Global SOTY Foundation commemorates its illustrious “Student of the Year Awards Ceremony 2016”
New Delhi: Global SOTY Foundation, a not for profit organization committed to empowering Indian Students for Global Achievements and USA UnivQuest, an institution that specializes in training and mentoring students for undergraduate admission in top ranked universities across the world, celebrated the success of talented school students by felicitating the winners of Student Of The Year Awards – 2016 at a glittering function held on Friday, 12th May 2017 at PHD House, 4/2 Siri Institutional Area, August Kranti Marg, New Delhi.
The Awards have been instituted to celebrate the best achievers among school students in India. The Student of the Year Award will be conferred on high school students who have the potential to serve as a role model for the youth of India, now and in the future.
For the 2016 Awards, more than 19,000 students spread across 35 cities had displayed keen interest in completing the process. Of them, a total of 142 candidates were selected for interview and only 18 top students were selected for the National Awards. Another 52 students have been shortlisted to receive the City Awards. Students who were studying in Class 8 to 12 were eligible to register themselves for the Award. The selection process started on the 4th of Feb 2017 with the Potential Discovery Test and culminated with the Personal Interviews held in Apr 2017.
While felicitating the award winners, Academic Head of USA UnivQuest – the process facilitators of the Awards, Mr Ashish Khare said – “the intention of the Award is to encourage students to redefine success. If success is linked to only academic achievement, then holistic development of the student will not be possible. The Awards, we hope will encourage students to explore their talents and create their own definition of success.” Explaining how students from all financial backgrounds were encouraged to apply for the Awards, Mr. Khare further said that, “all students shortlisted for the National Awards were eligible to claim 2-way expenses by Rail / Air for themselves and one accompanying adult.”
The Chief Guest and Keynote Speaker at the Awards was Professor Debashis Chatterjee. Professor Chatterjee taught leadership at Harvard University and at the Indian Institutes of Management (IIM), Calcutta, Lucknow, and Kozhikode for over two decades. He has been awarded the prestigious Fulbright Fellowship twice for Pre-Doctoral and Post-Doctoral work at the Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University. He has trained more than fifteen thousand managers globally in Fortune 100 Corporations and over fifteen thousand school principals and teachers. His published work include seventeen books such as Timeless Leadership and Invincible Arjuna.
The students who have been selected for the coveted awards represent a diverse kaleidoscope of backgrounds, aspirations and achievements. For a very talented Muskaan – a budding poet and an active basketball player, we have an equally strong achiever in Subhash Chandra Bose, who is inspired by Netaji Subhash Bose and wishes to serve his country. Among the many award winners, there are patent holders, tech-innovators, authors, world record holders, entrepreneurs, Olympiad winners, and other super achoevers.
Students from the following 22 cities have been shortlisted for receiving the Awards:
AGARTALA, ALLAHABAD, BOKARO, CHANDIGARH, CHENNAI, COIMBATORE, FARIDABAD
GHAZIABAD, GURGAON, GWALIOR, HYDERABAD, INDORE, JAIPUR, KHARAGPUR, KOLKATA
KOTA, LUCKNOW, MIDNAPORE, NOIDA, SONIPAT, VADODARA and VISAKHAPATNAM.