Lodha Genius Programme, the flagship education initiative of the recently endowed Lodha Foundation, in partnership with Ashoka University, calls for applications from the brightest minds from Grades 9 - 12 to join its fully funded multi-year educational programme. The application window is open from December 1, 2024 to January 15, 2025. This announcement comes close on the heels of the recent endowment to the Lodha Foundation by Abhishek Lodha and his family.
To ensure that Geniuses across the country have the opportunity to participate, the Lodha Foundation launched a digital campaign – ‘What Unlocks your Genius?’ – targeted at parents, students, schools, and educators (coaches, trainers etc) as well as government education boards. The campaign film offers a glimpse of the unique programme and can be watched on YouTube and Instagram and focuses on the key message: What Unlocks Your Genius? > People, Opportunities and Ideas.
Commenting on the Programme, Mahika Shishodia, Head of Education, Lodha Foundation, said, “The Lodha Genius Programme is the flagship education initiative of the newly endowed Lodha Foundation. The focus of the Programme is to enhance the quality of education, especially for gifted children, irrespective of income background, from all over India. The children are assessed through an entrance exam that focuses on scientific reasoning, mathematics, and logic, rather than a specific curriculum. We then select students based on their problem-solving abilities and conduct interviews to identify the brightest minds—whom we define as ‘geniuses’. In its third year, the programme will offer these geniuses access to people, opportunities and ideas that will help propel them forward. The Lodha Genius Programme aims to shape tomorrow’s changemakers, leaders and philanthropists; children who will lead India towards a sustainable future and give back to the nation and society.
“The Lodha Genius Programme represents a groundbreaking initiative that combines the best of rigorous academic learning, mentorship, and real-world exposure. We are proud to collaborate with the Lodha Foundation in nurturing exceptional young talent and to take this initiative further this year, making meaningful contributions to the education industry and society. Since last year, we have witnessed extensive participation from India’s exceptional students. This partnership underscores our shared commitment to shaping India’s future through education,” Somak Raychaudhury, Vice Chancellor, Ashoka University said.
Prof K VijayRaghvan, Chair, Science Advisory Council, Ashoka University commented “The Lodha Genius Programme is a comprehensive and innovative educational initiative that goes far beyond a typical summer program. In addition to an engaging summer experience at Ashoka, it offers year-round immersive learning, mentorship, and development opportunities. The collaboration between Ashoka University and the Lodha Foundation is a testament to our shared commitment to empowering India’s future leaders and changemakers through education.”
The Lodha Genius Programme is a multi-year initiative that includes an annual four-week campus experience at Ashoka University, paired with year-round continued learning. It is designed to complement all major examination boards, helping students deepen their studies and explore various career paths in their chosen fields. The programme offers a unique combination of immersive science and mathematics courses, practical life skills, continuous mentorship, and exclusive internship opportunities. The programme identifies and supports students from middle school through to their first job, collaborating with distinguished academics, including Nobel Laureates. It also provides scholarship opportunities for select students to study in the US or attend prestigious international STEM events.
