The School of Meaningful Experiences (SoME) announced the launch of the first-of-its-kind campus community initiative in India called SoMEVaadam.The Bengaluru-based education and soft skills development start-up has signed MoUs with St Agnes College, Mangaluru and Adarsh Institute of Management and Information Technology, Bengaluru to kickstart its ambitious programme.
SoMEVaadam is a carefully crafted programme that aims to empower selected students from colleges across India to build on their communication and leadership qualities. The aim is to bring soft skills, also known as human or people skills, within the realm of mainstream academics.
Founded in 2018, SoME has the distinction of being the only organisation in India that caters to the growing demand for honing the people skills of adolescents, working professionals and entrepreneurs across sectors. The dedicated courses are based on SoME’s unique ‘Six Cs’ philosophy that empowers learners with key life skills, namely Communication, Confidence, Collaboration, Curiosity, Competence and Creativity.
With SoMEVaadam, the plan is to nurture a thriving campus community of future leaders of the country. Each community, with 20 minimum members, will conduct dedicated workshops and webinars on the ‘Six Cs’ and human skills. This will not only help students to learn effective ways to communicate better, be more confident and collaborative but will also enable them to express themselves in a safe and non-judgemental space freely.
Commenting on the unique programme, Rakesh Godhwani, Founder and CEO, SoME, said, “Our mission is to help create the next generation of leaders known for their inspiring leadership and confident communication. SoMEVaadam, our Campus Community Programme, is designed to empower students through learning by doing. The Campus Ambassador (the student’s head) and the student community they will lead will get free access to short-term courses at SoME, such as Acing Job Interview and Becoming a Fearless Speaker, to name some. The students will be leading SoME flagship events like SoMEVaadam Day and Let’s Fail Day in their colleges. The opportunities are immense for those who are willing to embark on this exciting journey.”
Apart from free access to SoME short-term courses and the opportunity to hone their leadership and collaboration skills, becoming a Campus Ambassador provides students with several benefits. These include personal mentorship and reference letters from SoME’s Guides as well as access to SoME’s paid webinars and seminars.
Dr Venkataraman Ramakrishnan, Director and Principal, Adarsh Institute of Management and Information Technology, Bengaluru, said, “We are delighted to partner with SoME for this extraordinary programme. SoMEVaadam offers a powerful platform for students to come together and create a positive impact. The idea of celebrating failure (Let’s Fail Day) and encouraging educational and fun activities on oratory (SoMEVaadam Day) will truly make a world of difference.”
SoMEVaadam Day will see activities around oratory being conducted across colleges, while Let’s Fail Day will put the spotlight on the importance of failure by encouraging students to do activities they will fail in! SoME grooms students to accept failures and learn from them, without losing heart and the will to succeed. Dealing with failure is a critical aspect of success.
Dr Zubaida H, HoD, PG Department of English, St Agnes College, Mangaluru, noted, “In keeping with the changing times, educational institutions too need to evolve so that they can cater to the needs of students in meaningful ways. St Agnes College has constantly endeavoured to do that and our MoU with SoME is a significant step forward in that journey. We believe that SoMEVaadam will help our students to become more confident, more collaborative, and more persuasive in their communication. It will, hopefully, inspire them to be the change they seek in the world.”
Envisioned as an ‘Institute of the Future’, SoME advocates a holistic approach to education and communication. It is not just about acing communication competencies, but also about enhancing life skills that aid the learners’ personal, professional, mental and emotional growth.
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