(SCHOOL PRINCIPAL MANUAL)

The Fountain Head: Vikram Sarabhai Science Foundation

Vikram Sarabhai Science Foundation (VSSF), kakkanad- Kochi, is a science initiative primarily focused on Science Identity Creation & Simplifying Science with an aim to inspire the youth and the next generation of innovators as well as create a dynamic, integrated research community.

The foundation aims VSSF provides an environment that is receptive and responsive to the inquiring minds, dynamic enough to spur them in the long quest to seek answers and to pto advance science literacy through, inquiry-based science education, stimulate innovation hands-on experience and research disciplines. rove what they believe in.

The foundation conducts various outreach programs and workshops on science awareness including events such World Space Week, Science fairs, Interactive sessions, Consulting and Research programs for students about the prospects in the field of science.

Established in 2011, the foundation is the embodiment of the vision of Dr. APJ Abdul Kalam, with the critical agenda to improve Science education & literacy in India, for a scientifically enriched posterity & mentored by his follower a great space scientist & the current Chairman of Vikram Sarabhai Science Foundation, Dr. G Madhavan Nair.

Gateway to world of science- SPOT (SCIENCE PROMOTION ORIENT TEST) (1/2)

VSSF conducts SPOT assessment examination for students with aptitude to determine their conceptual knowledge & understanding of Science, across disciplines.

SPOT is the medium through which the foundation shortlist & assist the Smart Science Talents. The exams are conducted in 2 phases, online, wherein every shortlisted student stand to gain intellectually & academically via an interactive Science portal, SPOTLink, for over a span of 4 months.

Doing SPOT develop student’s ability to ask questions, collect information, organize & test ideas, problem solve & apply what one learn. Evermore SPOT offers powerful platform for building confidence, developing communication skills and making sense of world around us- a world that’s increasingly shaped by Science & Technology.

SPOT advantage:Shortlisted SPOT’s , through SPOT PRELIMS & SPOT100 shall be provided guidance & will have exclusive access to SPOTLink, an online Science learning & engagement platform intended to provide impactful programs to develop science literacy, build critical skills and foster joy of learning science.

Gateway to world of science- SPOT (SCIENCE PROMOTION ORIENT TEST) (2/2)

Virtual Classroom Sessions: All SPOT PRELIMS qualifiers shall concurred with 6 Virtual classroom sessions on relevant & futuristic science topics by leading Science personalities (Scientists, Doctors, Researchers etc).

SPOT Mentorships: In addition to knowledge based learning, it’s essential that students have strong mentors and role models to look up to and keep them engaged. SPOTLink hope to inspire the next generation of students by aiding them in identifying strong mentors.

SPOTLink plays a crucial role in teaming up / support SPOT100’s with STEM gurus (Academicians, Researchers, Professors, Scientists) to diverse scientific careers, answering science questions, clarify doubts, for mentoring, share queries / experiences, consulting etc.. SPOT Mentorships start in March and end in May 2020.

Educational visits to Science destinations: Shortlisted BRIGHT SPOT’s are afforded with an educationally enriching science tour at a Museums, Space centres , Research labs etc. & fortuitous few get to travel to an International science destinations to broaden their knowledge.

Team Indus Internships: Top SPOT100’s undergoes fully paid 1 month long & Weekly internships on Spacecraft and its Technology & immersing students on real challenges encountered while on moon mission, at Team Indus Campus in Bangalore.

Our proud partners with related interest

The Cochin Shipyard Limited (CSL), the forerunner in Indian Ship building & Ship repair industry, through their CSR program of improving lives of underprivileged & support education sector, is affiliated with VSSF to identify 6000 merit students, selected on “merit cum means” basis to aid & assist the students in their science journey.

Team Indus Foundation of Excellence- Bangalore, is a not-for -profit company that believes solutions of mankind’s challenges will come from amongst ordinary people,Therefore the best way to inspire next generation of creators, scientists, leaders and innovators is to create experiential learning opportunities and provide recognition for accomplishments.VSSF have partnered with Team Indus to provide Internship programs to the top SPOT100 students.

Cochin Shipyard Limited

SPOT Advantage - Students

SPOT PRELIM’s advantage:

• Exclusive entry to 5 VIRTUAL CLASSROOM sessions (scheduled twice a month starting Nov 2019) conducted by renowned Scientists / Researchers through SPOTLink portal.

• MERIT CERTIFICATE to all SMART SPOTS (SPOT PRELIMS)

SPOT100 advantage:

• One EDUCATIONAL TOUR to renowned Scientific center (TIFR Mumbai, SHAR, IISc Bangalore, ISRO etc.)

