As NTIC hosted the world scholars cup
The Nigerian Tulip International Colleges (NTIC) hosted the 2017 edition of the World Scholars Cup competition for junior and senior secondary students in a 2-day event that held at the Nile University of Nigeria. The competition had over two hundred students from Nigerian Tulip International Colleges, Key Science Academy Abuja, Nigerian Egyptian International School Abuja, and Glisten Academy Abuja, competing in Team Debates, Scholars Bowl, Collaborative Writing, and Scholars Challenge respectively.
In the words of the founder of the World Scholars Cup (WSC) Daniel Berdichevsky, the World Scholars Cup (WSC) is an annual event designed to motivate students of all backgrounds to discover new strengths, practice new skills and to inspire a global community of future scholars and leaders.
“The idea behind the world scholars’ cup is to create an arena for inclusive enrichment where students can explore many subjects, practice many skills and meet other students from other schools. It also focuses on bringing students from different cultures together to discuss issues and ideas relevant to today and the future”
WSC commenced 11 years ago, precisely 2007. The first edition held in the United States of America, and since then it has recorded tremendous successes in countries like the United States of America, Singapore, Dubai, Taiwan, Thailand, Chile, Ghana, Somalia, Italy, and recently Nigeria. The choice of the Nigerian Tulip International Colleges (NTIC) as its 2017 host was informed by the pedigree of the NTIC schools and also the learning model that encourages inclusive learning.
“In a sense, we wanted to come to Nigeria for a long time, and the choice of the NTIC schools wasn’t a difficult decision because the NTIC schools have participated in the World Scholars Cup competition in Dubai, and their performance was outstanding” Daniel Berdichevsky also added.
This year’s event was the first in Nigeria, and the participating students were thrilled to various categories of activities on display. According to Mr. Lachin Belul, the representative of the World Scholars Cup in Nigeria, “Over 200 students from Nigerian Tulip International Colleges Abuja, Nigerian Tulip International Colleges Kaduna, Nigerian Tulip International Colleges Yobe, Key Science Academy Abuja, Nigerian Egyptian International School Abuja, and Glisten Academy Abuja, all competed in junior and senior categories in Team Debates, Scholars Bowl, Collaborative Writing, and Scholars Challenge respectively.”
For team debate, each team debated on motions across all the subjects from policy to poetry, while in collaborative writing, participants were given six statements each from different disciplines and were asked to argue for or against the motion. At the event, the debate topic was “That we should each be a given a peek into our lives ten years in the future” and some students were paired to argue for or against the motion. Each team member was given time to speak and research his/her argument with full access to the internet. After each round, winning teams faced other winners and non-winners faced other non-winners. The debate proved electrifying with students from all participating institutions arguing for and against the debate topic. An obviously elated Hajia Amina Sulieman, a parent to one of the participating students was of the opinion that such competitions are necessary for the development of the cognitive skills of students through debates and quizzes. “Aside the routine academic work in their various schools, a competition of this nature helps students to explore and expand their horizon because from what I have seen here today, the cognitive skills of the participating students were ignited.” She said.
During the competition, students were given training on Cognitive problem-solving skills training (CPSST). CPSST helps the child gain the ability to self-manage thoughts and feelings and interact appropriately with others by developing new perspectives and solutions. An example was the scholars’ bowl contest, where every team had a clicker that connects to the scoring computer. Each team worked together to solve analytic questions and multimedia challenges.
According to officials of the Nigerian Tulip International Colleges (NTIC), The World Scholars Cup is a celebration of the joy of learning, and an enrichment opportunity that motivates students not just to demonstrate their existing strengths but to discover new ones. This much was visible through the 2-days event that held at the main auditorium of the Nile University of Nigeria.
Some participating students also expressed satisfaction with the event. Miss Aisha Danbatta of the Nigerian Tulip International Colleges said the experience was “enriching as well as educating. Initially, I was a bit apprehensive, but with the interactive session we had with our tutors I knew I had to expand my horizon and conquer new grounds academically”. Miss Danbatta looks forward to “making Nigeria proud at the Global round at Yale University next year.”
The International Program Director of World Scholars Cup, Mr. Joseph Willard Harr, said “the World Scholars Cup competition fosters cooperative culture among students from different backgrounds. The Global Round which is scheduled to hold at Yale University would bring together about 20,000 students from about 50 countries.”
At the end of the event, NTIC Abuja ( CoED) came first in the junior category, while in the senior division NTIC Abuja ( Girls) also came first and second overall. Also, Funtaj International School came third in the senior division. Other schools that qualified for the Global round scheduled for 2018 at Yale University are Glisten International Academy, Nigerian Egyptian International School, and Key Science Academy. Isabel Hahn, an official of the WSC, said that these schools would represent Nigeria at the Global Round at Yale University.
“The Tournament of Champions is more than just another Global Round. Students will have the chance to interact with and learn directly from Yale students and faculty. They will attend a special panel on college life and on how to leverage the World Scholar’s Cup experience as part of admissions portfolio. They will meet keynote speakers, including a Yale University professor. And they will come away knowing what it’s like to be a student at one of the world’s greatest universities.”
According to Joshua Ocheja, the communications director of the Nigerian Tulip International Colleges (NTIC). “The NTIC brand is committed to empowering its students through the provision of broad, appropriate and adequate curricula offerings, using state of the art technology to create a dynamic, favorable, modern and conducive environment for teaching and learning. And one of such ways is through collaborations with international organizations such as the World Scholars Cup.
“The overall mission of the NTIC brand is to produce intelligent, enlightened and highly socialized individuals who are fit to pursue higher education and become effective, integrated and productive members of the society.” He said.
“We have had dozens of collaborations with international organizations in competitions aimed at ensuring that NTIC products are well-rounded individuals. This is a commitment we made to our parents. And we strive to stay true to this promise continually.