TIMES SCHOLAR - Know everything about it

WHAT IS TIMES SCHOLARS ?

The Times Scholars programme is an endeavor to encourage school students of classes X to XII to develop a reading habit that helps them develop a holistic understanding of our society, the environment, and an informed worldview, enabling them to become good citizens and write a better future for themselves.

REWARDS AND RECOGNITION

After the final assessment :

For Class XII: The best performing 100 students to be awarded a Dell laptop each.
Selected students from Class XII will also be eligible for admission in the
undergraduate courses at Bennett University with a scholarship applicable for 1 year.
The students will need to fulfill the eligibility criteria of the University.

For Class X and XI: The best performing 100 students to be awarded a Dell laptop each.

ELIGIBILITY
Students of classes X to XII can apply for this programme in two different levels, which are
defined below. These levels constitute two categories in which participants will be
evaluated.
Level 1 - Students from Classes X and XI
Level 2 - Students of Classes XII
The programme is free for all candidates. There is no registration fee.

How does it work?
Registration :As a first step, candidates need to register online for the programme.

Reading Phase :Beginning October 25, The Times of India newspaper will carry ONE

article each day, in its print version, across a range of fields such as current affairs,
science & technology, sports, politics, social issues, education, global developments etc.
over a span of 50 days. These articles will provide multi- dimensional perspectives to
help students get a deeper understanding of various interesting subjects. The articles
will have a label reading TIMES SCHOLARS.

Practice Tests and Presentations :Weekly practice tests will be conducted online,
with questions based on the article. Twice during the programme, candidates will be
asked to summarize articles and share their view in the form of a PowerPoint
presentation, which they can upload on the site. Each practice test will comprise 3
stories, each with 6 questions, to be answered in 15 minutes.
Final Examination :During Dec 21-23, 2019, there would be an online test followed by
an interview to assess the students’ understanding & perspective. The test will
comprise 11 stories, each with 6 questions, to be answered in 60 minutes.
First Shortlist and Interviews :The First Shortlist of the programme will be decided
basis the cumulative score i.e. participation marks in the practice tests and
presentations + marks achieved in the final examination. The best performers, in
terms of the cumulative score, will need to appear for an interview in person.
Winners and felicitation :For each of the two levels (as mentioned in the Eligibility
criteria mentioned earlier), 100 winners will be chosen as winners. A select number
will be invited to a felicitation ceremony whose details will be communicated later.

EVALUATION

During the Reading Phase :
6 practice tests will be conducted in the course of the reading phase of the programme.
On 2 occasions, candidates will be asked to summarize stories and upload/send their
summaries in a PowerPoint format.
The dates and timing of these tests and presentations will be communicated in due
course.
Each practice test and presentation carry 1 mark for PARTICIPATION. This mark will
be counted as part of the cumulative score calculated after the final examination.
Missing either a practice test or a presentation deadline will mean that 1 mark is
forfeited.
Thus, participation in all the practice tests and presentations will give the candidate 8
marks.
Candidates who miss taking part in either a practice test or a presentation are still
eligible to appear in the final examination.
The practice tests and presentation modules will be entirely online.
Final Examination :
Candidates will be divided into different slots for the final examination, which will be
entirely online.
The date and time of the slot will be communicated to the candidates later.
The final examination will assume that candidates have read and internalized the
'Times Scholars' stories appearing in TOI in the preceding 50 days.
The final examination will involve going through 11 TOI stories, each of which will
have 6 questions linked to it i.e. a total of 66 questions – to be answered in 60 minutes.
Each question will carry 2 marks i.e. a total of 132 marks for the exam.

Cumulative score :
Cumulative score = Participation marks earned for the Practice tests and presentation
modules + the marks achieved in the final examination.
In case of a tie in the scores, the time taken to complete the final examination will also
be used for evaluation, with the candidates who take the least time making it to the
shortlist.

Interviews :
The cumulative score will be used to decide the First Shortlist for the interviews.
The interviews will be the final phase of evaluation, the winners of which will be
announced as the Times Scholars for 2019.

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