Summer break may not be so boring

A day before his classes start on Monday, Pranav Desai is rifling through the website looking at the profile of the teacher who will be lecturing him.

A day before his classes start on Monday, Pranav Desai is rifling through the website looking at the profile of the teacher who will be lecturing him.

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Monday will be day one of summer school for Desai, 20, a final year BMS student who has enrolled for a two-week intensive programme in quantitative methods and statistics.

He will be among 440-odd students enrolled for the second edition of the King’s College (London) summer school programme being rolled out on a bigger, more expansive scale in the city this year. Unlike the usual practice of going to expensive summer schools abroad, college students in Mumbai now have the opportunity to take value added programmes in the city itself, with classes being held in Jai Hind College and HR College, at a fraction of the cost.

The programme officially launches on Monday.

Classes will be held from morning to late afternoon at Jai Hind College and HR College, and this time’s programme has eight possible courses on offer, including on entrepreneurship, leadership, gender and culture, Shakespeare and political economy. Faculty from King’s itself will be coming to teach, with one course priced at Rs 25,000 and Rs 40,000 for two.

“A course like this always helps you get a better job or get better at your own job,” said Garima Jain, 21, an MCom student at Mumbai University, who was also helping coordinate the programme. She has opted for the Shakespeare course.

“I signed up for it because I’m in love with Shakespeare,” she said. “I’ve been studying commerce for so long so I wanted to do something not related to commerce.”

“King's Summer Schools offer a unique opportunity for students in India to experience a taste of an international education close to home and develop the skills they will need to work in a global business environment – King’s graduates are sought after by some of the world's most prestigious employers across a range of careers,” said Tayyeb Shah, director of executive education and summer programmes at King’s College, via email.