Summer Program/Internship | Education for Persistence and Innovation Center (EPIC)

*EPIC Summer Experience: How to Succeed at Failures is cosponsored by EPIC and the Wiss Foundation.*

Program Description

Have you ever struggled with the feeling of being excluded by peers? Have you ever worried about not getting into your dream school, receiving poor grades despite your great effort, or having lots of conflicts with your parents or siblings? With so many mixed emotions (e.g., anger, guilt, shame, regret), you may start to perceive yourself or your struggles as failures, leaving you wondering “What should I do now?”

You are the one who will be Successful!

Our summer program (for students aged 14 - 19) will provide you access to effective coping tools and abilities that are aimed at revealing your true potential and weaknesses in order to help you turn your challenges into successes. You will experience various kinds of simulated failure experiences and be asked to analyze how you accept and navigate setbacks or failures. You will be under the guidance of professional youth counselors and cognitive psychologists who have conducted in-depth research on more than 30 extraordinary athletes, Nobel laureates, and other top professionals about their successes. Through this program, you will discover your new and great potential in experiencing failures and in reviews from experts.

The program utilizes the flexible adaptive instructional training (FAIT) model to fully immerse our students in the process of learning from their failures. Experienced professionals specializing in youth coaching will encourage students to use their strengths to turn their setbacks into successes.

Takeaways from the Program

Develop a realistic picture of your strengths and weaknesses
Develop realistic and attainable goals
Develop healthy habits and skills to tackle failure experience
Build the capability to embrace negative emotions without them clouding your judgment
Turn negative emotions into action plans to improve performance
Gain confidence in accepting and overcoming failures

Date and Duration

This is a three-week online program that starts on July 10^thand ends on July 28^th. During this period, the students are required to commit to the program at least 20 hours per week. The students will have the option to attend the final presentation in person (two days on campus and students are responsible for their travel, room and board, and incidental costs).

Certificate

Students who complete the program satisfactorily will receive a certificate from EPIC at Teachers College, Columbia University.

Frequently Asked Questions:

How much is the application fee?

There is no application fee.

Is the program virtual or in-person?

It is an online instruction program. The students have the option to attend the final presentation in person (two days on campus), but students are responsible for their travel, room and board, and incidental costs.

What benefits do I get from this program?

1. Students who complete our program successfully will receive a certificate from EPIC at Teachers College, Columbia University.

2. The top five students will have the opportunity to become regular EPIC interns and get more involved with ongoing projects in EPIC

3. If requested, EPIC will provide recommendation letters for students based on their performance.

What is the typical workload of the program?

You will be expected to commit at least 20 hours a week to this program.

Do my parents/guardians need to approve my application?

Yes, your parents/guardians need to sign the program consent forms before you can officially start the program.
If you decide to join the program, we need one of your parents/guardians to sign a consent form and email it back to us.

Who is eligible for our program?

We welcome high school students (from 14 to 19 years old) around the world to apply for the program. The admission is not based on academic merits, but on your interests and commitment to improving yourselves.

When and how can I apply?

We encourage you to apply as soon as possible due to the limited spots in our program. You can apply via the application form.

Research Spotlight: “Even Einstein Struggled”

Students’ beliefs that success in science depends on exceptional talent negatively impact their motivation to learn. For example, such beliefs have been shown to be a major factor steering students away from taking science and math courses in high school and college. In the present study, we tested a novel story-based instruction that models how scientists achieve through failures and struggles.