STEaPP's Dr Nidhi Chaudary leads workshop at the Inaugural UCL India Summer School

The inaugural UCL India Summer School took place in 2024 giving students a taste of world-class education.

The inaugural Indian Summer School was organised by UCL and held at the state-of-the-art campus of The British School in New Delhi from the 10th to the 14th of June 2024. This pioneering initiative brought together academics from UCL and 58 pre-university students from across India for an intensive week of learning. The teaching program featured multi-disciplinary courses taught in small seminar groups, with class sizes capped at 10 to ensure personalised attention. Students chose from pathways including Artificial Intelligence, Psychology and Public Policy, engaging in creative, cross-disciplinary thinking to solve real-world problems.

The program focused on widening access to education by bringing UCL Professors from London to India. Sessions were delivered by esteemed academics from across UCL including STEaPP’s Dr Nidhi Chaudhary, who taught on the Pathway on Public Policy in Science, Engineering, and Technology. On this pathway, students explored the intersection of public policy with different disciplines and its impact on fostering innovation and creating inclusive societies. The workshop posed thought-provoking questions like:

• What is public policy, and why does it matter in the context of science, technology, engineering, and related disciplines?
• How can public policy design drive socio-technological innovation?
• How can Artificial Intelligence (AI) be used for engaging citizens in solving policy issues for science, engineering, and technology?
• How is the ‘nudge’ agenda in policy being used to solve society’s ‘wicked’ problems?

These questions guided students through the core concepts of public policy design, examining the roles of various actors and institutions, including citizens, local communities, civil society, politicians, and government bodies. The seminars emphasised an applied approach, encouraging students to think analytically and share their ideas through interactive exercises such as role play, real-life simulations, and debates.

The week of learning concluded with participants presenting innovative group projects on the various pathways. The presentations on Public Policy in Science, Engineering, and Technology were truly impressive with students approaching the complex problem of plastic pollution in Rio through innovative and holistic policy solutions.

The UCL India Summer School provided a unique educational experience, strengthening academic ties between UCL and India and marking the beginning of a promising annual tradition. This initiative underscores UCL's commitment to collaboration with India. Later this year, the first recipients of the UCL India Excellence Scholarships will arrive on campus. This scheme supports Indian students with outstanding academic records to pursue full-time Master’s degree studies at UCL, offering thirty-three scholarships for the 2024-25 academic year and an additional sixty-seven over the next two years.

---