A learning experience

Five students from the city were taken to the US Space and Rocket Center (USSRC) in Huntsville, Alabama as an experience by the Honeywell Leadership Challenge Academy (HLCA).

There was an overall of 17 Indian students who joined 300 other students from 36 countries for this leadership programme. The students from Bengaluru who went on the two-week programme were Aditya Mehrotra from Greenwood School, Dedeepya Vennam from Diksha PU College, Pranav Elayadam from Kendriya Vidyalaya, Amogh Muragesh Sabane from AEC Magnolia School, and Sanjana Katherine from Narayana PU College.

The employees at Honeywell were given the option to give their children’s names for this programme. Based on their academic and other similar criteria, the top students had to give in their written exams for the final assessment.

At the space camp, they were given a step-by-step demonstration of the mechanisms involved in rocket building and space travel. Pranav says, “It was a great experience as we were given the opportunity to visit a new country. We didn’t know what to expect so it was a lot of fun. We met a lot of new people who share the same passion as us and learned a lot in the process as well.”

The programme offered interactive technology, science-oriented workshops, and team exercises to instill leadership skills in science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) education for students between the age of 16 to 18 years.

“We thought it might just be a bunch of programmes with boring lectures are speeches.To my surprise, even those activities were done in a very fun and interactive way. We also had activities like space movies and on how to build a rocket. I definitely learned a lot in terms of leadership — I’ve improved on the way that I talk to people now,” says Dedeepya.

The students also had other fun activities like karaoke nights, participating in simulated astronaut training and shuttle missions at the space center. Amogh says, “We had the opportunity to know what it feels like when one has to walk on the moon without gravity. It was a cool experience and I’m glad that I could go.”

They also met scientists, engineers, and former astronauts, who reinforce core leadership competencies and shared their first-hand professional experiences.