MYP student innovators grant empowers students to become the leaders of tomorrow

The International Baccalaureate Organization (IB) is announcing the next application cycle for the Dr Siva Kumari MYP Student Innovators’ Grant in partnership with Ashoka. The grant seeks applications from Middle Years Programme (MYP) years 4-5 students who are motivated to start or continue a social impact initiative. Through a competitive application review process, the IB supports up to 30 students every year to create, innovate or expand on an impactful project of their own design.

Originally named the MYP Student Innovators’ Grant, The Dr Siva Kumari MYP Innovators’ Grant has been renamed in honour of previous IB Director General Dr Siva Kumari and her commitment to innovation in the field of education. Siva is passionate about inspiring and equipping students to be forces for change and innovation in their communities. She was instrumental in creating a proposal for the grant and securing its approval from the IB Board of Directors in 2019.

“IB and Ashoka’s support has fueled our project to reach a bigger impact and has taught us that our background, gender, age, and nationality are not aspects that can hold us back from inspiring girls to follow their dreams and contribute to balance out our society”, said Alejandra and Luisa, MYP students at Gimnasio Femenino in Colombia.

The IB has awarded 84 grants since the beginning of the programme in 2019, providing students with the opportunity to build vital skills to become the socially conscious leaders, innovators and entrepreneurs the world needs today. Through the platform and grant, finalists are encouraged to collaborate with student finalists and receive guidance from a career-level or industry expert.

The student projects are selected after a competitive two-stage application and review process supported by a global review panel composed of IB educators and IB programme alumni. The application is designed to allow students to exercise advocacy for their own ideas, consider the social impact of their project, explore their personal connection to the initiative and delve into the financial needs of starting or growing a social change initiative.

Applications for the IB’s Dr Siva Kumari MYP Student Innovators’ Grant reopened on 15 March and will close on 26 April. For more information on the grant, please visit the IB website.