At Global Indian International School, our desire is to stimulate and nurture creativity and social innovation among our student community. We want our students to grow into adults who are active participants in their communities, who embrace entrepreneurship and who have creative solutions to common social problems. To help inspire our students in this way, we organized the GIIS Business and Social Innovation Fest 2017, which is highlighted in these videos.

At GIIS, we created a school environment built around our innovative 9 GEMS™. The 9 GEMS™ model focuses on taking value-based learning beyond academics. When appropriate, we provide our students opportunities to develop their character and apply their academic learning outside of the classroom, tackling real-world problems that will help grow them into good global citizens. Gem 6, Entrepreneurship and Leadership, and Gem 5, Creativity and Innovation, were both emphasized at this particular event.

The GIIS Business and Social Innovation Fest 2017 was held on July 28 and 29. The intense two-day conference started with a focus on business entrepreneurship. On the first day, students participated in collaborative activities that encouraged spontaneous innovation. Students were broken into four committees that tackled business and social problems, such as creating a business plan to solve a disaster crisis, creating a for-profit business idea, designing a business plan to solve an environmental problem, or building a business plan for a website.

With their committees, students had the opportunity to develop a plan, presentation and display that highlighted their ideas about the problem they were asked to solve. On the second day of the conference, students were provided the opportunity to demonstrate their plan and presentation, pitching their potential idea to investors. The best ideas and final pitches received awards at the event's closing ceremonies.

The conference also focused on social entrepreneurship. GIIS collaborated with World Vision to create an exhibition entitled "Healing the Hurting World." At the exhibition, students in grades 7 through 10 presented projects, models and posters on social issues they had researched that face children in Southeast Asia, presenting their ideas on potential solutions to these problems.

A highlight of the conference for many students was the panel discussion, which focused on how NGO workers, corporate leaders, governments and educators could come together to make a difference in a child's life. After the discussion, students were able to ask questions of Joshua Frederic, Director of Resource Mobilisation at World Vision India, and Manjit Singh Randhawa, founder of Harmony on Wheels.

"The highlight was definitely the panels discussion, because we were able to hear views from different spheres," said Shruti Iyer, a GIIS student from the GIIS Queenstown Campus. "It really inspired me as a student to inculcate those qualities, because it made me feel that if I don't contribute to society, my life will be incomplete."

At GIIS, our goal is to inspire our students to success as adults, and also to help encourage them to be a player in a global economy. Through events like the GIIS Business and Social Innovation Fest 2017, we strive to encourage our students to see the benefits of being a participant in society, helping inspire them to become the solution to the problems they will face in the future.