• INTERNSHIPS on Space & its Technology @ Team Indus for top ranking SPOT100’s:1month & 1-week internships basis ranking.

• SPOT MENTORSHIPS for all SPOT100’s from the panel mentors that include Academicians, Researchers, Professors, Scientists for a period of 2 months starting Feb 2019.

• 1 exclusive INTERACTIVE VIRTUAL CLASSROOM session (over & above the 5 sessions) with distinguished Scientist & suggested reference books

• SCHOLARSHIPS to TOP 8 Girl SPOT100’s (2 per zone)• VSSF EXCELLENCE Badge to all SPOT100’s • SPOT GENII EXCELLENCE Certificates to all SPOT100’s• NAT GEO SCIENCE ENCYCLOPEDIA to all SPOT100’s

SPOT Advantage : Teachers (1/2)

Science Educator AwardSPOT honours Teachers who have made special efforts to enhance & instil an appreciation and enjoyment of learning Science of their young students.

5 Award recipients will each receive Certificate / Mementos & Cash prize of Rs.25000/-

Nomination Criteria:

• Teachers must be nominated by the Principal / Vice principal / HOD of the same school.

• Nominations to be submitted by 20th Dec 2019• Award recipients will be announced March 2020• A selection committee will assess qualifying nominations basis submitted topics.• Teachers may be asked to present the topics via virtual classroom portal, the

SPOTLink

SPOT Advantage : Teachers (2/2)

SCIENCE EDUCATOR Award (Contd)

• The selection committee may contact nominators, nominees and references to verify information in the nomination.

• Nominators and nominees may not contact members of the selection committee other than to provide information requested by the selection committee.

• Selected nominees must each sign a declaration attesting to the accuracy of the nomination provided by the nomination.

• Students, Alumni’s, Parents and Colleagues gets an opportunity to express gratitude by saying “YOU SEEDED”, through online voting process. Every individual “YOU SEEDED” campaign vote gets converted to scores towards the SPOT Science Educator Award

SPOT advantage : School & Coordinator's

SPOT EMBED Award: Schools with maximum SPOT100’s automatically

qualify for the award. (min. 10 students to qualify) – Maximum 10 Schools can qualify.

Award include Certificate, Memento & Cash prize of Rs.10000/- per school

School Coordinator Award: Top 10 coordinators from are eligible for this award.

Award include Certificate, Memento & Cash prize of Rs.5000/- per coordinator

Conducted at 3 levels

Level Class Mode Questions Duration

SPOT Basic III to V Online *MCQ 60 min

SPOT Junior VI to VIII Online MCQ 60 min

SPOT Senior IX to XII Online MCQ 60 min

*MCQ > Multiple Choice Questions

Online Test: VSSF request / prefer using the school computer facility.

SPOT – Assessment details

SPOT PRELIMS – Test procedures

SPOT Prelims: Level 1 > Percentile based . Min. Cut off @ 90%

• Online Exam conducted on 11TH Nov 2019 to 16TH Nov 2019• School Internet facility is a pre requisite for participation (Class III to XII)• Level 1 Exams: Paper consists of Science, Mental Ability & Analytics• Split question papers for each class.

Medium of the test is English for both Prelims & Final exams. CBSE, ICSE/ICSE andState Board syllabus is followed for setting the test papers

SPOT 100’s (SPOT FINAL) – Test procedures (2/2)

SPOT100: Level 2 > Percentile based. Min. Cut Off @ 95%

• Exams restricted to SPOT PRELIMS qualifiers only

• Online Exam conducted on 20th Jan 2020• School Internet facility is a pre requisite for participation (Class III to XII)• Level 2 Exams: Paper consists of Science and Mental Ability, Analytics, Logical

reasoning

• 100% attendance for Virtual Classroom (VC) sessions mandatory for a SPOT

PRELIM student to qualify for SPOT100

• 20% weightage for VC participation of VSSF Science forum / debates / Paper

presentation etc

• Exams will be held at individual Schools under the supervision of VSSF / School

Science Coordinators

Medium of the test is English for both Prelims & Final exams. CBSE, ICSE/ICSE and

