The Program for Scientifically-Inspired Leadership (PSIL) annually brings together Harvard undergraduates, local college students, and underprivileged high school students in India for a week-long residential learning program. The program was established in 2019 by Dominic Mao, Assistant Director of Undergraduate Studies in Harvard’s Department of Molecular and Cellular Biology, and is partially funded and administered by the Mittal Institute.
Every January, Dominic Mao and Andrea Wright, Assistant Dean of Harvard College, train and accompany a group of Harvard undergraduates to India. There, they collaborate with local college students to deliver a comprehensive liberal arts and sciences curriculum to high school students. This immersive camp provides intense, hands-on learning experiences, exposing high school participants to diverse academic disciplines, extracurricular activities, and meaningful cultural exchanges. By fostering interactions across these three groups, the program creates a vibrant environment for intellectual growth and cross-cultural understanding.
In past years, PSIL operated for two years in Manipur and two in Telangana; this year in 2025, the program expanded for the first time to Goa. From the field, Dominic and Andrea shared the following dispatch:
“PSIL 2025 evolved from a conversation with Monika Setia, India Associate Country Director at the Mittal Institute, in early 2024. We met on Zoom to speak about how we could expand the program. After our conversation, she connected me to Charudutta Panigrahi, advisor to the Chief Minister of Goa, who expressed a deep interest in bringing PSIL to Goa. The conversations gained momentum after a Zoom call with the Education Secretary and other Goa governmental officials. The “file” was passed in record time, and thanks to the visionary bureaucrats in Goa, the MOU was signed and the preparations for PSIL ’25 began.
Assembling the Students
Selecting the Harvard team was challenging; we received more than 50 applications for five positions! We screened for candidates passionate about education, with an ability to adapt, and the desire to hone teaching skills in an environment outside their comfort zone. We also ensured a diverse range of academic interests—the Harvard team is comprised of students concentrating in subjects ranging from human development and regenerative biology, to applied mathematics, to computer science, and even art, film and visual studies.
Andi and I then screened and selected five Goa B.Ed students over Zoom, looking for students who possessed a supreme level of resourcefulness, enthusiasm, and adaptability. We unfortunately turned away many eligible candidates on both the Harvard and Goa side, because we had only five slots each. The good news is that we can easily scale the program 10X, funds permitting!
This year’s Harvard cohort includes:
- Merlin D’souza ’25, Human Developmental and Regenerative Biology and Global Health and Health Policy.
- Amber Nolazco-Torres ’26, Government with a secondary in Ethnicity, Migration, and Rights.
- Sam Schumann ‘25, History and Linguistics.
- Mark Kogo ’26, Applied Mathematics and Art, Film, and Visual Studies.
- Sophia Salamanca ’25, Computer Science, with a secondary in Government and a language citation in French.
The Instructor Fellows from India include:
- Kruti Chavan, a third-year B.A. B.Ed English and History student from Vidya Prabodhini College, Porvorim.
- Fabel Vallery Fernandes, a fourth-year A. B.Ed student from at Vidya Prabodhini College.
- Sweta Sundar Morajkar, a fourth-year B.Sc. B.Ed. Mathematics student from Ganpat Parsekar College of Education, Harmal.
- Andrea Mascarenhas, a final-year B.A. B.Ed. student at Ganpat Parsekar College of Education, Goa.
- Devesh Deepak Fatarpekar, a third-year B.A. B.Ed. student at Vidya Prabodhini College.
The teaching team: Goa and Harvard college students.
Once the teaching team was assembled, we started curriculum development. Andi and I guided each Harvard student to develop a module and activities that exploited their strengths, while complementing each other’s modules. The Harvard and Goa students planned and trained over Zoom and Whatsapp (can I just comment on how integral Whatsapp is in getting serious work done in India!) across two, markedly different time zones, working even during the holidays.
In parallel to the curriculum preparation, Andi and I worked closely with the Directorate of Higher Education (DHE) who were tasked with organizing the entire program, including site selection (thanks Monika for the last-minute site inspection!), securing travel arrangements for the Harvard team, selecting 100 high school students, organizing meals and accommodations, etc.
The entire team met in person for the first time on January 5, 2025. We carefully went over every little organizational detail, including testing our equipment (we found many of our computers did not have HDMI ports and the DHE team graciously arranged for USB-C to HDMI adapters).
Left: Andrea Wright, Assistant Dean of Harvard College; Right: Dominic Mao, Assistant Director of Undergraduate Studies in Harvard’s Department of Molecular and Cellular Biology.
PSIL’s In-Country Operations
The program took place from January 6 to 10, and included 100 hundred high school students, five Harvard undergraduates, five B.Ed students from Goa! Each day started with breakfast at 8:00 am and ended sometime around 6:00-7:00 pm. Lecture topics included a crash course in public speaking; an exploration of the power and fluidity of the word “leader”; a focus on modern innovations that were inspired by history and culture; a showcase of graphic design principles; and the impact of storytelling. In the extracurricular component of the program, students were exposed to Latin dance; the Lotería Mexican game; craft projects; and more. There are numerous stories and memories here, which I will not get into for the sake of keeping this piece short, that I hope my team’s reflections capture.
On January 7 and 8, Andi and I led a two-day pedagogy workshop for 40 government schoolteachers. We focused on active learning, assessment, mentoring, and soft skills development. A large component of the workshop was for the teachers to work in groups to develop an activity they can use in their classrooms. We required them to develop the activity on the topic of climate change with an additional requirement (challenge) to make it interdisciplinary.
