Five students from Karnataka, including three from Mysuru city, received scholarships, travelled to Cornell University, Ithaca, New York to participate in the International Summer Debate camp that concluded recently.
Among the students, three students – Ms. Amitha Prakash of Vidyavardhaka Sangha B.M. Sri Educational Institutions, Mysuru, Ms. Shreya Bharadwaj of Excel Public School, Mysuru, and Ms. Dia Ponnappa of Excel Public School, Mysuru – were from Mysuru. The other two students are Ms. Gowri S. Nayak of Little Rock Indian School, Udupi, and Ms. Avni Baliga of Ramaiah Vidyaniketan, Bengaluru.
“All 126 debaters from 14 countries, and from 25 States of the U.S. took part actively in the camp. Ms. Avni Baliga and Ms. Gowri S. Nayak from Karnataka were recognised and certified among the best-transformed debaters. ,” said a release from the Vivekananda Institute of Indian Studies (VIIS), a unit of the Swami Vivekananda Youth Movement (SVYM).
VIIS hosted a five-day augmentation and debate workshop in the second week of June in collaboration with Cornell University, U.S., on its campus in Mysuru. Ms. Amalia Schneider along with ten ILR students of the Cornell group conducted the workshop at VIIS for 8th, 9th, and 10th class girl students. In total, 46 students from Mysuru, Bengaluru, Mangaluru, and Udupi participated, and five students were selected to visit Cornell University for the summer debate camp that was held from July 29 to August 6.
VIIS said it offers various customised courses to universities across the globe and has experience working with over 22 international universities in the U.S. and Canada. VIIS also facilitates the placement of students for internship and volunteering in SVYM and other organisations in Mysuru.