Program for Scientifically-Inspired Leadership (PSIL)
Each year, the Program for Scientifically-Inspired Leadership (PSIL) brings together Harvard undergraduates, local college students, and underprivileged high school students in India for a week-long residential program. Assisted by the local college students, the Harvard undergraduates deliver a liberal arts and sciences curriculum to the high school students. The curriculum is based on a holistic approach, spanning multiple fields of study, extracurricular activities, and interactions outside the classroom to facilitate cultural exchange between the three groups. Program leaders Dominic Mao, assistant director of undergraduate studies in the Department of Molecular and Cellular Biology, and Andrea Wright, assistant dean of Harvard College, accompany the students.
Launched in 2019 with a Mittal Institute faculty grant, the program receives additional funding and logistical support through partnerships with state officials.
Timeline of the project:
- 2019: Project launch with first week-long non-residential program in Imphal, Manipur. Learn more
- 2020: Second week-long residential program in Imphal, Manipur. Learn more
- 2021 and 2022: Pandemic-related pause.
- 2023: Third week-long residential program in Hyderabad, Telangana.
- 2024: Fourth week-long residential program in Hyderabad, Telangana.
- 2025: Fifth week-long residential program in Goa. Learn more
Leadership
Dominic Mao, Assistant Director of Undergraduate Studies in the Department of Molecular and Cellular Biology, Harvard University
Andrea Wright, Assistant Dean of Harvard College
Harvard student Ida Kozuchowska ’25 helps her students assemble fold-scopes in the neuroscience module she taught through PSIL in 2024.
“[A student] said that the program gave her a broader sense of the world and opportunities. For me, this program gave me new perspectives and experiences that have and will continue to shape the way I view opportunities, education, and mentorship as I go forward.”
“I really loved the educational component of it, and cross-cultural education is something I was excited about before this. The only way to really learn about a place is to experience it and to meet people there, and to do what you can to go in there with open eyes.”