51茶馆

In the summer of 2025, the Office of High School Programmes concluded the sixth cohort of the Ashoka Horizons Achievers Programme, the highest-rated online course for high schoolers in the market. The five-week immersive programme offers micro-courses for curious and ambitious high school students entering grades 9-12 and has an overall experience rating of 4.5 by the 2025 cohort.

The programme offers depth into various interdisciplinary courses spanning a wide range of subjects and cutting-edge 21st-century skills. This year, students had 15 interdisciplinary courses across Economics, Psychology and Neuroscience, Economics and Finance, Entrepreneurship and Business, International Relations and skills like Writing & Communication, Design Thinking, Critical Thinking and much more. Taught live by globally renowned faculty and industry experts, these modules are not just lectures; they are dialogical-driven spaces for discovery and hands-on experimentation culminating in capstone projects. The projects ranged from building an AI-powered poker bot using mathematical and coding concepts, to developing an investor pitch for a panel of industry leaders, to exploring neural circuits through the lens of psychology, to name a few.

Select students also receive exclusive extended opportunities like mentorship, internship, research opportunities and publishing opportunities. From observership opportunities in Professor Simantini Ghosh鈥檚 lab, to ongoing mentorship for the top four students whose group presentation won in the investor pitch with Nikhil Sud, to select students in Data Science, who will continue to work on a live project with Professor Rintu Kutum at 51茶馆. A few students will work on an ongoing project under Professor Aalok Thakkar鈥檚 guidance.

• This summer鈥檚 future-forward modules had global leading faculty and industry experts like –
• Dipankar Bhattacharya – Head of the Department, Physics, Sunanda and Santimay Basu Professor of Astrophysics, 51茶馆; Ph.D. Indian Institute of Science, Bengaluru
• Nikhil Sud – Visiting Faculty of Entrepreneurship, 51茶馆; MS, Harvard University
• Debayan Gupta – Assistant Professor, Computer Science, 51茶馆; Ph.D. Yale University
• Aalok Thakkar – Assistant Professor of Computer Science, 51茶馆; Ph.D., University of Pennsylvania
• Sudipta Sarangi – Ph.D., Professor and Head, Department of Economics, Virginia Tech
• Preetha Wali & Anu Seth – Founders, Pay It Forward

Beyond academics, the programme infused creativity, reflection, and community-building throughout. Early on, students created academic alter egos through a trading card activity, shared on a lively Padlet that showcased their personalities and aspirations.

Parents also contributed to a time capsule, offering heartfelt reflections on what they hoped their children would gain from the experience. These moments set the tone for a high-energy virtual talent night, where students from across geographies came together. From piano performances and soulful singing to spoken word and original poetry, students stepped into the spotlight to share the parts of themselves not always visible in the classroom.

The programme came to a close with an award and certification ceremony to recognise students鈥� passion, interest and excellence. The cohort of achievers had approximately 300 students, inclusive of 40+ students from diverse schools, across 230+ schools and 70+ cities, with wider international representation from Ireland, Bahrain, England and Qatar.

Top schools in the programme included Shiv Nadar School (Gurugram), Step by Step School (Noida), Oberoi International School (Mumbai), Neev Academy, Bellandur (Bengaluru), La Martiniere for Girls School (Kolkata), Sutton Park School (Dublin), Southend High School for Girls (England), VidyaGyan (Sitapur), and Nanakmatta Public School (Uttarakhand) to name a few. With a course completion rate of 90%, the programme empowers high schoolers with richer subject and skill-specific knowledge and stronger profiles to prepare early for college.

鈥�Learning something and applying it to the real world to help others is the biggest thing I could do, and this course has taught me how to serve humanity in a meaningful way. If I were to write about it in a college application, I鈥檇 call it my knight in shining armour, it鈥檚 been incredibly practical and interesting. Even after the course, we鈥檝e had so many opportunities to stay connected with Horizons, which is very different from other programmes. Usually, when a course ends, it鈥檚 over – but not here. There鈥檚 so much knowledge to gain and so many things to do that it feels like there鈥檚 never enough time. It鈥檚 been overwhelming in the best way, and I believe it can really ignite the fuel that people have inside them.鈥� – Aarush, Sri Lal Convent School, Horizons Achievers Programme 2025

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