Higher Scientific Education for the Talented Youth Motivating Scientific Pursuit and Laying the Ground for Academic and Creative Research Erez Pyetan, Adar Oni-Grinberg, Uri Nevo, Adam Haisraeli, Shimon Yankielowicz The Dov Lautman Unit for Science Oriented Youth Tel Aviv University Ramat Aviv, Tel Aviv 69978, Israel Erez Pyetan: erezpyet@mail.tau.ac.il Abstract— How does one elevate a talented kid into being a proficient scientist and a passionate researcher? The Future Scientists and Inventors Program in Tel Aviv University is a new educational platform for the nourishment and development of gifted teens, and our goal is creating a scientific community whose members are committed, skillful and are happy to collaborate and share. Our courses go beyond mere enrichment for leisure or acquisition of academic merits. We offer a worthwhile purpose for the so-far unchallenged youth. The program demands hard work of systematic, abstractive, analytic and creative thinking, and focuses on collaborative learning. It is designed to take the young teenager through a journey of revelation, following the historical process of scientific thought. All lectures take the form of discussion, and the students are encouraged to take part in the development of scientific discoveries. The students search for questions, take part in the excitement of discovery as well as its difficulties and limitations, and understand that no creative thought is without need or reason. The first implementation of our concepts shows promising results, and our young students have passed difficult undergraduate exams with exceptionally high grades. Moreover, kids from the senior classes have already started partaking in actual academic research. Our initial results demonstrate a method for maximizing potential in gifted children, and arousing their passion for scientific work. A young community of scientists is formed within the program, and its members develop the skills to work together, consult peers and experienced researchers, and are simply happy to have found a purpose and a friend. Keywords - youth education, pre-university population, university and industry, research and education, pilot programs. I. INTRODUCTION The public education system encounters severe difficulties in dealing with exceptionally bright children, and their potential is often neglected or missed and their social development is hampered. Although several programs tackle the problem both privately and publically (offering extra- curriculum courses for increasing knowledge and enhancement of technique), a large percentile of gifted children eventually waive science education in favor of easier sources of income. The question is, therefore, not merely “How does one educate a talented kid into being a proficient scientist and a passionate researcher?”, but also “How does one maintain his commitment to the strenuous pursuit of science, in a world that is full of instant gratifications and multiple diversions?” The need to fortify and expand the scientific and innovative community has led visionary president Shimon Peres to initiate a national program for the promotion of future scientists and inventors in Israel. Recognizing it’s high priority for the society at large, the project draws leading delegates of Israel's academic community, as well as educational professionals, top rank of entrepreneurs and industrial leaders as well as policy makers, to form a national platform for encouraging youth to take up science education and pursuit. The Dov Lautman Unit for Science Oriented Youth at Tel Aviv University (TAU) was the first one to rise up to the challenge, and a pilot program was developed and launched at Tel Aviv University in July 2009 [1-3]. In summer 2011 the Technion Institute in Haifa erected its own branch of the program, and in summer 2013 the Ben- Gurion University in Beer-Sheva joined the common effort, in accordance with TAU’s guidelines. Similar projects are been planned for the Hebrew University in Jerusalem and the Weismann Institute of Science in Rehovot, thus reaching nationwide geographical coverage involving leading research institutions. The objective of the Future Scientists and Inventors Program (FSIP) in TAU was to create an educational platform, which confers a purpose and a goal for the so-far unchallenged gifted young teens. We strive to go beyond mere enrichment for leisure or credits. Our program is designed to encourage, engage and excite the highly capable and intelligent kid with scientific orientation, whose potential is not confronted with sufficient challenges at school, guide him and develop healthy work habits and social skills, avoid boredom and induce positive high motivation. II. THE PROGRAM Education professionals and researchers at TAU have joined in to formulate a ground breaking new conceptual approach. The program encompasses 3 tailored phases: (A) recruit, (B) undergraduate studies, and (C) actual research, both in the academy and industry, with an emphasis on child development, social skills and networking. 978-1-4799-0152-4/13/$31.00 ©2013 IEEE 25-27 September 2013, Kazan National Research Technological University, Kazan, Russia 2013 International Conference on Interactive Collaborative Learning (ICL) Page 441