State Board syllabus is followed for setting the test papers

SPOT: Dates to remember

▪ School Registration Opens: 16TH AUG 2019

▪ Last day for School registration: 15TH SEP 2019

▪ Student registration: 19th AUG 2019 to 10TH OCT 2019

▪ Fee Payment : 19th AUG 2019 to 10TH OCT 2019

o SPOT PRELIMS: 11TH NOV 2019 to 16TH NOV 2019

o SPOT 100 (SPOT Final): 20th JAN 2020

o Science Educator Award nomination: 20th December 2019

Detailed Registration & Test process enclosed in the School Coordinator manual

To know more about Vikram Sarabhai Science Foundation & SPOT Test, please

visit us on www.vssf.in or contact our SPOT Coordinator,

SPOT CoordinatorTel: 0484 2980792 Mob: 9745377791 / 6282280890

SPOT – How to participate? (1/3)

Fees: • A participation fee of Rs. 225/- per student shall be collected by the participating

school.• An administrative fee of Rs. 25/- per student to shall be retained by the school.• Each school to nominate one School Coordinator• School Coordinators to register students through VSSF portal, through any modes -

net banking / Credit cards / Debit cards or Demand Draft in favour of Vikram Sarabhai Science Foundation, Kakkanad, Kochi

• Schools opting for Demand draft: Students eligible to participate in exams only post receipt of the Demand draft at the Foundation office.

Eligibility:• Assessment open to students from Class III to XII• Online registration for students open only through respective schools • Registration not open for Individual student• Min. 10 students per school mandated as an eligibility norm

Exams conducted at two levels:SPOT PRELIMS: Online exams conducted at Schools on 11TH Nov 2019 to 16th Nov 2019SPOT100: Online Exams conducted by VSSF for SPOT Prelims qualifiers on 20th Jan 2020.

VSSF along with our partners THE COCHIN SHIPYARD LIMITED (CSL), supports

underprivileged MERIT students in their Science journey. Fee Waivers are provided to

such exceptional science talents, who but for their economic status can ill afford to

pay the SPOT registration Fee.

Schools to submit foll. supporting,

1. Letter of request from the School Principal, duly signed & stamped in School Letter

head. Content should carry the foll.

• Full name, address of the student

• A brief note on Student academic performance & economic status

• Current job status of parents

2. Copy of student’s parents (Father / Mother / Guardian) Aadhar card

Incase of any misleading information, VSSF decision on the providing waivers would be final

SPOT – How to participate? Economically backward MERIT Students (2/3)

SPOT – How to participate? (3/3)

Log in ID’s & Guidelines:

• Each school shall be provided with confidential login id & password post registrationon VSSF portal

• Registered students are provided with Individual ID & password to access the portalfor exams by 27th Oct 2019. Same send to respective schools / Coordinators forstudent communication.

• Virtual classroom SPOTLink ID & password will be provided by 20th Nov 2019 (2months for SPOTPRELIMS Qualifiers & 3 months for SPOT100’s respectively).

Queries: Any queries / clarification relating to exam guidelines, assessment , can beavailed from the VSSF / SPOT Coordinator through e-mail/phone-call / SPOT CHAT

For more information, please explore the links on this page or contact:

SPOT CoordinatorTel: 0484 2980792 Mob: 6282 280890 / 9745377791

Use SPOT CHAT on VSSF portal to clarify your queries, i.e. www.vssf.in

Registration Process (1/2)

Process 1 > Nominate a School Coordinator

• Principal to nominate one School SPOT Coordinator, ideally from the Sciencefaculty.

• School Coordinator shall be the single point of contact with VSSF / SPOT officefrom thereon.

Process 2 > Student Communication

• Principal through School SPOT Coordinator to ensure SPOT TestCommunication as well as SPOT Posters (Poster 1 & 2) to be pinned on SchoolNotice boards.

• Posters to be downloaded from www.vssf.in > SPOT > Downloads > Noticeboards Poster 1 & 2

Process 2 > School Registration

• School to register on the VSSF portal , i.e. www.vssf.in

• School Registration window open from 16th AUG 2019 to 15th SEP 2019.

• On confirmed registration, School shall receive a login ID & Password

Process 3 > Student registration

• Student Registration Open from 19TH AUG 2019 to 10TH OCT 2019

(Contd)

Registration Process (2/2)

• Student Registration to be done with confirmed school login ID &password

• School have the option to add / delete students before the closing dateof 10TH OCT 2019.

• No additions / deletions possible after 10TH OCT 2018

Process 4 > Payment

• Online Payment gateway Open from 19TH AUG 2019 to 10TH OCT 2019

• Payment to be done through net banking / Credit cards / Debit cards / NEFTor Demand Draft in favour of Vikram Sarabhai Science Foundation, Kakkanad,Kochi.

