Ashoka University: Leading Liberal Arts and Sciences University

Young Scholars Programme- General

The Young Scholars Programme- General, is a certified 5-day, residential programme, designed to prepare motivated students for higher studies in the liberal arts & sciences. The programme is multidisciplinary, introducing students to 9 academic disciplines at the college level, taught by Ashoka’s world class faculty.
And focuses on experiential learning, giving students opportunities to apply learning to real world challenges in thought-provoking dialogic sessions with faculty & peers.

To help students prepare better for college and life beyond, the programme also includes 21st Century Skill modules, Future Stream sessions and Critical Thinking Workshops.

Students get a true flavor of what student life on a college campus is like with a rich calendar of social, creative and sports activities and plenty of time for students to make new friends with like-minded students from across the country and abroad.

APPLICATIONS FOR YSP GENERAL, SCIENCES, COMPUTER SCIENCE & ADVANCED ARE NOW CLOSED

Download YSP 2023 Brochure

Programme Schedule

A typical day at YSP begins with students joining in the morning for academic sessions. Students are in 3 sessions before lunch, with a snack break in between. The day continues with writing sessions, workshops, guest speaker series and more. Students are given a transition time of at least 15 minutes between each session. In the evening, students are invited to be part of an optional Unwind session offering an opportunity to network with their peers and Ashoka UG students in a more informal setting. The final schedule will be shared with participants of YSP closer to the programme.

YSP General 2023 Schedule

Tentative programme schedule, subject to change

YSP General 2023 Faculty

YSP sessions are conducted by Ashoka’s world-class Faculty. Profiles of faculty members from previous YSP’s is presented below.

Debayan Gupta

Assistant Professor of Computer Science, Ashoka University

Ph.D. Yale University

Ananya Sharma

Assistant Professor of International Relations, Ashoka University

Ph.D. Jawaharlal Nehru University

Simantini Ghosh

Head of the Department, Psychology, Assistant Professor

Ph.D. University of Rochester

Mahesh Rangarajan

Head of the Department of Environmental Studies, Ashoka University,
Professor of Environmental Studies and History
Chair (Hon.), Ashoka Archives of Contemporary India,

DPhil University of Oxford

Anuradha Saha

Assistant Professor of Economics, Ashoka University

Ph.D. Indian Statistical Institute

Imroze Khan

Associate Professor of Biology, Ashoka University

DBT-Wellcome Trust Intermediate Fellow,
Ph.D. IISER Kolkata

Natasha Badhwar

Visiting Faculty, Media Studies, Ashoka University

PG, AJK Mass Communication Research Centre, Jamia Millia Islamia University

Dipankar Bhattacharya

Head of the Department, Physics,
Sunanda and Santimay Basu Professor of Astrophysics, Ashoka University

Ph.D. Indian Institute of Science, Bengaluru

Alexander Phillips

Assistant Professor of English,
Director of the MA programme, Ashoka University

Ph.D. Cornell University

Swargajyoti Gohain

Associate Professor of Sociology and Anthropology, Ashoka University

Ph.D. Emory University

Priyank Narayan

Head of the Department, Entrepreneurship,
Director, InfoEdge Centre for Entrepreneurship, Ashoka University

Ph.D, IIT Delhi

Sonakshi Srivastava

Writing Tutor, Ashoka University

M.Phil. English, Guru Gobind Singh Indraprastha University

Jaspreet Bindra

Visiting Faculty, Department of Entrepreneurship, Ashoka University

Founder and Managing Director, Tech Whisperer Limited, UK

Arvinder J Singh

Director, Ashoka Centre for Well-Being, Ashoka University

Reena Gupta

Director, Office of Learning Support, Ashoka University

Masters in Clinical Psychology and Certificate in Educational Therapy, University of California, Santa Cruz.

Somak Raychaudhury

Vice-Chancellor, Ashoka University

Ph.D. in Astrophysics, University of Cambridge

Sample Lectures & workshops

Faculty lectures & workshops are thought provoking & interactive, reflective of the multidisciplinary pedagogy of a liberal arts education.

Faculty lectures

Are designed to give students a true appreciation for the subject and explore their aptitude & interests for the future. For example in the History session, the story of Mowgli is used to make the white man’s burden and colonialism accessible in an elegant, nuanced mode

21st Century skill workshops

Recognizing that along with knowledge, students also need to hone & develop skills that are essential for the leaders of tomorrow, YSP introduces students to some of the most relevant skills of our times. Critical Thinking Workshops encourage students to look at problems from different perspectives and find innovative solutions. Writing Across Forms, gives students a flavor of what it takes to write authentic, compelling & impactful content across popular forms and platforms, including a primer on Writing the College Essay. Other modules could include An introduction Design Thinking, The Art of Debate etc.

Sample Guest Speakers

YSP students get to engage with industry leaders, academicians and counselors in Open House Sessions, bringing real-world perspectives to enable better decision making on subjects, colleges and career pathways.