Think Summit ‘18 was organised by the Think Lab at Delhi Public School, R.K. Puram on 24 November 2018, with the aim of providing students with a platform to ‘Think outside the box’. The events saw participation of 21 schools. The summit was sponsored by USI, Toppr Learning, Ashes Life Sciences, Balaji Medical Institute, Jyoti Hospital and was coordinated by Ms. Archna Deepak.
Ms. Leena Nandan, an IAS of the U.P cadre and present Additional Secretary in the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways graced the event with her august presence. A graduate of Patna Women’s College and Asian Institute of Management, she has authored two much acclaimed books.
The Summit was an amalgamation of 4 events – Out Of The Box, Confabulation, Cognaissance and Ideate-2-Innovate.
Out Of The Box- A Solution for Better Living encouraged younger participants to demonstrate their knowledge and discoveries in fields ranging from environmental conservation to futuristic technologies through the medium of a model. The models were judged by Mr. Shoaib Abdullah and Ms. Jayati Nandan.
Confabulation saw the students engaging in a group discussion which allowed them to express their new and radical ideas regarding some of the social issues pertaining to contemporary society. The judgement was presided over by Mr. Abhijit Bhaumik, Ms. Deepika Goel, Ms. Ambika Kaul and Mr. Dev Rishi Khare,
Seeing some of the supposedly ‘unsolvable’ conundrums that surround us everyday, Cognaissance – The Renaissance of Cognition, tried to put young minds to work and gather their ideas on new and innovative ways to tackle some of the major problems plaguing the modern society. Ms. Sandhya Wakdikar assessed the event.
Ideate-2-Innovate challenged the next generation of innovators to come out of their comfort zone and impromptu develop a bold new innovation, making the best possible use of their creative insight. The participants were then asked to give a presentation on what made their idea unique and revolutionary. The event was judged by Ms. Meena Singh and Ms. Jayati Nandan.
The Valedictory Ceremony commenced with the felicitation of the Judges and the Chief Guest by the Principal, Ms. Vanita Sehgal.
The adroit instrumentalists of the Western Band put up an upbeat Indo – Western fusion that enthralled the audience. This was followed by mellifluous voices of the Indian choir, who put forth a melodious rendition of a Rajasthani folk song.
Once the serenade was complete, the Principal launched the debut edition of the Think Lab’s Annual magazine, ‘Eunoia 2018’.
Ms. Sehgal began her speech with the story of how the Think Lab was set up to provide a space where students could innovate, think freely and bring their creations to life. She emphasised how crucial it was for students to be able to think for themselves instead of blindly following instructions, a quality which would allow them to revolutionise the future. She mentioned how she always looks forward to teaching classes where the children can think out of the box and actively add to the discussion, for those are the most interesting classes. She praised Ms. Archna Deepak’s hard work, dedication and perseverance in making the Think Lab a reality and commended her enthusiasm in revamping the old Electronics Lab into a high tech hub buzzing with students. She stressed the importance of giving the students complete autonomy to think, create and innovate in any field, be it Science or Literature. She then proceeded to invite on-stage all the teachers and students who had made the event a great success and applauded them for their efforts.
The Chief Guest reminisced about the nostalgic memories she had of the school as the proud parent of an alumna. She talked about how the school helped her daughter grow and how it educated and empowered her, just as it had done for countless other students. She stressed how it was critical for students to be able to think and innovate, quoting Rene Descartes, “I think, therefore I am.” She congratulated Ms. Sehgal for providing such a wonderful opportunity in the school. She reminded the students that they were the future of the country and that a young child’s mind is the best place for innovative ideas. She ended by quoting Khalil Gibran, “You can give them your love but not your thoughts, for they have their own thoughts. You can house their bodies but not their souls, for their souls dwell in the house of tomorrow”
The end of the Chief Guest’s speech gave way to the Award Distribution Ceremony.
The Overall winner for the Summit was DLF School, Sahibabad.
The results are as follows:
| EVENT | POSITION | SCHOOL |
| OUT OF THE BOX | 1ST | Mount Abu Public School |
| 2ND | Modern School, Barakhamba | |
| 3RD | Ryan International School, Vasant Kunj | |
| COGNAISSANCE | 1ST | Amity International, Pushp Vihar |
| 2ND | Modern School, Barakhamba | |
| 3RD | DLF School, Sahibabad | |
| CONFABULATION | 1ST | Delhi Public School, Indirapuram |
| 2ND | Mayur School, Noida | |
| 3RD | Delhi Public School, Greater Faridabad | |
|
IDEATE-2-INNOVATE |
1ST | Cambridge Foundation School |
| 2ND | DLF School, Sahibabad | |
| 3RD | Vivekanand School |
The Award Ceremony ended with a presentation recapping the various events of the day and prominently showing the highlights.
The Vice Principal, Ms. Anita Singh, brought the ceremony to a close with the vote of thanks. She spoke about how, in her 35 years of teaching, it was the first time she had seen a concept like the Think Lab. She thanked the Chief Guest for coming. She also thanked the Principal for making the summit possible and for choosing an in-house solution for the future of the Electronics Lab. She talked about the tremendous impact that the Think Lab has had so far and wished that its legacy continues far into the future. She congratulated all the participants, reminding them that it wasn’t about winning, but participating. Finally, she thanked the entire team which had organised the event and invited them on stage.
The National Anthem played, heralding the conclusion of the summit.