Left: Sophia Salamanca’s lecture “(Re)designing How We Share Information”; Right: Merlin D’souza leads her section.
Pedagogy trainees brainstorming climate change activity.
Andi and I also participated in a panel conversation on January 8 on “Teaching, Learning, and Technology Coordinators” with educators from 50 colleges in Goa. Since Dr. Anoushka Patel (HMS) was in Goa, she joined Andi and I as a panelist. We had a very frank conversation about higher education in the U.S. and India, and strategies that can be deployed at the individual level, without relying on systemic changes alone to improve teaching and learning.
This year, thanks to my colleague Victoria D’Souza, Professor of Molecular and Cellular Biology in Harvard’s Department of Molecular and Cellular Biology, PSIL had its very first science seminar. Prof. D’Souza gave a January 9 talk on current research in her lab to about 40 research scholars, graduate students, and faculty from many institutions across Goa. Prof. D’Souza is from Goa and the moment I told her PSIL was going to her home state, her immediate reaction was “How can I be involved?”, and that is how this exciting new addition to PSIL started.
Science talk attendees.
The program concluded on January 10 with capstone project presentations. There was also a closing ceremony with the Chief Minister of Goa, Dr. Pramod Sawant and the Education Secretary Prasad Lolayekar. The Chief Minister reiterated his support for the program in all our meetings.
After the conclusion of the program, Prof. Victoria D’Souza treated the entire 12-person PSIL team to a lovely traditional Goan dinner at her aunt’s home!
Top: The Chief Minister of Goa, Dr. Pramod Sawant, greets PSIL leadership; Bottom: The Chief Minister explores the output from the program.
We are grateful to the Mittal Institute for providing administrative and monetary support to PSIL since its inception (PSIL ’25 was our fifth iteration!). Thank you to Monika Setia for connecting us with Charudutta Panigrahi, and Charudutta for connecting us with the Goa government officials and all his work behind the scenes. A hearty thanks to Chief Minister Pramod Sawant and Education Secretary Prasad Lolayekar for funding PSIL ’25 and showing us true Goan hospitality. We are grateful to Dr. Niyan Marchon from the Directorate of Higher Education and his team for being the most thoughtful, organized, and committed team I have worked with in India. And lastly, to the Harvard and Goa team for their faith in the program, hard work, resilience, creativity, and energy.
We look forward to PSIL 2026!”
Hear from the Participants:
My fellow teachers and I would remind the students it’s okay to make mistakes, we would help them out. Students began expressing themselves more freely and when they struggled to find an English word they knew in Konkani, I found joy with my fellow teachers in helping bridge that linguistic gap. Our teaching team helped create a space where language became a bridge rather than a barrier.
[The first day] I was able to teach my extracurricular, which was the Mexican game Loteria. My section of students was still getting comfortable in the program, but they all enjoyed playing and the chance to try Mexican candy. I loved the opportunity to share my culture with students in another part of the world. I played Mexican music, so the students could get additional exposure to Mexican culture. I felt I was able to bring a piece of my home to Goa.
I was surprised by the camaraderie that quickly developed amongst the students and the teaching staff. Right from the first lab activity, the kids began to cluster into new friendships: expanding and deepening with each task. This affinity for unity continuously defied any shuffling that the program attempted. But it was also surprising to see that their ease of friendship, defying differing languages and origins, was reflected in us, the teaching team. Teaching and living with the Goa team felt effortless from the start. Alongside our students, and perhaps because of them, we found a family in our peers.
We started the capstone project during office hours, and when I wasn’t answering questions from the kids, I was going around trying to learn all of my student’s names. I would ask the kids to say their name, and then I would try to repeat it and then ask if I had said it correctly. Most of the kids were far too polite to correct my pronunciation and said I was right no matter how I said their names, so even by the end of the week I still wasn’t sure I was getting it all!
I still remember the beaming smiles on my students’ faces when I met them during their 6-day residential camp. As I asked about their experiences, their eyes lit up, and they eagerly shared stories of the activity-based sessions they’d enjoyed. One student exclaimed, ‘Ma’am, we’re learning so much, but it doesn’t feel like learning at all!’ Another chimed in, ‘We’re making new friends, and the facilitators are amazing!’ Seeing my students thrive in an environment that fostered growth, teamwork, and joy was truly heartwarming. In that moment, I knew that this camp was more than just an educational experience – it was a transformative journey that would stay with them for years to come.
We organize a lot of programs, but this is the first time we are involved with a program like this one, rigorous and lots of fun.
The Programme for Scientifically Inspired Leadership (PSIL) has been an incredibly inspiring journey for me as the Goa team Coordinator. Working alongside Dr. Mao and Dr. Wright since August 2024 has been a privilege. PSIL empowered me to connect with schools and colleges across Goa, preparing students for this transformative program. Leading the Goa team and facilitating interactions with Harvard College honed my leadership skills within the Goa education ecosystem. The pedagogical approaches and techniques employed by the Harvard experts and instructors were truly remarkable. They ignited a sense of energy and motivation within all 100 students and 40 teachers during the 5-day residential training. I extend my deepest gratitude to the Honorable Chief Minister of Goa, Dr. Pramod Sawant, for his unwavering guidance, support, and instrumental role in making PSIL a reality. As we conclude PSIL.1, we eagerly anticipate the future of PSIL.2 in Goa. We are dedicated to empowering the next generation of students and teachers to become vibrant contributors to our evolving educational landscape.