Inventure Academy, Bangalore

Inventure Academy, Bangalore is perhaps India’s most Multiple Intelligences-focused school, personally endorsed by Dr. Howard Gardner, professor at the Harvard School of Education and developer of MI theory –  Dilip Thakore

Sited on a spacious ergonomically-designed 30-acre campus in Whitefield, once a sleepy suburb of Bengaluru (aka Bangalore), which has transformed into a satellite township hosting the Indian operations of dozens of multinational corporations including IBM, Dell, SAP, the Inventure Academy (IA, estb.2005) has quickly won the hearts and minds of well-informed and discerning parents, teachers and educators in Bengaluru (pop. 9 million), widely acknowledged as the new age ICT (information communication technologies) capital of the country.

Currently this K-12 co-ed day school, affiliated with the CISCE, Delhi and CIE (UK) examination boards, has 1,030 students (including 478 girls) mentored by 135 teachers on its muster rolls. Nor are the golden opinions this globally benchmarked school has garnered confined to its parents’ community. In the EducationWorld India School Rankings 2015, IA is ranked #12 nationally and more significantly (for a day school) #3 in Bangalore.

Conceptualised as an internationally benchmarked affordably priced school 11 years ago by Nooraine Fazal, a management science postgrad of Boston University with valuable business and organisational experience in a ten-year corporate career with IBM and Reuters across London, Dubai, Abu Dhabi, Sydney, and Hong Kong, and co-promoted with Irfan Razack, chairman of Prestige Properties Ltd — a publicly listed Bangalore-based real estate development and construction company — IA is perhaps the most MI (multiple intelligences)-focused school in India. It was personally endorsed by Dr. Howard Gardner, professor of cognition and education at the Harvard School of Education, and author and developer of MI theory, when he visited the school in 2012.

“Inventure Academy, which has the qualities of invention, adventure, sensitivity to nature and nurturance incorporated into its identity, was conceptualised as a composite pre K-12 school which nurtures the individualistic and innovative intelligences of every student to discover her passion, and work towards its realisation in an environment in which the happiness quotient is high. I believe that during the past ten years, we have substantially attained this objective,” says Fazal.

To actualise the vision of the founders, the IA trustees and management have drawn up a set of “core values”, viz, nurturing individuality and teamwork, providing maximum exposure, inculcating passion for excellence, instilling integrity, encouraging sensitivity and fostering dynamism in all students. “IA’s most significant achievement of the past ten years is that we have been successful in infusing the school’s core values into a holistic curriculum and culture. Our purpose is to nurture the multiple intelligences of our students and develop their critical thinking skills to enable them to meet new and unanticipated challenges of the rapidly evolving global marketplace, as also to develop their special intelligences in the classroom and playing fields.

Within the short period since IA began its operations, we have already produced national champions in swimming, sailing and tennis in several age groups while some of our girls have played for the Karnataka football team,” says Mallika Sen, former principal of The Valley School, Bangalore and head of the Aga Khan Education Services who came aboard as principal of IA in 2010.

Minimal differentiation between academic, co-curricular, and life skills education is another defining feature of Inventure Academy. Although the school’s CISCE and CIE school-leavers include all-India toppers, in adherence to MI theory and practice, the IA management accords equal importance to life skills education, developing eco-sensitivity, and development of students’ musical, spatial, spiritual, and kinesthetic intelligences. Consequently in addition to over 50 spacious, fully-wired classrooms, state-of-the-art science and technology labs and a library with over 15,000 volumes, 100 journal subscriptions and 150 computer terminals, the school offers a makers and innovation lab, horticulture garden, art, dance, music, and yoga studios and amphitheatres for drama, music, elocution, debates and other life skills programmes. Sports and games facilities include an artifical turf football ground, an athletics field with a cricket pitch, several cricket nets and practice pitches, five tennis courts constructed by the Zeeshan Ali Tennis Academy, basketball courts, swimming pool, and gymnasium.

“IA provides all students a uniquely holistic experience which encourages us to develop our individuality and follow our special interests. Students are motivated to perform with the teachers and management drawing out the best in us,” says Vir Menon, head boy of the school and national under-19 sailing champion.

Likewise Aahika Harlalka, head girl places a high premium on her IA education. “This school goes much beyond academics and enables us to pursue a wide range of co-curricular and sports education opportunities. Moreover the environment is very democratic with voices and views of the Student Council given great respect and weightage,” says Aahika.

With IA having established a national reputation as a progressive MI school, managing trustee and CEO Nooraine Fazal has drawn up plans to extend IA’s outreach programme within Bengaluru and beyond. “We are in the process of working on whole school improvement using design thinking and documenting our institutional culture and curriculum. We will make this available free of charge to all schools which may be interested in replicating the Inventure education model in the larger public interest. We are also exploring the possibility of promoting a second K-12 school in Bengaluru and another elsewhere in South India,” says Fazal.