Please remind Caribbean students you know who are exceptionally gifted in STEM and between the ages of 16 and 18 by July 1, 2015 to apply to the all-expenses paid SPISE program. The program runs from July 18 to August 15, 2015. The application forms, program description and a set of frequently-asked questions can be found at http://caribbeanscience.org/projects/spise.php
SPISE is modeled after the well-known and highly successful MITES program at MIT (http://web.mit.edu/mites/) for which Professor Cardinal Warde also serves as the Faculty Director. Here are a few more details:
- SPISE aims for a balanced class of 50% girls and boys, and students from low-income households are encouraged to apply.
- SPISE is free of cost to the students.
- SPISE uses the facilities of the campus of the UWI, Cave Hill, Barbados.
- SPISE is 4 weeks of total immersion (24/7) in university-level calculus, physics, biochemistry, entrepreneurship, Mandarin, Caribbean unity studies, and hands-on projects in robotics, electronics and computer programming.
- SPISE discourages rote learning, and teaches the students how to focus on understanding and applying the fundamentals so as to achieve mastery of the material. Applying logical and analytical thinking to solve complex problems is emphasized. Grades are not emphasized; personal academic and Intellectual development is.
- The value of teamwork (learned in the hands-on projects) is yet another essential skill that is emphasized, along with proactive time-management skills.
- Instructors in the SPISE are university professors from the Region and the Diaspora (including MIT). Some are senior management professionals from leading biotechnology and pharmaceutical companies in the Diaspora.
- SPISE students are exposed and coached by role models from the Diaspora and the Region on career paths and choices, and assisted with their university application packages, financial-aid applications, and internship applications to research centers in the Region and abroad.
- Teaching Assistants reside in the dormitories with the students so that technical assistance and supervision are available 24/7 to the young students.
- SPISE culminates with student project competitions in which each student team first gives an oral presentation of their hands-on project before demonstrating the workings of their project. These final competitions are open to the public, and sponsors and parents are urged to attend and cheer for their students.
- The top SPISE students go on to enroll at some of the best science and engineering universities in the world with generous financial aid packages.
- You may view this video, http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=75UUowD7-oM, from SPISE 2012 to capture the real spirit of SPISE. More specifics about SPISE can be found at http://caribbeanscience.org/projects/spise.php. The CSF Website is http://caribbeanscience.org.
