Joel Jayson, 13, stood first in Iken Scientifica-2011 (Season 4) which was held at IIT-Bombay with more than 4000 students from all over the country taking part.
A Surat boy, who won an all-India competition in science and technology for schoolchildren, not only got a gold medal for his feat but has also won a paid trip to US space agency, NASA.
Joel Jayson, 13, a resident of Piplod area in the city, is a Class VII student of JH Ambani School at Vesu. He stood first in Iken Scientifica-2011 (Season 4) which was held at IIT-Bombay with more than 4000 students from all over the country taking part. Joel was declared the winner - and Student Icon of India-2011 - as he took the least time to answer the questions and scored the maximum points.
He is now preparing for a month-long trip to NASA in September 2011. All expense for the trip will be borne by the organisers of the competition, Mexus Education.
Explaining the secret of his success, Joel said he loves reading books on science and technology. If he cannot find answers to his questions in his books, he hunts the internet for a better explanation, he said.
"In the competition, not a single question was from the books which I am studying at school. The questions were based on scientific theories & research and on technologies being used around the world," Joel said.
The precocious boy belongs to an educated family. His father, Athiyunthan Jayson, is an engineer with Torrent Power at Surat while his mother, Beji Jayson, is a doctor. Joel said that despite their busy schedules, his parents always found time to guide him in his preparations for the competition.
Bhumika Desai, who taught Joel, said he is a very bright kid. "We provided him guidance for the competition. He was able to grasp everything very quickly. His success has not surprised for us," said Desai who runs, Iken Braingym, in Surat. Iken Braingym is centre for providing training to talented children.
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