• No payments shall be accepted post 10TH OCT 2019.

Process 5 > Student Login ID & Password

• Individual Student Test Login ID & Password shall be sent to school/ SchoolSPOT Coordinator by 27th Oct 2019.

• School to communicate the Login ID & Password to the student the same day.

Use SPOT CHAT on VSSF portal to clarify your queries, i.e. www.vssf.in

“Bright young students should turn towards science and technology education. Our endeavour is to create enthusiasm among students and enhance the analytical and observation skills and further create a strong foundation in pure science making science a passion”.

Dr. G Madhavan Nair is the visionary genius behind Chandrayan, India’s iconic Moon Mission. During his tenure as Chairman of ISRO, he has contributed towards charting the road map for future developments of ISRO’s activities in design of the launch vehicle . He has accomplished 25 successful, space missions. He serves as, President, International Academy of Astronautics (IAA), Chairman, Centre for Development, Govt of Kerala , Former Chairman of ISRO, Former Secretary, Dept. of Space, Former Chairman, National Remote Sensing Agency.He is a keen enthusiast to promote the basis of future science education in the society and has initiated various projects at Vikram Sarabhai Science Park to popularise pure sciences

Padma Vibhushan Dr. G. Madhavan NairChairman – Vikram Sarabhai Science Foundation

Our Chairperson

“Science is the future of human kind and it is only space which can keep our planet alive in the days to come. Young people across the globe should take interest in enduring careers in science and technology. Only science can bring solution to all the problems in the world”

Dr. Yannick d’Escatha, the internationally acclaimed French space scientist. Through his illustrious career he was responsible for bringing CNES to its glory. The father of Ariane space Missions he has 69 unchallenged successful space missions to nations credit. He has been Advisor to the President of SOFINEL, Former President French Space Agency, CNES, Chairman of the Board of Directors of the University of Technology of Troyes, Member Board of Directors' of, Électricité de France, Member of the Board of Directors of Thales, Board member of the Academy of Technology, Permanent Representative of the CNES Board of Directors of Arianespace

“The youth should inculcate the spirit of science, the spirit of innovation, spirit of entrepreneurship and spirit of creating new technology. Only on this basis we would be in a better position to face the challenges of the world”

Padma Vibhushan Dr. Anil Kakodkar is a pioneer Indian nuclear scientist. He was instrumental in India's nuclear tests at Pokharan asserting India’s sovereignty. Dr. Anil Kakodkar is active researcher towards India's self-reliance on Thoriumas a fuel for nuclear energy.He serves as Chairman, Board of Governors, Indian Institute of Technology, Bombay, Chairman, Board of Governors, Centre for Excellence in Basic Sciences, Mumbai. He is the Former chairman of the Atomic Energy Commission of India; Former Secretary, Government of India; and Former Director, Bhabha Atomic Research Centre. Dr. Anil Kakodkar is a keen enthusiast in transmitting Indian Nuclear and Atomic Technology, to the next generation.

Our panel of elites on the Advisory Board (1/2)

“Children have a complex reasoning on what they do. We need to instil the right value at a very young age channel them and make them ecological friendly towards contributing for a brighter tomorrow”

Dr. Karthikeya Vikram Sarabhai, is a well known environmentalist and natural scientist. A very active member of the Earth Charter International Council. He campaigns on areas of conservation and sustainable development .Vice Chairman of the Indian National Commission for the International Union Conservation of Nature (IUCN), Founder director of the Centre for Environment Education, Chairman of the Ambalal Sarabhai Enterprises, Member of the Earth Charter International Council and Editor of the Journal of Education for Sustainable Development. His primary focus is towards greening of India's formal education system, and initiatives for biodiversity education"

"We need a societal transformation and sustainable developments for our growth. These two aspects are realizable in a time bound manner only through creation of a knowledge society which along will empower the entire nation"

Dr. Indira Rajan a renowned educationalist primarily focusing on the areas of formal education . An active enthusiast in the socio educational and cultural development acclaimed nationally and internationally . Chairman, Global Educational Group, Founder Director, Minerva Educational Institutions, Trustee, Dayananda Institute of Education Management and Research, Trustee, National Education Society, and Founder Secretary, Raja Ravi Varma Foundation, Trivandrum.Dr. Indira Rajan a national awardee on education has been instrumental in the execution of visionary concepts for the student fraternity through various unique projects . The thrust area of all her activities is towards grooming a Value Oriented Society empowered with scientific education.

Our panel of elites on the Advisory Board (2/2)

THANK YOU