For the first time ever, on 10 July 2021, GIIS SMART Campus conducted a virtual IBDP Student Conference - a fully comprehensive induction programme intending to ensure that the incoming batch of IB students, graduating in 2023, is fully aware of the hills they would be expected to climb before reaching the peak. 

The session was conducted keeping in mind this year’s school theme, RISE as students of tomorrow. The session was kept as interactive as possible with the speakers engaging students with questions about the information gained. In order to give the students multiple perspectives of the IB curriculum, the school had invited Mrs Revathi Srinivasan, Director-Education and Principal and Mrs Vaijayanthi Gudipaty, Head - International Programmes, Corporate Communications from Singhania School, Mumbai  It was hosted by GIIS staff and IB year 2 students, all well equipped to impart useful information to the attending students.

Ms Melissa Maria gave an inspiring talk welcoming the new batch into the school’s family. The first segment of the programme was conducted by the guest speakers from Singhania Schools who spoke on the topics of “Students as Leaders” and also “Independent Learning - The Ultimate Learner Superpower”. Both speakers conducted excellent talks with their innovative methods to encourage student engagement all while imparting the much-required motivation to carry on through 2 years of rigorous holistic development that the IB Diploma Programme intends on providing. 

The next segment was focused on the explanation of the IB Learner Profile, presented by Ms Deepika Sodhi, Academic Supervisor, International Curriculum. Following this was an insight into the “Approaches to Teaching and Learning”. This segment was led by the Principal, Ms Melissa Maria, along with experienced IB team members-  including IBDP Coordinator, Ms Deepa Chandrasekharan, They also conducted an interactive session in order to engage with the new batch for the first time as IB students. This session was supported by worksheets and assignments to help students understand the pattern in which they should approach the curriculum.

Post the lunch break, students of IBDP year 2 were asked to discuss their personal experiences in IB so far with their respective subject choices, ECA/CCA/CAS requirements, as well as tips to effectively manage their time. This was achieved through panel discussions where they addressed some common questions that most of their juniors were curious about and also conducted icebreaker sessions to help the new batch to open up and socialise prior to starting their IB journey so as to give them a head start. 

This student conference enabled the new batch of IB students to enter their demanding journey equipped with the crucial details without which their first year would have been a much greater struggle. GIIS intends on conducting similar sessions for all the upcoming batches in the following years. The students left the conference with a sense of motivation that our school will hopefully be able to sustain through these next 2 years. 

Bellana Vijayasayi Divyanshi Srimayi
IBDP Year 2