in 1995 is the GEAR (Gifted Education And Research) Innovative International School, Bangalore.
“GEAR’s ethos is rooted in the philosophy that every child possesses unique gifts. Identification is the most challenging part of any gifted education programme. The GEAR model is designed to identify and nurture gifted children by synthesising brain development, multiple intelligences, emergent curriculum and project-based learning. All academic activities are individualised within the framework of multiple intelligences and research projects. One child’s acceleration becomes enrichment for other children. Thus, in addition to individual achievements, the achievement level of all our students is quite high. This proves that this model produces extraordinary results. Teachers and parents need to be equipped with knowledge and skills to harness potential and develop the giftedness of every child,” says Dr. M. Srinivasan, Founder-Chairman of the CBSE-affiliated GEAR School. An alum of the Regional Institute of Education, Mysore with a Masters in gifted & talented education from the University of Connecticut, USA, Dr. Srinivasan was inspired by his mentor Prof. J. Renzulli, to promote GEAR School 29 years ago.
GEAR International’s Srinivasan: extraordinary results
As recited at length earlier, Indian education and as a consequence the Indian economy, is in bad shape. The country’s large and untapped demographic dividend of gifted children offers the prospect of successfully correcting this dismal reality. Therefore instead of making all-is-well proclamations, policy formulators, universities, and industry need to cooperate to polish India’s millions of rough diamonds to sparkle in the hope that some of them will invent and innovate world-beating/game-changer products and services that will vault India to the forefront of developed countries and fire the stuttering Indian economy to record double digit GDP growth rates.
“India aspires to become a developed economy by 2047. This can only be accomplished by the country becoming an innovator rather than follower nation. The US and China have emerged as the most advanced economies and investors in artificial intelligence and new digital technologies because of their human capital and top talent at their universities. These countries nurture and enable gifted children and youth and support the brightest minds from early age in areas such as academics and socio-emotional wellness. In contrast, India’s substantial pool of gifted children is largely untapped. We need policies and an ecosystem that prioritise the identification and nurturing of gifted students. A combination of policy-level initiatives, specialised programs, challenging curriculums, mentorship, socio-emotional support, and public-private partnerships to accelerate R&D and innovation, is urgently required to unlock the potential of our large number of gifted children. The Indian economy can be pushed into double digit economic growth by the creativity and innovation of sufficiently nurtured gifted children,” says Mahika Shishodia, Head of Education, Lodha Foundation (quoted earlier).
A good augury is that government and the establishment is — even if belatedly – awakening to the substantial dividend that can accrue to the nation if our large community of gifted children is encouraged, nurtured and enabled. Although the National Education Policy 2020 is focused on equity and inclusion, it also stresses the importance of enhancing gifted students with special talents.
“Teachers will (should) aim to encourage students with singular interests and/or talents in the classroom by giving them supplementary enrichment material and guidance and encouragement. Topic-centred and Project-based Clubs and Circles will be encouraged and supported at the levels of schools, school complexes, districts, and beyond. Examples include Science Circles, Math Circles, Music & Dance Performance Circles, Chess Circles, Poetry Circles, Language Circles, Drama Circles, Debate Circles, Sports Circles, Eco-Clubs, Health & Well-being Clubs/Yoga Clubs and so on. Along these lines, high-quality national residential summer programmes for secondary school students in various subjects will also be encouraged, with a rigorous merit-based but equitable admission process to attract the very best students and teachers from across the country including from socio-economically disadvantaged groups,” says NEP 2020.
The bugle has been blown, the trumpet has sounded. The country’s policy formulators, educationists, and edupreneurs need to urgently cooperate and collaborate to identify, nurture and enable India’s gifted children and youth whose number may well exceed 25 million — the country’s real demographic dividend. There is high probability that provided encouragement, nurturance and enablement, dozens of them will create, invent and innovate sock-it-to-’em killer products and services that will leapfrog laggard India to the forefront of the global socio-economic development race.
Genwise summer workshop
Gifted children enablers
A promising development is that during the past decade, several private companies/NGOs/higher education institutions have launched initiatives/programmes to identify, nurture and mentor gifted and high potential children. Among them:
GenWise. This Bangalore-based company offers the GenWise Summer Program (GSP) and Online Masterclasses. GSP is a residential camp offering advanced STEM, humanities, and leadership training for gifted students. The online masterclasses provide year-round courses focusing on critical thinking and social-emotional development.
NIAS. In 2011, the National Institute of Advanced Studies (NIAS), Bangalore, introduced its National Programme for Identification and Mentoring Gifted Children aka Education for the Gifted and Talented (EGT) Program. The NIAS-EGT program identifies gifted students and nurtures them through residential workshops, mentorship, and Advanced Learning Centres (ALCs) established in 15 selected schools countrywide.
Lodha Foundation. The Mumbai-based Lodha Foundation offers its Lodha Genius Program, a fully-funded summer residential camp in collaboration with Ashoka University, Sonipat. Selected gifted students (classes IX-XII) are provided free-of-charge world-class STEM, research, and leadership training.
Kaveri Gifted Education and Research Centre (KGERC). This Pune-based organisation provides Gifted Nurturing Workshops for gifted students in mainstream schools.
GMR Varalakshmi Foundation. This CSR arm of the Delhi-based construction major GMR Group provides GMRVF Scholarships & Coaching Program, financial aid, IIT-JEE/NEET coaching, and career mentorship to gifted students of EWS (economically weaker sections).
Gifted World. Founded by the Center for Talent Development at Northwestern University, Educational Initiatives, and GenWise, Gifted World is an online community for gifted and talented children (and their parents). It offers enrichment/advancement programmes in the online/offline modes to nurture gifted children.
Pune International Centre (PIC). A think tank based in Pune, PIC focuses on policy research and education initiatives for promoting gifted education. It works with government to shape national policies for gifted students.
Godrej Foundation. It offers Godrej Scholarships & STEM Coaching Programs to gifted EWS students. It also sponsors students for GenWise Gifted Summer Programs.
Dakshana Foundation. The foundation offers its Dakshana Coaching Programs for EWS gifted students to avail fully-funded, residential IIT-JEE and NEET coaching.
Educational Initiatives (Ei). The Bengaluru-based Ei conducts its annual Ei ASSET Talent Search, a national exam to identify top 2 percent gifted students in classes IV-VIII. Selected students are provided opportunities to attend online/summer/residential enrichment workshops and courses conducted by partner universities/organisations including Johns Hopkins Centre for Talented Youth, Northwestern University CTD, UC Berkeley ATDP, Purdue University-GER2I, Summer Institute for the Gifted (USA), and GenWise, Bengaluru.
Agastya International Foundation. Focused on providing science learning programmes to rural and EWS children, this NGO’s flagship initiative, launched in 2022, is a four-six-week STEM immersion programme hosted by eminent institutions such as IISc, Bengaluru for students of Jawahar Navodaya Vidyalayas, Central government residential schools and high-ability children from rural areas. In addition, Agastya representatives also serve on the expert panel to advance National Education Policy (NEP) 2020 initiatives for talented children.
UC Berkeley ATDP workshop
International organisations enabling gifted children
Several institutions/universities in the US have established full-fledged centres for educating gifted students and are providing enrichment/advancement/mentoring programmes in the online/offline mode. Among them:
Johns Hopkins Centre for Talented Youth (CTY). The Centre for Talented Youth of the Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, runs a Talent Search Program that identifies gifted children and provides them advanced summer and online programmes to nurture their potential with rigorous curricula and collaborative peer learning.
UC Berkeley Academic Talent Development Program (ATDP). The top-ranked University of California, Berkeley’s ATDP offers on-site and online enrichment and accelerated learning programmes for the gifted. Gifted students’ intellectual depth and social intelligence are enhanced through challenging, research-driven courses.
Northwestern Center for Talent Development (CTD). Established in 1982, Northwestern University, Illinois’ CTD provides summer residential, weekend and online programmes for gifted children as well as an Online Family Program to advise parents on ways and means to nurture gifted children and youth.
Purdue University’s GERI. The Gifted Education Research and Resource Institute (GERI) of Purdue University offers a range of Super Saturday Programs, Summer Residential Camps, and Research & Leadership Programs for gifted children and youth. These programmes are designed to enhance academic skills through hands-on, collaborative learning experiences.
Summer Institute for the Gifted (SIG). This New York-based company offers residential summer programmes for gifted children at select universities including Yale, Emory, Miami, Cornell, among others. The curriculum combines rigorous academics with cultural and social enrichment programs.
Mensa Foundation. The US-based Mensa Foundation, founded by American members of Mensa, the world’s most prestigious high-IQ society, conducts its Gifted Youth & Bright Kids Program, under which gifted children are provided specialised educational resources and community support.
National Association for Gifted Children (NAGC). The US-based NAGC provides online Parent & Educator Toolkits and Advocacy Resources to empower people supporting gifted students.
Acceleration Institute. The Acceleration Institute of the Belin-Blank Centre, Iowa, is a think tank that informs educators, researchers, policymakers, administrators, and parents about research and best practices for gifted children. The academic acceleration program includes early entrance to kindergarten, grade skipping in schools/colleges, subject specialisation and other ways of enhancing gifted students through challenging coursework.
Also read: Importance of nurturing gifted children
